Ponies rip Rangers

Things did not always go according to the plan for the Havre High football team in its Central A conference opener against Livingston. But in the end, despite a great effort, the Rangers simply couldn’t hang with the Blue Ponies.

On homecoming night in Livingston on Friday, HHS rallied from an early 20-6 deficit and defeated Livingston 52-27. With the win, the Ponies are now 2-3 overall on the season and 1-0 in conference play. The Rangers fall to 0-5 overall, 0-1 in conference play.

The Ponies entered the game as the heavy favorite but thanks in large part to the return of the Rangers' starting quarterback Cade McOmber, who had been out due to injury since the first game of the season, they fell behind early.

In the first quarter, Livingston struck first when McComber ripped off a 35-yard touchdown run. The Ponies answered with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Dane Warp to Jase Kato, which tied the score up at 6-6. But, the Rangers answered quickly on an electrifying 65-yard touchdown run by McOmber to give Livingston a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Then, in the second quarter, Livingston scored again on a 35-yard rushing touchdown by Bobby Emter to take a surprising 20-6 advantage.

“We came out a little bit flat,” HHS head coach Jason Christenson said. “We didn’t travel well and weren’t really prepared to play which is my fault. As coaches we need to make sure the kids are ready to play and we didn’t do that. But we were able to make some adjustments and got some things going in the second half.”

Down two touchdowns, All-State quarterback Dane Warp and the Ponies responded. The rally started when Dane Warp hit his brother, Isaac Warp for a 33-yard touchdown pass. Then, Dane Warp would find Parker Filius for a 34-yard touchdown pass, and finally as it closed in on halftime, he found Jacob Labrie for a 54-yard touchdown which gave Havre a 26-20 halftime lead.

Despite losing a double-digit lead, Livingston refused to throw in the towel and found the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run by Dan Holdorf to go ahead 27-26 in the third quarter.

That’s when the Havre offense exploded.

In a display of impressive efficiency, the Pony offense dominated the rest of the game, scoring touchdowns on four consecutive drives to put the game away. It started when Dane Warp found Isaac Warp for another touchdown to give Havre a 32-27 lead at the end of the third quarter.

On Havre’s ensuing possession early in the fourth, Dane Warp helped give Havre some breathing room as he found Filius for a 14-yard touchdown to put the Ponies ahead 40-27. Then, a pair of rushing touchdowns by Jase Stokes and Filius, respectively gave Havre a 52-27 lead and put the game on ice.

Warp was stellar in the win for the Ponies, competing 21-of-26 passes for 345 yards and six touchdowns. Isaac Warp also played an integral role in the big night for the Havre offense with six receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

“You can’t argue with completing 21 of 26 passes,” Christenson said of Warp’s play. “He did a great job. For the most part the o-line did a good job of blocking for him and after that first half, his reads were there and were there quick and he did a good job of getting the ball out.”

Filius also had a big night for the Ponies, finishing with 76 yards receiving on four receptions in addition to 41 yards rushing and three total touchdowns. Stokes rushed for 54 yards and had 33 yards receiving.

For the second week in a row, the Ponies were able to establish a running game behind Filius and Stokes, providing balance and helping to spark an offense that has averaged 46 points in the last two games as opposed to 15 points a game through the first three games of the season.

“Having the running game this year is a luxury we haven’t had in the past,” Christenson said. “It takes some pressure off of Dane and opens things up in the passing game. Right now we are running the ball hard and when that happens it’s easy to get the ball in (our running backs’) hands.”

Defensively, the Ponies were led by Stokes, who was a tackling machine against the Rangers and finished with a team-high 12. Rueben Stewart added nine tackles as did Jace Billy. Gunner Aageson also contributed with six tackles and one sack for HHS.

The win was key for Havre in terms of the playoff race and sets up a Central A showdown this week with Belgrade. The Panthers will invade Blue Pony Stadium this Friday night in a game that could determine the champion of the Central A. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

Havre 52, Livingston 27

Havre 6 20 6 20 -- 52

Livingston 13 7 7 0 -- 27

L – Cade McOmber 35 run (pat failed)

H – Jase Kato 7 pass from Dane Warp (pat failed)

L – McOmber 58 run (James Murie kick)

L – Bobby Emter 35 run (Murie kick)

H – Isaac Warp 33 pass from D. Warp (pat failed)

H – Parker Filius 34 pass from D. Warp (Filius pass from D. Warp)

H – Jake Labrie 54 pass from D. Warp (pat failed)

L – Dan Holdorf 1 run (Murie kick)

H – I. Warp 9 pass from D. Warp (pat failed)

H – Filius 15 pass from D. Warp (Lavrie pass from D. Warp)

H – Jase Stokes 35 run (pat failed)

H – Filius 13 run (pat failed)

Havre Individual Statistics

Passing – Dane Warp, 21-26-345.

Rushing – Jase Stokes, 4-54. Parker Filius 5-41, Dane Warp 10-22, Kody Pribyl 2-22.

Receiving – Isaac Warp 6-121, Parker Filius 4-76, Jacob Labrie 4-74, Jase Stokes 3-38, Jase Kato 2-26, Kody Pribyl 1-10, Nate Korb 1-7.