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Pony Extra: Stokes taking his talents to Montana Tech

The Havre High football team may have fallen short against the Belgrade Panthers Friday at Blue Pony Stadium. But despite the loss, there is still some positive news surrounding the Blue Ponies.

That's because Thursday, Jase Stokes, a senior running back/linebacker for the Blue Ponies, committed to play college football for Montana Tech of the Frontier Conference.

"It's exciting," Stokes said. "It's nice to get that burden off my shoulders and just worry about the high school season now."

While a number of schools expressed interest in Stokes, including Carroll College and Montana State University-Northern, which offered him scholarships in both football and wrestling, at the end of the day, he decided on Tech.

"They are one of the top dogs in the Frontier," Stokes said. "They have been getting better every year and they gave me a good offer, and I took that opportunity and I am really excited.

"It was hard to say no to Northern, though," he added. "It was hard to tell (wrestling coach) Tyson Thiverge that I wasn't coming. I have known him forever, so that made it tough for me."

Stokes, who is a standout two-way player for the Ponies, will play running back for the Orediggers, the defending Frontier Conference champs.

"Tech recruited me as a running back," Stokes said. "I really liked playing linebacker, but over the years, I have started to like playing offense more."

Stokes, who was an All-State linebacker and fullback a season ago, has excelled as Havre's lead runner this season, rushing for 793 yards and 10 touchdowns. He's also averaging a whopping 6.7 yards per carry. Over the past two seasons, he has gained more than 1,000 yards on the ground.

"I think that they are getting a great football player and a tremendous leader," Havre High head coach Ryan Gatch said. "Jase is having himself a great season and really putting it all together. But, he did a lot of work this past summer. He really stood out at the Montana Tech camp. He was one of the MVPs there and during that time, he really developed a close relationship with their coaching staff and they did a great job of recruiting him."

Stokes, who he will study business at Montana Tech, said he was swayed by both the facilities at Montana Tech and the atmosphere at a recent visit.

"Their new facilities are sweet," Stokes said. "And I went down to a game earlier this year and the atmosphere for a game was incredible. I compared it to a miniature Griz game, with the tailgating and the fans and the atmosphere. It was really cool to be at."

Stokes, who has been a three-year starter for Havre on the defensive side of the ball, has also been playing offense since his sophomore season. In that time, he has shown that not only can he run the football, he can catch and block, too, which are all requirements if he is going to see significant playing time on an up-and-coming powerhouse in Frontier Conference football.

"Jase is like a lot of our young men," Gatch said. "He has a chance and the potential to do some really great things. Of course, it will depend on him and how hard he works at it. It will be a big challenge for him, being away from home and managing going to class, but it will be fun, and I am happy for him. He has been a great player for us and he deserves it."

 

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