Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com
Like a pair of prized fighters, Havre and Frenchtown traded punch for punch in the Class A football playoffs Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium. But in the end, it was Frenchtown, not Havre, that struck the knockout blow, as the un-ranked Broncs upset the No. 4 Blue Ponies 12-7, and in doing so advanced to the Class A semifinals for the second straight year. The Ponies held a 7-6 lead at halftime. But an HHS punt gave Frenchtown the football at the Havre 42-yard line late in the third quarter. The Broncs then proceeded to drive the ball 42 yards on five plays, scoring on a nine-yard touchdown run, giving them a 12-7 lead with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter. Unfortunately for Havre, the Colin Dilworth TD run would be the gamewinner. Trailing 12-7, with 5:31 left in the game, the Ponies took over the ball at their own 20 yard-line, needing a touchdown to win. After Havre quarterback Tanner Donovan drove the Ponies to the Broncs’ 42-yard line, he hit Lorren Mack for a 24-yard gain to set Havre up on the Frenchtown 18-yard line. But after two incomplete passes, Donovan’s third pass was deflected by the receiver and intercepted by Beau Nordahl, sealing the victory for the Broncs. “It was disappointing,” HHS head coach Kevin Sukut said. “I think that overall we played a good solid football game. But we just made too many mistakes, and in the end, we didn’t make enough plays to win the game.” Frenchtown struck first in the playoff battle when Nate Lebsock scored on 21-yard touchdown run putting the Broncs up 6-0. The point after attempt was blocked by Kyle Finneman. Lebsock, who played both tailback and quarterback, ran for 158 yards and a touchdown in the win. “Nate is the leader of this team,” Frenchtown head coach Steve Pinsoneault said. “I have been coaching for 22 years and he is as good as any player I have ever coached.” The Ponies did show resolve throughout the game, and in the second quarter they got a break that set up their only score of the game. Beau LaSalle recovered a Frenchtown fumble setting the Ponies up with excellent field position at their own 46-yard line. The Ponies cashed in on the opportunity seven plays later when Mack recovered an Evan Hinebauch fumble in the end zone. After a Todd Roe PAT, the Ponies took a 7-6 lead that stood until the Broncs scored in the third quarter. Frenchtown held the vaunted Havre rushing attack to just 81 yards. Hinebauch was held to just 33 yards on 10 carries and Finneman was also held to just 27 yards on nine carries. “They just completely shut down our running game,” Sukut said. “We knew coming into the game that they were going to try and stack the line of scrimmage to take away the running game. So we attempted to throw the ball a little more. But they just won the battle up front on both sides of the ball and that was a big difference in the outcome of the game.” Donovan completed 11-of-16 passes for 147 yards and one interception in the loss. Mack caught five passes for 61 yards and LaSalle also had three receptions for 51 yards. Frenchtown controlled the football for more than 17 of the 24 minutes in the second half and racked up 204 rushing yards in the victory. “We overcame a big hurdle in this game,” Pinsoneault said. “We have struggled against the pass at times this season and there was definitely some doubt in our minds. It has been our Achilles heel all year long. But we overcame it and made big plays at the end to win the game. I just couldn’t be more proud of this team.” The loss eliminates the Ponies (7-2) from the playoffs after they captured the Central A regular season championship. Frenchtown will move onto the semifinals where the Broncs will host Billings Central on Saturday. “We had a great season,” Donovan said. “I think that this is something all of us will remember for the rest of our lives. At times we faced some adversity and it was disappointing that we couldn’t pull out a win. But it was a blast and something that I will never forget.”
