Biting Back: Ponies beat the Bulldogs

The first quarter once again started out with a stalemate on both sides of the ball. Havre and Hardin both could not find the endzone at first, meeting with offensive stalls and defensive stands. But the Ponies did find some luck when the second quarter came around.

As the Bulldogs were marching down the field, a Hardin pass found the hands of junior defender Orion Thivierge, who would make a big defensive play by racing 43 yards to the endzone for a pick-six and the lead.

Thivierge was not done, though, as he would add on a 15-yard rushing touchdown, combined with an endzone interception by senior Joey Byrd, to put the Ponies in the lead 14-0 at halftime.

As the game went on, Gatch was once again moved by the home-crowd and community's energy, which reflected on the field.

"It was a well-earned victory for our players," Gatch said. "It was a lot of fun to have the home crowd there, and it was great that our school board allowed us to go out and play. Our admin staff worked tirelessly to make sure our game went off without any hitches. It was that Hardin came to town and they played well too. They played the ball real well against us. There was a lot of emotions in the game,"

After the break, Hardin would be the first to strike after a revenge-pick-six that was returned for a big 62-yard defensive score by the Bulldogs. HHS held on despite the score, with Thivierge using his legs to put up a four-yard rushing touchdown in the third, followed by a 20-yard run to the endzone in the fourth quarter to seal the game. Hardin put up a two-yard passing touchdown toward the end of the battle.

Thivierge ended Friday night with 102 rushing yards on 11 carries and 26 receiving yards on two grabs. Thivierge had a monster day on the defensive side of the ball, too, racking up eight tackles, five assists, one sack and three tackles-for-loss, making his all-around strong game versus the Bulldogs something Gatch was proud to see.

"We had a really good performance from Orion, man," Gatch said. "He came out and lit it up on offense and defense. He ran the ball real well, caught a couple passes and played lights out on defense. He had three rushing touchdowns and a pick-six. He took over the game. It was a lot of fun to see him do all that."

Carson Lunak was on fire under the lights, as well, powering forward to get two tackles, two assists, one sack and one tackle-for-loss to help the Blue Pony defense shine. Kellen Detrick rushed for 89 yards on 11 carries and Crawford Terry put up 35 yards on 11 carries, making the 11 carries a consistent stat between three different players against Hardin.

A win for the Ponies (1-4) feels great, but Havre will have to buckle down for another tough challenge in Sidney against the Sidney Eagles Friday at 6 p.m. to begin the closing two weeks of the 2020 season.

Blue Ponies 26, Hardin 12

Havre 0 14 6 6 – 26

Hardin 0 0 6 6 – 12

HAV – Orion Thivierge 43 interception (PAT good)

HAV – Thivierge 15 run (PAT good)

HAR – 62 interception (PAT no good)

HAV – Thivierge 4 run (PAT no good)

HAV – Thivierge 20 run (PAT no good)

HAR – 2 pass (CNV no good)

Passing – Trenton Maloughney 5-10-75.

Rushing – Orion Thivierge 11-102, Kellen Detrick 11-89, Crawford Terry 11-35, Bradyn Winchell 1-6, Trenton Maloughney 4-(-5).

Receiving – Kellen Detrick 3-49, Orion Thivierge 2-26.