Blue Ponies aim to ground the Eagles on homecoming

For the Havre High football team, the motivation at this point in the season is simple - it's all about getting that elusive first win.

Tonight, the Blue Ponies will take another crack at getting into the win column, but the opponent, Sidney (5-0), might be the best team Havre has faced all season. The two teams will meet for kickoff tonight at 7 inside Blue Pony Stadium.

"It's going to be a fun matchup," HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. "That's the thing about playing this full Eastern A schedule, every week is a battle and that's the way you want it, but this will be another tough opponent. They have a lot of seniors, so they are a good team."

Playing good teams is nothing new for the Ponies. Lewistown, Belgrade, Laurel and Glendive are all in the thick of the Eastern A playoff race and beat HHS (0-5) already this season. But, last week's loss to Glendive provided some positive moments. Havre led twice in the game, after not leading at all in it's four previous losses. The Ponies also scored a season-high 26 points.

"We just need to carry over some of that positive momentum from last week,"Gatch said. "Our goal is to get more consistent every week and, thankfully, we have four more games to give ourselves a chance to do that. It's also nice to play some of these really good teams. Glendive was a good team, and even though we lost the game, we got better."

Another exciting part about the game for Havre is that the Ponies will be celebrating homecoming tonight, which should add even more electricity to the atmosphere.

"Every time we play at Blue Pony Stadium, we have a big advantage," Gatch said. "But homecoming adds a little more excitement to the air for the fans and for our kids. You don't want it to be a distraction, but it can be a lot of fun and helps the kids get fired up to play the game and that's always a good thing."

Havre will certainly have a home-field advantage tonight against the Eagles and based on how well Sidney has played in the first five games of 2017, HHS is going to need it. Based off the numbers, Sidney may have the best defense in Class A football. The Eagles have allowed a total of 15 points this season and have pitched two shutouts. Glendive managed just a safety in its loss, so in three of its five games, the Sidney defense has held its opponent scoreless.

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles are equally strong. Following a 38-0 shutout of Lewistown last week, which was Sidney's strongest offensive output of the season, the Eagles are averaging 31 points per game, giving them an average margin of victory of 28 points.

When they have the ball, the Eagles will rely heavily on the run game, led by Alec Lovegren, who has given the Ponies fits in each of the past two seasons. Lovegren has earned All-State honors in 2015 and 2016 He will team with fellow back Max Peters and quarterback Jace Johnson to form a powerful ground game. Wide receiver Ryan Horner is the top target in the passing game.

"Sidney likes to run the ball about 70 percent of the time," Gatch said, "but they have been ahead most of the time. So we need to be strong against the run and try to stop them from having the lead the whole game. That's what they did against Billings Central, they got the lead on them and ran the ball 22 straight times."

When Havre has the ball, running back Mason Dionne will be a big part of the attack, but so will wide receivers Ivar Aageson and Ethan Roberts. Roberts caught two touchdown passes a week ago and went for 130 yards, while Aageson caught 12 passes for 138 yards. Quarterback Trey Murphy is also coming off his best game of the season. He threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, compared to just two interceptions.

"We need to be able to come out and run the football and control the line of scrimmage," Gatch said. "But we did some good things last week. We just need to continue to be smart and avoid the mistakes that have hurt us, especially down in the red zone."

While the Ponies, who sit at 0-5 have little chance of making the playoffs, according to Gatch, there is still plenty to play for and with Sidney on the other sideline, a victory would be the kind of win that could change a season.

"Sometimes all it takes is one win to change your season," Gatch said. "That happened here a couple of years ago when (Havre) beat Sidney. It kind of turned the season around. Right now, we are just looking to get that first win, but it would be huge for us and would be a big momentum boost for these final few games."

Kickoff between the Ponies and Eagles will be tonight at 7 in Blue Pony Stadium.

Havre Blue Ponies

(0-5) Lost at Glendive last week

vs

Sidney Eagles

(5-0) def. Lewistown last week

Tonight at 7 p.m.

Blue Pony Stadium

Radio: 610 KOJM AM