Rams run over Blue Ponies in Billings

The Havre High football team always knew that winning against Billings Central in Billings was going to be tough. But when the Blue Ponies took the field against the Rams, it didn’t take long to notice the drastic difference between the two teams.

Billings Central, which is currently tied for second place in the Eastern A with a 6-1 overall record, got its sixth win of the year, thanks to a 55-0 shutout win over Havre Friday night in Billings. The Rams scored early, with 34 first-quarter points to be exact and from there, never looked back in a dominating win.

“This kind of game, we have to put in the rearview mirror,” HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. “I hate to say that because I do think that we did do some good things. But we need to focus on this week ahead and trying to be 1-0 each week.”

In one of the first games played between the two schools since they met in the 2004 Class A state championship game, Billings Central completely dominated Havre from start to finish. Ben Voss opened the floodgates for the Rams with a 41-yard rushing touchdown to start the scoring, but after Voss scored twice more in the opening stanza, once on a seven-yard run and again on a 38-yard touchdown reception from Joe Byorth, the rout was on at 34-0 after one quarter of play.

Byorth, who also threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Chrishon Dixon in the first quarter, tossed his third, early in the second quarter, as he found Paul Meyer from one yard out, to push the Billings Central lead to 41-0.

With the clock running due to the mercy rule, the second half went by pretty quickly for the two teams, but it didn’t stop the Rams from scoring two more times to make the final score 55-0.

Voss touched the ball just five times for the Rams, but on those five touches (three rushes, two receptions) he racked up 102 yards and three total touchdowns. As a team, the Rams finished the game with 321 yards of total offense, with 258 of those coming on the ground. Byorth attempted just seven passes in the game for Billings Central, completing four of them for 63 yards. He also had three touchdown passes in the win.

Havre, on the other hand, had a rough game offensively. The Ponies managed just 21 yards of total offense when it was all said and done, with 19 yards passing and two yards rushing. Quarterback Trey Murphy was 4-of-11 for 14 yards in the loss. He was also sacked five times for a loss of 22 yards. Mason Dionne was the top offensive producer for Havre, as he finished the game with 32 yards on 15 carries. Ethan Roberts also had one catch for six yards, Brady Ophus added one for five and Tanner Parsons had one for three. Dionne was the top player defensively for Havre, finishing with nine tackles and two tackles for loss.

“I thought that Mason did a really good job,” Gatch said. “He made some plays that I have not seen him make. Tackles aren't something you see a lot on the stat sheet, but he did a really nice job.”

The Ponies, who are now 0-7 on the season, will return home Friday night, when they will host Livingston, another 0-7 team. The two teams will do battle in an Eastern A conference matchup at 7 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium.

Billings Central 55, Havre 0

Havre 0 0 0 0 - 0

Billings Central 34 7 7 7 - 55

BC: Ben Voss 38 run (Camden Capser kick)

BC: Chrishon Dixon 14 pass from Joe Byorth (Capser kick)

BC: Jack Studer 9 run (Capser kick)

BC: Duncan Kraft 10 run (Capser kick)

BC: Voss 38 pass from Byorth (kick fail)

BC: Paul Meyer 1 pass from Byorth (Capser kick)

BC: Studer 7 run (Capser kick)

BC: Derek Damjanovich 18 run (Capser kick)

Havre Individual Stats

Passing - Trey Murphy, 4-11 14.

Rushing - Mason Dionne, 15-32; Dawson Kinsella 1-4; Keldon Sullivan 1 (-5); Ethan Roberts, 1 (-7); Trey Murphy, 5 (-22).

Receiving - Ethan Roberts, 1-6; Brady Ophus, 1-5; Tanner Parsons, 1-3.