Laurel steams through Blue Pony Stadium

The Havre High football team has yet to win a game this season, but Friday night against Laurel, head coach Ryan Gatch still felt his team took a step in the right direction.

He felt that way, even if the scoreboard didn't necessarily agree, as the Locomotives downed the Blue Ponies 42-21 at Blue Pony Stadium Friday night in an Eastern A Clash.

"I know that we lost by 21 points, but we are getting close," Gatch said. "I am extremely proud of this team's effort. I thought all the kids came out here and played hard and they never quit. That's what we need. As long as we keeping getting that effort, we will coach them up and we will get there. But that effort, that is the most important thing."

In terms of total yardage, the Ponies outgained the Locomotives 328 to 260. However, Havre turned the ball over four times, compared to just two giveaways for Laurel. The Locomotives also got two touchdowns by way of returns The first came in the opening stanza, as Laurel intercepted a Trey Murphy pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown to make the score 8-0.

Following the interception, Havre advanced the ball into Laurel territory, before another interception by the Locomotives ended that scoring opportunity. Before the first quarter closed, Gage Hull threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Logan Kennedy and Laurel was up 15-0.

Eventually, the Locomotives lead was extended to 22-0, when Havre finally got some points on the board. A 47-yard catch-and-run by Ivar Aageson set up a four-yard touchdown run by Mason Dionne, which trimmed the deficit to 22-7 late in the first half. Yet, the Locomotives quickly answered, returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown as Decklan Harper scampered 98 yards to give Laurel a 29-7 halftime lead.

"That play really hurt us," Gatch said. "We finally got some momentum and got back into the game a little and then we give that up because we didn't execute the way we were supposed to. So that was disappointing."

In the third quarter, down three scores, the Ponies came out running the football and thanks to some big runs from Dionne and Jeremiah Hughes, including a seven-yard touchdown run by Dionne, Havre trimmed the lead to 29-13 midway through the third. Yet, less than a minute later, Hull found Harper for a 31-yard touchdown making it 36-13.

After a couple more first down runs by Dionne, who finished the game with 122 yards on 23 attempts, Murphy found Ethan Roberts for a 14-yard touchdown and late in the third, Havre trailed 36-21.

"The kids finally started to believe in the run game and get a little bit of confidence in it," Gatch said. "We finally got in sync with it a little bit. We started getting some nice runs and that is something that we can build on, that was a real positive there in the second half."

Down by 15 heading into the fourth quarter, the Ponies had a chance to climb back into it, but HHS allowed a touchdown run by Laurel early in the fourth quarter to make the score 42-21. After that, the Ponies failed to score, despite a couple of promising drives and the Locomotives were able to kill off the last five minutes of game time.

Murphy finished the game 15-of-29 for 180 yards. He also threw one touchdown pass and four interceptions, in addition to being sacked four times. While Dionne stood out running the ball, Aageson had a big game of his own, catching nine passes for 119 yards. Roberts also had two receptions for 38 yards and a score. Brady Ophus also pitched in with three catches for 22 yards.

Dionne had a stellar effort on the defensive side of the ball, posting seven total tackles and one tackle for loss. Roberts also pitched in with eight tackles and one tackle for loss and Tanner Parsons finished with one tackle, one tackle for loss and one sack.

"We are driving down the field to open the game and then we get a pick six, but if we score, we are right there and everyone is scared on their sideline," Gatch said. "So we need to cut down on the mistakes and the penalties, but those are things we can coach, too. We need these guys to keep working hard and fighting and giving it all they have. We are getting effort from our kids and as long as we are getting that, we will have a shot."

Havre (0-3) will look for its first win Friday night on the road at Belgrade. The Ponies are back home Sept. 30.

Laurel 42, Blue Ponies 21

Laurel 15 14 7 6 - 42

Havre 0 7 6 8 - 21

L - Chris Abell 59 interception return (conversion good)

L - Logan Kennedy 5 pass from Gage Hull (PAT good)

L - Ethan Renner 2 rush (PAT good)

H - Mason Dionne 4 run (PAT Good)

L - Decklan Harper 98 kickoff return (PAT Good)

H - Dionne 7 run (PAT no good)

L - Harper 31 pass from Hull (PAT Good)

H - Ethan Roberts 15 pass from Trey Murphy (Ivar Aageson run)

L - Noah Gunther 2 run (PAT no good)

Havre Individual stats

Passing - Trey Murphy 15-29 180.

Rushing - Mason Dionne 23-122, Jeremiah Hughes 6-27, Ivar Aageson 1-8, Murphy 4 (-22).

Receiving - Ivar Aageson 9-119, Ethan Roberts 2-38, Brady Ophus 3-22, Jeremiah Hughes 1-1.