Ponies look to rebound against Bulldogs

When it comes to the Havre High football schedule, the conference games have always been the ones that matter most. Yet, after a season-opening loss to Whitefish a week ago, as far as non-conference games go, the one tonight against Hardin is pretty important.

The Ponies, who fell 44-12 last Saturday to Whitefish, will take the field tonight looking for redemption against Eastern A foe Hardin, which will invade Blue Pony Stadium for a kickoff at 7.

"This game is very important," HHS head coach Mark Samson said. "Last week was a non-conference game, so the loss doesn't really hurt as bad as a conference loss would, but right now we need to get a win and get some confidence. Last week, some of our guys were hanging their heads a bit. But, Whitefish is a really good football team, and we know that we can play a lot better than we did last Saturday."

The Ponies, who will also play Sidney and Miles City from the Eastern A in non-conference action this season, welcome the Bulldogs to town in their first meeting in a long time between the two schools.

Last season, the Bulldogs were winless on the year, going 0-8 overall and 0-5 in the challenging Eastern A. This year, it's hard to know what to expect from the Bulldogs, who do possess some athleticism and will be looking to run the football with both their backs and their quarterback.

"We don't really know a whole lot about Hardin," Samson said. "We have one game of film on them from last season, but we know that they have some good athletes. Their quarterback is pretty athletic and they are going to try and run the football with him."

For Havre, stopping the run will be a big key as the defense surrendered more than 300 yards rushing to the Bulldogs a week ago, including over 100 yards each to Whitefish quarterback Luke May and running back Chris Park.

That will need to change in a hurry for the Ponies if they want to stop teams from copying what Whitefish was so successful at — playing keep-away from Dane Warp.

"Our defensive front really needs to step up," Samson said. "They got pushed around a bit against Whitefish, but we made a couple of adjustments and I think you will see them play a lot better this week. We just have to do a better job against the run, we can't let teams run the ball against us the way Whitefish did."

While the Havre defense will be focused on stopping the run, the Havre offense is going to be focused on getting the running game going. Last week against Whitefish, the Ponies managed less than 50 yards rushing, which is something Samson said has to improve.

"We need to do a better job of running the ball," Samson said. "We need to take some of the pressure off our quarterback and we just need to do a better job up front."

Havre relies heavily on junior Jase Stokes in the backfield, but Samson said that All-State wide receiver Parker Filius could also see some carries this week, as could sophomore Jazz Schroeder.

If Havre is able to get something going on the ground, it will make things that much easier for Warp, the Ponies' three-time All-State quarterback, who comes into the Hardin game chasing a pair of Montana high school passing records.

If Warp, who has averaged more than 270 yards passing per game throughout his career, can pass for 282 yards tonight, he will become the state's all-time leader in passing yards. And if he tosses three touchdowns, he will also hold the distinction of being the MHSA's all-time leader in touchdown passes as well.

Unfortunately for Warp, he will be without all of his targets against the Bulldogs, as his brother, Isaac Warp will miss the game after suffering an injury against Whitefish. But, Warp will still have Filius and Nate Rismon, who caught four passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns a week ago, as well as Nate Korb, Ivar Aageson, Logan Pleninger and Jacob LaBrie to throw to as he attempts to make Montana high school football history.

Record breaking aside, Samson knows that the Ponies are better than they showed against Whitefish and he believes that this week, his football team will be eager to prove it.

"I think these guys recognize that they didn't play their best last week," Samson said. "I think they realized it even more when we came in and watched the film. But, we have had a pretty good week of practice, I like where we're at and I think we are going to play well."

The Ponies and Bulldogs will get things started at 7 inside Blue Pony Stadium. The Ponies are on the road next Saturday at Miles City.

Tonight at 7 p.m.

Blue Pony Stadium

Radio: 610 KOJM AM