Eagles leave Blue Ponies still searching

Turnovers always find a way to impact a football game, especially late, and when playing from behind. That was the case on Friday night on the road, as the Havre High football team dropped to 0-2-1 on the season.

In another non-conference matchup, the Central A Ponies faced their second consecutive Eastern A opponent. And after a 6-6 tie with the Miles City Cowboys last weekend, it was the Sidney Eagles who disappointed the Ponies’ weekend Friday night in Sidney. The Eagles defeated the Ponies 14-7 and improved to 3-0 on the season.

“They (Eagles) run their offense very well, and that is what they do is run the ball,” Havre High head coach Jason Christenson said. “They executed very well, and again, I think it was our mistakes that really hurt us. They also ate up a lot of the clock, but we made some adjustments on defense and in the second half I think we came out and nearly shut them out.”

Late in the fourth quarter the Ponies had their opportunities to change the outcome of the game, but mistakes proved crucial.

Sidney held steady with a 14-7 lead. The Eagles’ second score came after the Ponies dropped a punt in the red zone, but the Sidney offense faltered late in the fourth quarter and set the Ponies up for a comeback opportunity. The Eagles were marching down the field and looked poised to extend the lead, but an Eagle fumble in the Ponies’ half of the field put the ball back in the hands of Havre’s All-State quarterback Dane Warp. But while the Eagles’ offense may have faltered, their defense had other ideas.

Warp and the HHS offense struggled to move the ball after the fumble recovery. And after a eight-yard sack, the Ponies were forced to throw the ball in a third-and-long yardage situation. But in a desperation attempt, a scrambling Warp’s pass was intercepted at the 50-yard line with just 3:45 left on the game clock.

From there, the Eagles ran the clock to 1:50 before converting another first down. And with no Havre timeouts, the Eagles were able drain the rest of clock and escape with the win over the visiting Blue Ponies.

“Those mistakes kill you,” Christenson said. “We were able to come away with the fumble and grab some momentum, but all of a sudden we turned the ball over and gave all of the momentum back. Our offense can’t score if the ball isn’t in our hands, so that hurt. We made crucial mistakes at poor times, and we didn’t score when we should have. We will keep getting better.”

A fierce and physical Sidney defense kept the Pony offense from finding their usual success on the ground, and even through the air.

Coach Christenson continually stresses how important it is to protect Warp and find a running game, but the size and strength of the Eagles’ defense made it difficult to do both. The Ponies only earned 48 yards on the ground, and had to help Warp off of the turf far too many times. By the end of the first half, Warp was sacked four times, and on the game, Warp was sacked more than six times.

“Dane is a competitor and is always trying to make things happen,” Christenson said. “We had a few breakdowns on the offensive line, but again, you have to see it and get rid of the football. We can manage second down and 10, but second down and 25 is different. Dane was trying to make some things happen and took some sacks when he didn’t need to. But that is part of the learning process, and he is still learning like anybody else.”

Warp finished the day 19-for-27 in the air for 257 yards. Warp and Thomas Gruber had the lone Pony score, a 20-yard TD connection the second quarter. And to go with the 48 rushing yards, Warp had 16 carries for minus-41 yards and Kody Pribyl had just two carries for minus-2 yards. Tristan Manuel was the leading rusher, carrying the ball nine times for 92 yards. The leading receiver was Nate Rismon with nine catches for 92 yards, while Gruber had two catches for 35 yards and one score. Pribyl had two catches for 77 yards, and Manuel had four catches for 36.

But even with the loss, the Ponies continue to show promise. HHS was able to get through 12 penalties, a fumbled punt, and an interception, but still remain in a tight matchup. It was a 14-7 loss as the Eagles racked up 247 rushing yards, but were held to just 70 passing yards.

“I think if we clean up our penalties, play smarter football, and keep improving on defense we will be ok,” Christensen said. “This game was a tough battle, and we held a good team to 14 points. An offense as explosive as ours should be able to put up more than seven, and we will. It is nice to see that the defense stepped up and played well, now we just need to fire on all cylinders on offense.”

Alec Drew caused a fumble, while Ryne Antley was able to recover it. And Trevor Jensen led the defense with 13 tackles, while Jake Williams added 12 tackles. Jordan Schroeder finished with 10 tackles, while Jace Billy and Pribyl had seven tackles each.

The Ponies will return home on Friday night, hosting Glendive at Blue Pony Stadium at 7 p.m.

Sidney 14, Havre 7

Havre 0 7 0 0 – 7

Sidney 7 0 7 0 – 14

SID – Austin Kendall 7 run (Cody Johnson kick)

HAV – Thomas Gruber 20 pass from Dane Warp (Thomas Gruber kick)

SID – Jordan Stevens 1 run (Cody Johnson kick)

Havre Individual Statistics

Passing – Dane Warp 19-27-257

Receiving – Nate Rismon 9-92, Thomas Gruber 2-35, Kody Pribyl 2-77, Tristan Manuel 4-36

Rushing – Tristan Manuel 9-92, Dane Warp 16-(-41), Kody Pribyl 2-(-2)