Ponies get ready with Blue/White Day

The regular season is right around the corner for both the Havre High football and volleyball teams, and this past Saturday, both teams got their first competitive action of 2018 as each team held its respective Blue-White scrimmage.

The Blue Pony volleyball team started off Blue-White day with a scrimmage held at the HHS gymnasium. Later in the day, the Blue Pony football team also scrimmaged for around an hour at Blue Pony Stadium.

Of course, when it came to the football game, one of the big questions coming in was surrounding the quarterback position. Following the graduation of last year's starter Trey Murphy, the Ponies come into the season without an experienced starter. However, junior Reese Bulkley got the call with the first group Saturday night and performed admirably, leading three scoring drives, including one drive that finished with Bulkley hitting Ethan Roberts for a five-yard touchdown pass.

"Reese did a nice job," HHS head football coach Ryan Gatch said. "He has done a nice job for us throughout camp. He did some good things. I think he does a nice job of commanding the offense and he has the respect of his teammates, too. I thought that he got the ball out quick and for a guy that hasn't played quarterback before, he has done a nice job."

Bulkley played wide receiver previously for the Ponies and is still listed on the roster as a quarterback/wide receiver. He's also not the only quarterback who saw action Saturday, although one of the other starting quarterback candidates, Hunter Lovenguth, was unable to play. He missed the game due to an excused absence. Freshman Trenton Maloughney led the second group offensively. The other quarterback that saw snaps for the Ponies was Joey Byrd.

Yet, the biggest plays in the game from Roberts and junior running back Mason Dionne. Roberts scored a 40-yard touchdown early in the scrimmage, the first of two touchdowns on the night, while Dionne made a series of eye-opening runs. The most impressive was a 70-yard touchdown run. He followed that up with another run of over 40 yards that set up Bulkley's touchdown pass to Roberts.

"We executed with our first group and that's what we wanted to see," Gatch said. "We like our first group, but our other guys are even younger than those guys, so there were a lot of learning reps, but it was good for those guys to get those opportunities. Overall, the impression was good. I thought we went out there and got after it. That was good."

The defense gave up some big plays, especially to Roberts and Dionne. However, Gatch pointed out that the Ponies didn't use their first-team defense together at all during the hour-long scrimmage. He also gave Roberts and Dionne their due.

"They are both really good football players," Gatch said. "We knew they were good last season, but that experience and the work they have put in during the offseason has really helped them take that next step."

Earlier Saturday, the volleyball team also battled it out for a few sets with the squad of Cassidy Acor, Sam Oliver, Sydney Wilting, Kinsey Atkins and Devyn Huebsch taking a couple sets from the other squad, including the final set 25-17. The other team featured Kadyn Acor, Jessa Chvilicek, Katelyn Maloughney and Savannah Dawson, who will all see time with the varsity squad this season.

"I thought it went pretty well," HHS head volleyball coach Tamecia Jarvis said. "We just need to make sure that we keep our heads and are playing as a team. When things go wrong, we have a hard time coming back after that and that's something we need to work on."

The volleyball team will host the Eastern A Tip-Off tournament this Friday and Saturday at the HHS gymnasium. The football team will also be home this week, hosting Hardin Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.