Blue Ponies run over the Rangers

For the second straight week, the Havre High football team played within the Central A Conference and for the second straight time, the Blue Ponies dominated their opponent.

The Ponies, who were on the road in Livingston Friday night, controlled the game from start to finish against the Rangers, scoring 13 points in each of the first three quarters on their way to a 39-14 win. HHS is now 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Central A.

From the outset, the Havre offense moved the ball with relative ease against the Rangers and got things started early with the running game and Jase Stokes. It didn't take long for Havre to get on the board and after a nine-yard scoring run by Stokes, HHS led 7-0. Later in the stanza, Trey Murphy found Ivar Aageson for an 18-yard touchdown and after 12 minutes, HHS led 13-0.

"They (Rangers) were excited to play a home game and they are getting better," HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. "Which is what I thought would happen. But I was happy with our kids, we came out and established our running game and our power game throughout was really good."

Livingston responded in the second quarter thanks to a 54-yard touchdown pass from Rydell Floyd. However, the Ponies rallied with a pair of touchdown drives, one that was capped with a one-yard run by Murphy and another on a 10-yard pass from Murphy to Stokes. The touchdowns gave HHS a 26-8 lead at halftime.

"I thought that Trey played a great game," Gatch said. "He got a couple of touchdown runs and he took care of the football. I was really pleased with the play of our offense."

After surrendering a big-play touchdown to Livingston in the second quarter, the Ponies scored one of their own in the third, as Murphy hit Aageson on a 54-yard scoring strike that put Havre in front 33-8. Another Murphy touchdown run in the third made it 39-8, but another touchdown pass by Floyd trimmed the lead back to 39-14. Neither team scored in the final stanza and the Ponies went on to win by 25.

Aageson, who lost a couple games early in the season due to injury, had a breakout performance in the win for Havre with five receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Murphy also had a stellar night, with four total touchdowns, two rushing and two throwing. He also completed 12-of-16 passes for 162 yards and threw zero interceptions.

"It was nice to be able to get Ivar involved," Gatch said. "We finally got him out there and in space and got him going in the right direction. He's 100 percent healthy and back to where he was back at the beginning of the year, so we are going to look to start using him some more."

As explosive as the passing game was for the Ponies, the running game was just as effective as Stokes ran 17 times for 137 yards. Dane Flammond, who had a 61-yard run in the second quarter, had two for 70 yards and Mason Dionne had seven carries for 28.

On the defensive side of the ball, outside of giving up two big plays, the Pony defense was solid. Nate Korb led the defense with an interception, while Dionne had four tackles and one fumble recovery. Flammond finished with 12 total tackles and Stokes ended up with seven.

The Ponies will return home this Friday night for a critical Central A showdown against Belgrade. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

"I know they (Panthers) are a really good team," Gatch said. "They have an explosive offense. I am just glad we get them at home. It should be a fun football game."

Havre 39, Livingston 14

Havre 13 13 13 0 - 39

Livingston 0 8 6 0 - 14

H: Jase Stokes 9 run (Stokes kick)

H: Trey Murphy 18 pass to Aageson (conversion failed)

P: Flloyd 54 pass to Hanson (Floyd pass to Peterson)

H: Murphy 1 run (kick blocked)

H: Murphy 10 pass to Stokes (Stokes kick)

H: Murphy 42 pass to Aaegeson (Stokes kick)

H: Murphy 1 run (kick blocked)

P: Floyd 10 pass to Peterson (conversion failed)

Havre Individual Stats

Passing - Trey Murphy, 12-16 162.

Rushing - Jase Stokes, 17-137, Dane Flammond, 2-70, Mason Dionne, 7-28.

Receiving - Ivar Aageson, 5-91. Nate Korb - 3-40, Issac Warp 4-33, Jase Stokes 1-10.