Ponies take care of East Helena, advance to quarterfinals

The Havre High football team is once again moving on.

Friday night at Blue Pony Stadium, the Ponies crushed East Helena 42-19 in the first round of the Class A playoffs. The win pushed Havre into the quarterfinals where the Ponies will travel to No. 1 seed Frenchtown this weekend.

Despite trailing 7-0 early on, Havre was dominant for much of the game. After a Pierce Caplette interception, the Ponies got on the board with the first of four Tate Nelson touchdowns. Griffin Terry added a three-year TD run later to give Havre a 14-7 lead, and the Ponies would go on to lead 21-13 as Nelson caught a 23-yard pass from Terry.

Terry would also throw a short TD pass to Tre Gary that put Havre up 28-13, and the Ponies cruised from there, as Nelson capped the exciting win with a 65 yard TD run late in the fourth.

Nelson was the offensive catalyst for an HHS team that racked up over 400 yards. He rushed 29 times for 203 yards, while Terry threw for nearly 100.

The Pony defense also forced two turnovers and got plenty of key stops against an East Helena team making its first-ever playoff appearance.

Now, Havre will travel to Frenchtown this Saturday to face the undefeated Broncs, who are the top seed from the Western A. Kickoff in Frenchtown is set for 1 p.m.