Bedeviled: Glendive holds off Havre on homecoming

The Havre High football team was in desperate need of a win Friday against Glendive, but in the end the Blue Ponies came up one play short.

Facing a 15-7 deficit with just over five minutes left on the clock, the Ponies drove the length of the field and when Reese Bulkley connected with Mason Dionne in the end zone with 37 seconds left, the Red Devil lead was down to 15-13.

Yet, needing two points to tie the game, Bulkley’s pass fell incomplete and Glendive was able to run out the clock to wrap up a 15-13 win on Havre’s homecoming night at Blue Pony Stadium.

“It was a tough loss,” HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. “Our players fought hard all the way to the end. We thought we would have an opportunity to pull that one out. We knew it was going to be a close game and would come down to a couple of things that would either go for us or against us.”

Early on, the Ponies seemed in control of the game. Havre opened with a fumble on its opening possession, but after a Glendive punt, the Ponies drove 80 yards in 10 plays and found the end zone on a five-yard run by Dionne. The drive featured two critical third-down conversions. On a third-and-five, Bulkley hit Dionne for 22 yards and later, Dionne converted a third-and-three with a four-yard run, which set up the touchdown run two plays later.

Havre took its 7-0 advantage into the second quarter but after getting pinned deep in its own territory, a bad snap on a punt led to a safety and got Glendive on the board with two points, making the score 7-2 in favor of HHS.

Unfortunately for the Ponies, it wouldn’t stay that way for long. On the ensuing drive, the Red Devils were looking at a fourth-and-goal from the Havre 26-yard line. Quarterback Kade Hellman heaved a pass to the end zone and it was complete for a score, putting Glendive in front 8-7.

“One thing we look at is the turnovers,” Gatch said. “We had a couple of fumbles and had the safety in the end zone which led to two points. We knocked the ball out a couple of times when they had it, we just couldn’t recover it. It’s the same conversation we have had. We are playing hard and we are playing good, we just need to finish it.”

Still trailing 8-7, the Ponies nearly scored on a hail mary to end the first half, as Dionne moved over to quarterback for a play and completed a pass to Ethan Roberts at the 15-yard line. As he was getting tackled, he lateralled the ball to Hunter Lovenguth, but he was tackled short of the end zone, keeping the score 8-7 at the half.

In the third quarter, Glendive added to its lead as Diesel Williamson scored on a 34-yard touchdown run, putting the Red Devils in front 15-6 with 7:14 left in the third quarter.

“They started getting us with some counter stuff,” Gatch said. “They did a good job, we just missed some tackles.”

Havre tried to tie the game but on four straight possessions in the second half, the Pony offense was stymied. That’s until they took over with 5:20 left in the game. Still down eight and facing a third-and-eight, Bulkley hit Roberts for 13 yards. Soon though, Havre was down to its final down, as it had fourth-and-five on their own 40 with 4:17 left in the game.

Knowing it was a critical play, Gatch called a timeout and dialed up a half-back pass again, but this time the target was Bulkley and, once again, Dionne was on target hitting Bulkley for 31 yards. Bulkley gave the Ponies another first down on a scamper down the sideline, then three plays later, he found Dionne for a touchdown that cut the lead to 15-13, giving HHS the chance to tie that ultimately failed.

“We know we have a couple of things dialed up,” Gatch said. “Mason’s throw was a special situational play that we have. Some people call them gadget plays. We did a good job executing that one and we used our two-point play to get the touchdown. We felt confident getting the two but we just missed it. I didn’t see what happened.”

When the game was over, Havre outgained Glendive 246-239. Bulkley was solid, completing 10-of-18 throws for 100 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Dionne, Havre’s starting running back was exceptional. He rushed 22 times for 93 yards and a score, while also completing two passes for 56 yards and catching two others for 28. He also had a receiving touchdown. Roberts caught six passes for 46 yards and also led Havre in tackles with six.

The Ponies (1-4) will hit the road this Saturday to take on Sidney. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.

Glendive 15, Blue Ponies 13

HAV - Mason Dionne 5 run (PAT Good)

GLE - Safety

GLE - Kade Hellman 26 pass to Deckert (PAT no good)

GLE - Diesel Williamson 34 run (PAT Good)

HAV - Dionne 7 pass from Bulkley (Conversion no good)

Havre stats

Passing - Reese Bulkley 10-18 100, Mason Dionne 2-2 56.

Rushing - Mason Dionne 22-93, Reese Bulkley 11-18, Kellen Detrick 3-9.

Receiving - Ethan Roberts 6-46, Mason Dionne 2-28, Reese Bulkley 1-26, Kellen Detrick 2-21, Hunter Lovenguth 1-5.