Pony boys looking to climb the Eastern A ladder

Preparing for any season is a tough task for any coach, but Havre High boys basketball head coach Walynn Burgess will have an especially challenging task this winter as he tries to replace the loss of five seniors from last season.

But Burgess looks forward to this season and hopes that his team will be up to the task.

"(We hope to be) getting better every game," Burgess said about his expectations for this season. "We're just really excited about the opportunities that are going to be in front of us."

The Blue Ponies are hoping to build off of last year when they went 9-6 and were eliminated in the the third game of the Eastern A Divisionals. However, the Ponies lost five seniors including all-conference players such as Kellen Detrick Jr., Josh Warp, Clint Owens and Nolan Lotton. But they do return several players from last year such as Josh Currie, Caden Jenkins, Isaac Pedraza, Xavier Butler and Crawford Terry. Other upperclassmen on the team this season include senior Caleb Spangler and junior Domitri Standing Rock.

The Ponies also have a few underclassmen this season such as sophomores Carter Spangler and Shane Patacsil, as well as freshman Jevin Jenkins.

While he has a young team this winter, Burgess expects his older players to lead them this winter.

"(We'll) be the unit. Be the family. That's going to be big for us," Burgess said. "We're going to be a solid team. That's going to help us out on offense and that's going to help us with our defense."

The Ponies will need to grow if they are going to make it through their schedule. The Ponies will play their first two games on the road this season starting with a game at Laurel tonight before heading to Malta next Tuesday.

The Ponies will have their home opener Dec. 11 against vaunted Billings Central, a team that they lost to in the Eastern A Divisionals last year. Other rematches the Ponies should look forward to are their games against Hardin Jan. 8 and Feb. 5. Last season, the Ponies' season came to an end with a 62-55 loss to Hardin in the Eastern A Divisionals.

Havre also comes into the season as the defending Northeast A Conference champions, and competing with Lewistown, Glendive and Miles City in the conference will be big again this year.

Over the course of the season, the Ponies will host and play at divisional rivals such as Glendive, Sidney, Miles City and Lewistown. Burgess looks forward to the neutral site game against Lewistown at the Metra in Billings Jan. 29. Havre's final home game will come against Browning Feb. 10 before ending the regular season at Fairfield Feb. 11. The Eastern A Divisionals will begin in Billings Feb. 23 and the state tournament will begin in Missoula March 10.

With a tough schedule ahead and a young team heading into this season, Burgess will need to make sure both the Ponies offense and defense are in tip-top shape once they finally get on the court.

"(We're) making sure our motion offense is off the bar. Make sure our defense is our number one key," Burgess said. "We're really trying to harp on that and try and get better at that this year. That's a big emphasis for us."

The Blue Ponies will open their season tonight when they travel to Laurel to take on the Locomotives.