Blue Ponies ready for road trip to Glendive

The Havre High football team is already a third of the way through the regular season and a break will not come this weekend. Tonight on the road, the Blue Ponies will have to travel east to face Glendive in a conference game. As the Ponies head into enemy territory, HHS head coach Jake Eldridge expects a battle in week four.

"It's going to be a really competitive game between two good football teams," Eldridge said. "They have some really good football players, they have some great skill players, their offensive line and defensive line have a lot of big, physical guys so it's going to be a great, competitive game."

The Red Devils enter the game with a 1-2 record this season and are coming off a 21-14 loss to Lockwood this past weekend. Last season when Havre and Glendive met up on the Hi-Line, the Ponies defeated the Devils, 26-12. But the Ponies should not take the Devils lightly, especially with the skill players on their roster.

Quarterback Carter Amsler will look to lead the Glendive offense to success while dynamic player Chase Crockett should get snaps at wide receiver, running back or even both tonight. The Ponies will also have to keep an eye out on skill players such as wide receiver Kohbe Smith and tight end Teagan Wahl.

"Those guys are going to be tough to deal with and then their offensive line is very stout and formidable," Eldridge said about the Glendive offense. "So our hands are going to be full with those guys."

The Ponies head into the game with a 2-1 record and are coming off a 36-18 home victory over the Miles City Cowboys this past weekend. If the Ponies want to stay hot this weekend, their best players will have to continue playing well.

The Havre rushing attack will be led by Tate Nelson, who has 300 yards and three touchdowns on 5.1 yards a carry this season. In the passing game, quarterback Ciaran Courtnage is off to a strong start completing 65 percent of his passes for 482 yards and five touchdowns. His favorite target so far has been Carson Harris, who has nine catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns this year. But if the offense is really going to get rolling tonight, the offensive line will need to dominate.

"Our offensive line has got to be able to hold the line of scrimmage and we have to do better in pass protection," Eldridge said. "I think controlling the line of scrimmage is going to be huge."

Both of the Ponies' wins this year have been at home while their lone loss has come on the road. With another long-road trip this weekend, the Ponies will have their fair share of adversity. However, Eldridge believes the Ponies understand the challenge at hand and will be more than ready.

"We have to go on the road and we have to play well on the road, which means we have to step up and be able to play four quarters," Eldridge said. "We have to be able to overcome adversity and really just play together as a team and I think the guys understand that. We traditionally travel pretty well so I expect the same thing this weekend."

The HHS football team will play Glendive on the road tonight at 7 p.m.