Blue Pony football looks to rebound in return home

Following a shutout loss to rival Lewistown last weekend, the Havre High football team does not get it much easier when they host Hardin tonight at Blue Pony Stadium. As the Blue Ponies try to get back in the win column, HHS head coach Ryan Gatch looks forward to getting on the field again.

"Every day we're blessed to be able to play the game of football so that's what I look forward to the most," Gatch said. "You get an opportunity to go out and be with the guys and represent our town and our community."

Havre is 1-1 this season with a win over Sidney and a loss to Lewistown. Hardin enters the game with an 0-2 record after losing games to Miles City and Glendive. However, Gatch believes the Bulldogs' rushing attack can give the Ponies some problems tonight.

"Big physical offensive line that gets after it and is going to cause a lot of problems. We've haven't seen a rushing attack like this yet this year," Gatch said.

Hardin's offensive line will be led by Dante Pallone and Carson Old Bull. Last fall, Pallone was second-team all-conference and Old Bull was an honorable mention. If the Bulldogs decide to go away from their running game and decide to throw the ball, they will have former second-team all-conference tight end Tristan Refield to throw to.

If Havre's defense is going to stop Hardin's ground game, they will need to stiffen up on third and fourth down. In their loss to Lewistown, the Golden Eagles converted several fourth downs to keep drives going so that was a focus for Gatch and his coaching staff this week of practice.

"We're looking to bolster our defense up on third and fourth down to give us a better opportunity to get the ball back for our offense," Gatch said.

After not scoring any points last week, the HHS offense needs to put more drives together tonight. Against Lewistown, when the Ponies did get some solid drives, they were thwarted by costly holding penalties and turnovers so that was another focus at practice this week.

"We can't afford to set ourselves off with unforced penalties," Gatch said. "They're doing a good job this week. We've been real focused as the week of progression has been going."

If Havre is going to put up some points tonight, they will need to get past some of Hardin's best defenders. Pallone will play defensive line for the Bulldogs after being named second-team all-conference defense at the position last fall. The Ponies will also need to slow down outside linebacker Xander Red Star who was also second-team all-conference defense last season.

Unlike several of their games this season, Havre will not be looking for revenge against Hardin. Instead, they will hope for a repeat of last fall where they defeated the Bulldogs, 26-14. If they are going to pull out another win over Hardin and get back to a winning record, Gatch believes the Ponies just need to avoid mistakes.

"We got to play together. Anytime you have a turnover or you have poor field position, that costs you in the game," Gatch said. "As we progress and we get better, we look to cut back the number of times we have unforced errors and we have turnovers so I look forward to seeing that improvement in the stat category."

HHS football will play Hardin tonight at 6 p.m. at Blue Pony Stadium.