Blue Ponies stifled by Lewistown in home opener

Excitement was in the air Friday night as local football fans finally got to watch the Havre High football team play this fall. At Blue Pony Stadium, the Blue Ponies hosted their home opener against their rival Lewistown as both teams looked to move to 2-0 on the young season. Unfortunately for the Ponies, the Golden Eagles took an early lead and never looked back en route to a 24-7 victory over the Ponies.

"We didn't play well enough but that's a very good football team," HHS head coach Jake Eldridge said. "We just got to get better all the way around from top to bottom. Techniques got to be better. I thought the effort was there, the kids played really hard and they stuck together. They didn't quit so I'm definitely proud of them for that."

The Lewistown defense played well as the Ponies could not score in the first three quarters of the game. By the time the Ponies got on the scoreboard, the Eagles already had a 24-0 lead in the fourth quarter.

"Their front seven on the defensive side of the ball is very good," Eldridge said. "It made it tough for us to be able to run the ball and then when we get into some passing situations, they can pin their ears back and get after you."

On offense, the Eagles set the tone early with their first drive. The Ponies had several chances to stop them, but mistakes got in the way. On a third down and five, it looked like the Ponies forced an incompletion. But a defensive holding gave the Eagles a first down. After working their way into Havre territory, the Eagles failed to convert a third down. But on fourth and four, an offsides on the Ponies handed the Eagles another first down.

"It's just procedural stuff. We just got to be better with understanding those mental mistakes," Eldridge said about the penalties.

A few plays later, Jett Boyce carried the ball to the Havre ten-yard line for a first and goal. A few moments later on second and goal at the six-yard line, Lewistown quarterback Gage Norslien rolled right and found Matt Golik for a touchdown to give Lewistown a 7-0 lead with 7:06 left in the opening quarter.

The Ponies tried to respond on their opening drive. After two plays with no gain, a facemask penalty on third down extended the drive for Havre. But the drive ended with Kale Van Campen throwing an interception to Greysen Arndt over the middle.

After Arndt returned the pick deep into Havre territory, back-to-back runs by the Eagles got the ball to the Havre two-yard line. But the Ponies stiffened up as they kept three straight runs out of the endzone. Then on fourth down, the Ponies sacked Norslien to give the ball back to the offense.

"It's just the resiliency of this group," Eldridge said. "Once they got their backs up against the wall, they really buckled down and they got after it."

But penalties continued to hurt the Ponies, this time on offense. A false start and a delay of game back-to-back made it first and 20 for the Ponies. They were unable to overcome these mistakes as they punted the ball back to the Eagles.

The Eagles then made mistakes of their own to put themselves in a third and 30. However, Norslien found one-on-one coverage deep down the left sideline as he connected with Royce Robinson for a first down.

The Eagles continued to move the ball down the field to the Havre six-yard line. But after an offensive holding call and back-to-back incompletions, the Eagles settled for a 30-yard field goal from Kieran Netburn. Lewistown now led, 10-0, with 8:08 left in the half.

On their next drive, the Ponies finally found some momentum on offense. Van Campen was able to move the ball with his legs, including a conversion on a third down early in the drive. He then connected with wide receiver Tre Gary for a couple of first downs.

But after working its way to the Lewistown 26-yard line, the offense stalled. After two short runs and an incompletion, the Ponies went for it on fourth and one. But Crawford Terry's carry ended before the line to gain and the ball went back to Lewistown.

After Lewistown punted the ball back to them, the Ponies started their next drive in Lewistown territory. But they were unable to gain much traction. On fourth and six with seconds left in the half, Van Campen's pass down the left sideline went incomplete. The Eagles then ran two plays to end the half.

The Ponies went three and out to start the second half, so the Eagles got the ball back early in the third quarter. Norslien completed three straight passes to get the Eagles deep into Havre territory. He then ran the ball himself for a 32-yard run down to the Havre two-yard line. He then kept it again for the two-yard score to give Lewistown a firm 17-0 lead with 8:22 left in the third.

Another three and out by the Ponies quickly put the Lewistown offense back on the field. After several runs to get to the Havre 40-yard line, Boyce ran the ball himself to the eight-yard line to make it first and goal.

The Havre defense tried to keep the game close with another goal-line stand. Things looked promising with an offensive foul pushing the Eagles back. But after a short run, Norslien found Netburn down the middle for gain to the ten-yard line. On third and goal, Norslien rolled to his left and found Arndt in the back of the endzone for a touchdown. An extra point then gave Lewistown a 24-0 lead with 3:12 in the quarter.

The Ponies did find some luck late in the third quarter. After they punted, the Eagles muffed the punt and the Ponies recovered to get the ball back. But even after getting the ball into Lewistown territory, the Ponies failed to convert on another fourth down attempt.

After a Lewistown punt, the Ponies started in Lewistown territory. But this time, they did not squander the opportunity. On third and six, Van Campen connected with Gary for a first down conversion. After an offensive holding call pushed Havre back, Van Campen found Hunter Sawdey deep down the right sideline for a 38-yard touchdown.

"We just settled in a little bit there," Eldridge said about the late push on offense. "We started to be able to handle their defensive line a little bit when they made their subs."

An extra point from Trayden Riley cut Havre's deficit to 24-7 with 7:36 left in the game. After another Lewistown punt, the Ponies put together another strong drive down to the Lewistown two-yard line. But on fourth and goal, Van Campen's pass went incomplete. The Eagles then ran out the clock to end the game.

The loss dropped the Ponies to 1-1 in their first two games under Eldridge as their head coach. While a loss in the first home game of the year is sure to be disappointing, Eldridge hopes to use it as a learning experience as the Ponies head into the rest of the season.

"It's a long season so we got a lot of games ahead of us," Eldridge said. "We're obviously not at our best right now so if we can continue to improve like I want us to, I think you'll see a lot of improvement by the end of the year."

HHS football will next play next Friday at 6 p.m. on the road against Hardin.

Lewistown 24, Havre 7

LEW - 7 3 14 0 - 24

HAV - 0 0 0 7 - 7

LEW - Matt Golik 6 pass from Gage Norslien (Kieran Netburn kick)

LEW - Netburn 30 FG

LEW - Norslien 3 run (Netburn kick)

LEW - Greysen Arndt 10 pass from Norslien (Netburn kick)

HAV - Hunter Sawdey 38 pass from Kale Van Campen (Trayden Riley kick)