Ponies lay it all on the line against Polson

The 2016 season has been one of ups and downs for the Havre High football team. There have been great wins and tough losses. And now, it all comes to a head as the Blue Ponies go into tonight's game fighting for their playoff lives.

Havre, which will host Northwest A champion Polson tonight at 6 inside Blue Pony Stadium, is still alive for one of the two wildcard berths in Class A's Eastern A Division. Yet, the only way HHS can guarantee a berth in the Class A playoffs is by upsetting the Pirates, one of the best teams in the state.

"We had some opportunities, and we didn't get it done," HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. "But we are approaching this game as a playoff game. It is a playoff game for us and our kids are very excited about the chance to play a very good team in Polson. And they are going to have to come into Blue Pony Stadium, which is a tough place to play, and my expectation is that it's going to be a very exciting football game."

Unfortunately, for the Ponies and Gatch, due to his ejection from the Lewistown game, he will be relegated to spectator status, as he will have to serve a one-game suspension and will not be allowed on the sidelines or the coaching box. He can attend the game, but can only watch and cannot coach. Taking his place for the night and serving as interim head coach for one game will be Scott Leeds. Leeds, who was at one time the offensive coordinator for Montana State University-Northern, will take over the play-calling duties on offense, while former Havre Head coach Jason Christenson, now an assistant to Gatch, will call the defensive plays.

"It's a very unfortunate situation," Gatch said. "But I only have myself to blame. I can tell you that it's been a tough week in my house. I'm very disappointed by it, and it's something that I am going to have to live with for a very long time."

And making things even more complicated for Havre is the fact that HHS will be without starting quarterback Trey Murphy, who suffered an injury in the loss to Lewistown and will be unable to play. That means senior running back Jase Stokes, the Ponies' leading rusher with 839 yards, will take the helm at quarterback and will get the start in his final home game.

"Jase is going to be our guy," Gatch said. "He has gotten all the reps in practice this week and we feel like he gives us the best chance to win."

Last Friday in Lewistown, both Stokes, who threw for 100 yards and a touchdown, and Isaac Warp saw time at quarterback, but Gatch said, due to the depth at running back Stokes was the best choice.

"Thankfully, we have some other pretty good running backs in Dane Flammond and Mason Dionne," Gatch said. "But we didn't want to move one of our best receivers (Warp) and take that away from our offense. We want to make Polson defend that and we didn't think it would help our offense to take one of our best weapons away from the passing game."

Stokes, who threw 10 passes in Lewistown, completing five, will have the benefit of a talented group of pass catchers to throw to, led by Warp, who boasts team highs in both receptions (26) and yards (401). He also has three touchdowns. Ivar Aageson is another talented option at receiver, who has also put up good numbers since returning from injury, He currently has 23 catches for 312 yards and five touchdowns. Seniors Nate Korb and Jacob LaBrie are also more than capable of threatening the Pirates' pass defense. When it comes to the running game, Flammond should see the bulk of the carries and has been productive this season on the ground, with 149 yards on just 14 carries. Dionne, a freshman, also has been solid, racking up 190 yards on 38 attempts.

"You will see a little bit of a different offense," Gatch said. "But we are still going to be in a lot of one and two-back sets. I would say we have been about 50-50 in those the past few weeks and I think you will see that again this week."

While the offense will certainly need to put points on the board, the biggest challenge for Havre will be slowing down a Polson offense that is as good as any in Class A. The Pirates average just under 30 points a game, but after losing to Dillon 38-6, they have gone on a tear. In wins over Frenchtown, Whitefish, Butte Central and Columbia Falls, they average 39 points per game.

Part of what makes the Polson offense so successful is the explosive two-dual threat ability of quarterback Tanner Wilson one of two Montana Grizzly recruits for the Pirates. The senior not only the leads the Northwest A with 758 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground, he's the conference's second-leading passer with 1,232 yards and 14 touchdown passes. However, the Pirates offense has plenty of other weapons, including running back Colton Cote, who is just behind Wilson in rushing yards with 757 and wide receiver Matthew Rensvold, another Griz' recruit, who is having a lights out season with 49 receptions for 781 yards and nine touchdowns.

"They are a very talented football team," Gatch said of Polson. "They have a very talented quarterback and probably one of the best wide receivers in the state."

In order to slow the Pirates, Havre will rely heavily on Stokes and Flammond at linebacker, as well as Warp, Korb, LaBrie and Aageson in the secondary. Chris Gabrielsen and Jared Sienkowski will also lead the way up front for the defensive line.

If Havre is able to pull out the upset of Polson, the Ponies will be assured of a wildcard berth into the Class A playoffs, but a loss means HHS will need help, in the way of a Miles City loss to Glendive to make it into the postseason.

"When I came here, there wasn't much talk that this team could win as many games as we have or compete for a conference championship," Gatch said. "But I think that's a credit to these kids and our coaches. But Polson is going to have to come here on senior night and it's going to be emotional. This is a playoff game for us and we are going to put it all on the line and we will see what happens. I think it's going to be a great football game, and we are looking forward to the challenge."

Havre, which celebrates senior night tonight, will host Polson at 6 inside Blue Pony Stadium.