Blue Ponies host East Helena in Class A opener

The Havre High football team suffered a heartbreaking home loss to end the 2024 regular season.

The 31-27 loss to Lewistown last Friday night at Blue Pony Stadium was a tough pill for the Ponies to swallow. But, the season is far from over, and Havre is quickly moving on.

That's because Friday night at Blue Pony Stadium, Havre comes right back to open its Class A playoff march with a home game against the East Helena Vigilantes. The game will be a rematch from a battle back on Oct. 4 when Havre won at East Helena.

Now, head coach Jake Eldridge's team, which finished fourth in the Eastern A will look to beat the Vigilantes again as stalwarts like Tate Nelson, Tre Gary, Colter Solomon, Gage Chapman and more hope to push the Ponies into the quarterfinals where a road game at top-ranked Frenchtown would await.

Havre's side of the bracket also includes Columbia Falls taking on Corvallis with the winner advancing to face Laurel next week. On the other side of the bracket is Whitefish facing off against Bigfork with Eastern A champion Billings Central getting the winner, while Lewistown battles Miles City with the winner going to Dillon next weekend.

But, before the quarterfinals, the Ponies must vanquish East Helena for a second time this season, and they'll look to use their awesome home field advantage to do just that.

Havre meets East Helena Friday night at Blue Pony Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The winner will travel to Frenchtown next weekend.