Pony football earns first win of the season

The Havre High football team jumped into the win column Friday night in a dominating fashion shutting out the Glendive Red Devils 32-0 in Glendive.

The Ponies scored twice in the first quarter, and thanks to a solid rushing game and a dominating performance from their defense would never look back.

Havre head coach Troy Purcell was elated for his troops to get their first victory of the year, especially after suffering two tough losses at home to open the 2002 campaign.

"It feels good to get that first win under our belt," Purcell said. "The kids played really well on both sides of the ball and never let up. They played hard and played well for all four quarters."

The Ponies opened up the scoring early in the first quarter on a 5-yard toss play to halfback Steven Harman, who sprinted to the outside and dove just into the corner of the end zone putting Havre ahead 7-0.

Later in the first quarter, Havre struck again this time through the air. Justin Kegel threw a 54-yard pass to wide receiver Steve Heberly to put Havre on top 13-0 as the first quarter drew to a close.

"During a timeout right before that play, I told the kids we were going to score right here," Purcell said. "They didn't have a safety deep, and Heberly just streaked down the sideline and Kegel hit him."

The Ponies tacked on one more score in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Kegel that gave them a 19-0 lead at the intermission.

"The kids were feeling really good at halftime," Purcell said, "We were finally able to establish a running game and sustain some long drives that resulted in points for our offense."

In the second half, Havre scored 13 more points in the third stanza and then turned the game over to their defense to close it out.

The third Havre touchdown came on another Kegel keeper. This time from five yards out and later Kegel came through on defense by picking off a Mike Crisafucci pass and taking it back 40 yards to make the final score 32-0.

On the night, Kegel had a hand in four touchdowns. He completed four passes for 82 yards and a touchdown without an interception. He also carried the ball 11 times for 76 yards and two scores and also scored on his interception return.

"Justin played a great game," Purcell said. "He didn't turn the ball over and he played with a lot of composure all night."

While Purcell was pleased with his team's rushing attack and overall offensive output, he also lends a lot of credit to his defense for this victory.

"Our defense played great all night," Purcell said. "They put a lot of pressure on Glendive and made great tackles the entire game."

To say Havre's defense dominated would be an understatement. The Ponies held Glendive to zero yards passing and only 79 yards rushing.

The Ponies are now 1-2 on the season while Glendive fell to 0-3.

Havre will now open the conference season on Friday night when they visit the Browning Indians.

Havre Steve Harman 5 run (Colby Mader kick)

Havre Steve Heberly 54 pass from Justin Kegel (kick failed)

Havre Kegel 1 run (pass failed)

Havre Kegel 5 run (kick failed)

Havre Kegel 40 pass INT (Gary Wagner kick)