Home Debut: Blue Ponies welcome Cowboys to the corral

With every game during a football season, the stakes seem to get higher. And while the Havre Blue Ponies will not have any specific on the line tonight against Miles City, there is no question, it's a big game.

"I think to say that the players are excited, is an understatement," HHS head coach Ryan Gatch said. "I think they are really excited to be playing their first game at home and then when it's against a team like Miles City, it makes it even more exciting."

Of course, there has always been a healthy rivalry between the Ponies and Cowboys. The two teams have recently begun playing on a yearly basis and have met in the Class A state playoffs numerous times during the past two decades. Tonight, the old rivals will meet once again, with kickoff set for 6 inside Blue Pony Stadium.

"I think this is the kind of game where you can measure yourself against a really good football team," Gatch said. "But it's all part of the process and that process is just trying to be 1-0 each week. That's our mantra and I think this team has really bought into that."

Havre has not only bought into that, but the Ponies have also bought in to Gatch's style of play, which puts a greater emphasis on the run than on the pass. Through two games Havre has dominated the ground game and time of possession, two reasons why the team has found success early on.

"I prefer to run the ball a little more than throwing it," Gatch said. "But of course, the way I think about it, if you are running the ball more, then you probably have the lead."

That certainly has been the case for the Ponies, who have yet to trail this season. Havre rolled to an 18-6 win over Whitefish in the first game of the season, then smashed Hardin on the road 31-0 last week.

In those two games, HHS has compiled nearly 500 yards rushing and has scored seven rushing touchdowns. For the Ponies, 431 of those yards and six of those touchdowns have come via Jase Stokes, a senior tailback, who has carried the ball 51 times in two games.

"Jase is having a great season," Gatch said. "He's the one getting all the publicity, but our offensive line is playing great and even our receivers are doing a great job out of knowing what to do when we are running the ball."

Gatch said that while his team has run the football a lot in the first two games, it may not always work out that way and, if not, he has full confidence in Trey Murphy and the passing game to pick up the slack.

"We ran the football real well in those first two games," Gatch said. "We really controlled the game and I think when you have the lead, you don't need to throw the ball. So we really haven't needed to throw it a whole lot. But if we do, I have complete confidence in Trey Murphy at quarterback and in our wide receivers. I think have a great group of receivers."

Murphy, who didn't have a touchdown pass against Whitefish, threw the first one of his career last Friday to Jacob LaBrie. LaBrie is one of four seniors at the receiver position, as Isaac Warp, Nate Korb and Michael Loftus round out the group. Ivar Aageson, Havre's other top wide out, will miss the game due to injury and could be out another week.

In the backfield, Mason Dionne will continue to man the halfback spot next to Jase Stokes, as junior Jazz Schroeder, a Second-Team All-Conference running back a season ago, is out for the season.

Dionne has played well offensively and scored his first-career rushing touchdown last week, but he has played just as well on defense. Playing at linebacker, next to Stokes, he has been an important part of a unit that has allowed just over 270 yards and six points in two games.

And in terms of stopping Miles City, a team that threw for nearly 400 yards last week against Lewistown, Gatch said his team wasn't going to change much. Instead, he said, the Ponies will rely on execution.

"We aren't going to change what we are doing on defense," Gatch said. "They do like to throw the ball and they threw it a lot last week. The key for us is going to be stopping the run, working hard on first and second down, so we can rush the passer on third. We did that pretty well against Whitefish. Last week, we didn't have many opportunities, but that's what we are looking to do."

Havre's secondary, which will feature LaBrie, Loftus and Brady Ophus at corner, as well as Warp and Korb at safety, will face, by far, its biggest challenge of the season, as it attempts to corral the Cowboys talented receiving core of Mason Dinardi, Caleb Petross and Jacob Swope. Running back Tyler Burk, who has six catches for 125 yards against Lewistown, will also be a threat out of the backfield.

The person running it all for the Cowboys is quarterback Gabe Gundlach, who set school records against Lewistown for completions and yards after going 22-of-36 for 373 yards and three touchdowns.

"We have certain things that we like against certain packages," Gatch said. "But it's mostly the same things that we have been running since this summer."

While the game against the Cowboys is a non-conference affair, with the power poll system in Class A, Havre and Miles City could be in direct competition for a wildcard spot down the road and a win tonight will go a long way towards HHS securing a playoff berth should it finish outside the top two in the Central A.

"For us, every game is important," Gatch said. "We are looking forward to playing at Blue Pony Stadium and we are excited to try and be 1-0 this week. It should be an exciting football game."

Havre and Miles City will kick off at 6 tonight. The Ponies will be on the road next Friday when the travel to play another Eastern A foe in Sidney.

Tonight at 6 p.m.

Blue Pony Stadium

Radio: 610 KOJM AM