Blue Ponies wrangle Rangers

The Havre High football team has struggled to win on the road the past couple of seasons. But Friday night in Livingston, the Blue Ponies exorcised their demons.

Friday night, Havre played with plenty of urgency and knocked off Livingston 27-16. The victory officially knocked the Rangers out of playoff contention and improved Havre’s record to 2-6.

“It felt good,” HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. “We always talk about being able to win on the road if we want to have a championship-level program and so it was good for us to go out there and do that. It was an emotional environment because it was their senior night and I was really proud of our kids for coming out and matching that level of excitement.”

Livingston struck first in the battle of old Central A rivals and after a Jack Waddell touchdown run and a two-point conversion, the Rangers led 8-0 in the second quarter after each team was held scoreless in the opening stanza. While the Rangers grabbed the lead, the rest of the second quarter belonged to Mason Dionne and the Ponies.

Dionne trimmed the deficit to one point at 8-7, following a five-yard touchdown run. Then, the Ponies went back into their bag of tricks and pulled out the half-back pass, which has been effective for Havre all season long. Coming in, Dionne had completed seven passes so far this season and his eighth completion went to starting quarterback Reese Bulkley for a 37-yard touchdown, putting HHS in front 14-8 at halftime.

“Mason he had a really great football game,” Gatch said. “He did a great job running the football. He even threw a touchdown to Reese.”

Livingston quarterback John Waddell put the Rangers back in front in the third quarter, thanks to a 22-yard touchdown pass. Another two-point conversion put Livingston ahead 16-14. Still trailing by two points in the fourth quarter, Bulkley connected with Orion Thivierge caught for a 19-yard completion on a key third down, which helped set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Dionne. Havre missed the extra point, but still led 20-16.

Later in the fourth quarter, in need of a little insurance, the Ponies again turned to Dionne, who ran all over the Rangers, on his way to racking up 215 total yards from scrimmage. When he scored from five yards out, it sealed the 11-point win for the Ponies, their first in six outings.

“We came out and we were able to throw the ball,” Gatch said. “And that helped open things up for our running game.”

Ethan Roberts also returned after missing two games due to injury and he made his presence felt with six catches for 80 yards. Dionne, who ran the ball 31 times for 197 yards and three touchdowns, also caught three passes for 18 yards. Bulkley was also solid, completing 10-of-17 passes for 117 yards. He didn’t throw any touchdowns or interceptions but did notch a 33-yard completion to Roberts.

Havre had a strong outing offensively, racking up 387 yards, yet the defense was on point, too, allowing the Rangers to muster just 202 yards of offense when it was all said and done. The Ponies also out-gained Livingston on the ground 229 to six.

Thivierge led the Ponies with 11 stops total and two tackles for loss in the win, while Quinn Springer also had a big night for HHS, notching three tackles, two sacks and a tackle for loss. As a team, Havre also played a clean game with zero turnovers and just two penalties.

“We talk about being 1-0 each week,” Gatch said. “And if we are going to have a chance to do that, we have to play well on the road and we did that this week.”

The Ponies (2-6) will wrap up their season Friday night at home against Miles City. Kickoff inside Blue Pony Stadium will be set for 6 p.m.

Havre 27, Livingston 16

Havre 0 14 0 13 - 27

Liv - 0 8 8 0 - 16

Livingston - Jack Waddell 3 run (Conversion good)

Havre - Mason Dionne 5 run (Kick good)

Havre - Reese Bulkley 37 pass from Dionne (Kick good)

Livingston - W. Hanson 21 pass from John Waddell (Conversion good)

Havre - Dionne 12 run (Conversion failed)

Havre - Dionne 3 run (Kick good)