By Tiffany L. Rehbein
Great athletes. Great football team. Short memory.
These three statements from second year head coach Dan Olson to his Havre Blue Pony football team Friday night just might shape the remainder of the 1999 season.
The Central A Blue Ponies dropped their home and season opener 9-12 to District 2B Glasgow Scotties.
The Blue Ponies got on the score board first at Blue Pony Stadium. Halfway through the second quarter, a Scottie snap over the head of senior quarterback Michael Falcon caused a Glasgow safety, lifting Havre to a 2-0 lead.
But five minutes later a Blue Pony fumble at the line of scrimmage was recovered by Glasgow senior Ryan Rogenes and returned 77 yards for the TD. The extra point attempt failed for the Scotties but they were up 6-2 going into the half.
I just think that our inexperience really showed, Olson said. The kids played hard, but there were three really costly penalties and those just killed us. All three penalties came in the fourth quarter.
The Blue Ponies regained a 9-6 lead late in the third quarter when junior Brent Finneman scampered into the end zone untouched after an 11-play drive. However, a Blue Pony pass interference flag early in the fourth swayed the game momentum.
You have got to hand it to Glasgow, Olson said. They came ready to play.
In a first-and-goal situation with 8:58 remaining in the game, Glasgow senior Nate Molstad caught a diving pass from Falcon to lift the Scotties to a 12-9 lead, their second of the game. Neither team would score again.
Defensively, I think that we played a great game, Olson said. We only gave up a pass play and the touchdown was a great play offensively that they made.
We ran the ball well, Olson continued, we were just not very consistent. He added that he wants his running backs to average more than five yards per carry.
The Blue Pony pass protection broke down at times, causing passing problems for Havre. Early in the second quarter, senior quarterback Ricky Brown suffered back-to-back sacks at the hands of the Glasgow defensive line.
We definitely need to work on a pass protection scheme, Olson said. The biggest thing is we are going to play hard and were going to be competitive, Olson continued about his 1999 Blue Ponies. Theyre never going to give up.
The Blue Ponies, 0-0 in conference play and 0-1 overall, travel to Butte Saturday to play Central A rival Butte Central at 1:30 p.m.
