Rangers run over playoff-bound Ponies

Over and over again, the Havre High football team has stressed just how important it is for its defense to stop the run this season. That was priority number one for the Blue Ponies on Friday night, but against a team like Livingston, that was easier said than done.

On Friday, the Central A Ponies took on the conference leading Rangers in Livingston. The Rangers defeated the Ponies 64-32. With the win the Rangers finished the season 4-0 in conference play, and as the Central A conference champions. And with the loss, the Ponies finished the season with a 2-2 conference record, and a 4-5 record overall. HHS will enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed, and will face Laurel in Laurel on Saturday.

"I am proud of these kids for battling," Havre High head coach Jason Christenson said. "And reaching the playoffs. We would have hoped to have been a little different position than we are now, but as hard as these kids have worked, and as young as we are, it is a great accomplishment for these kids. Anything can happen in the playoffs, and we have a pretty tough contest now against Laurel, and we will do our best to play them tough and hopefully come out with a win."

The Rangers' running game has garnered a lot of attention this season, and on Friday, they proved why that is.

Livingston rushed for 603 total yards against the Pony defense. And the Rangers' Shanon Williams accounted for 276 of those yards on 22 carries. Brandon Toney also racked up an impressive 243 yards on 17 carries, as Williams and Toney led the Rangers' offense to nearly 700 yards of offense. The Rangers also got into the end zone on nine occasions, eight of those scores coming on the ground. Toney rushed for two scores, while Williams rushed for three, including a 57 and 60 yarder.

"I would credit that success on their offensive line." Christenson said. "Those kids found the weight room and spent some time in there. They are big and physical kids and power it at you. So a lot of times when you have two outstanding backs like Livingston has, it is because of the offensive line. They have done an outstanding job and we haven't had time to develop our line, playing mostly freshmen and sophomores. We battled the best we could, but just couldn't hang with their kids."

Thomas Gruber did lead the defense with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery, while Jake Williams added 10 tackles, and Chet Shrauger and Tyler Adams both added nine each. Thurman Holdsclaw also had seven tackles and a fumble recovery, while Jace Billy also had a fumble recovery in the Ponies attempts to stop the running game.

For the Ponies, their 12 first-half points put them in a hole they just couldn't dig themselves out of. The Rangers scored 24 in the first quarter alone, and added 20 more in the second quarter before cruising to the victory.

And Holdsclaw, Zach Plum, and Dane Warp helped lead the Ponies once again.

Holdsclaw Scored on a 21-yard pass from Warp, and on a five-yard pass from Warp. And Plum showed off his speed, beating the defense for a 70-yard TD catch, and one more for 20 yards. Jordan Schroeder also found pay dirt in his second game as the starting running back for the Ponies. Schroeder also found himself on the same page as Warp, as he earned a score on a 12-yard reception out of the backfield.

Warp had another record setting day in the loss. He tied the school record for five TD passes in a game for the second time this season, but also set the school record for completions in a game. He completed 25 passes on 33 attempts, racking up 369 yards and two interceptions.

The rushing game wasn't effective, as the Ponies rushed just 19 times for a grand total of 30 yards. But Holdsclaw reeled in 10 passes for 133 yards, while Plum caught six passes for 133 yards. Gruber, Ned Malone and Schroeder also had a handful of catches.

The Ponies' season has been extended at least one more week, as they will travel to Laurel on Saturday to take on the Locomotives in the State A playoffs.

Livingston 64, Blue Ponies 32

Havre 6 6 0 20 — 32

Livingston 24 20 14 6 — 64

LIV — Brandon Toney 2 run (Jack Dowdell run)

LIV — Brandon Toney 30 run (Shanon Williams run)

LIV — Shanon Williams 38 run (Shanon Williams run)

HHS — Thurman Holdsclaw 21 pass from Dane Warp (pass failed)

LIV — Austin Carroll 55 run (run failed)

LIV — Jack Dowdell 4 run (run failed)

HHS — Jordan Schroedor 12 pass from Dane Warp (pass failed)

LIV — Jack Dowdell 10 pass from Austin Carroll (Dan Fowlie pass from Austin Carroll)

LIV — Austin Carroll 1 run (Brock Eddy pass from Carroll)

LIV — Shanon Williams 57 run (run failed)

HHS — Zach Plum 70 pass Warp (run failed)

LIV — Shanon Williams 60 run (run failed)

HHS — Thurman Holdsclaw 5 pass from Dane Warp (pass failed)

HHS — Zach Plum 20 pass from Dane Warp (Thurman Holdsclaw pass from Dane Warp)

Individual Stats

Livingston

Passing – 69 yards

Rushing — Shanon Williams 22-276, Brandon Toney 17-243

Havre

Passing — Dane Warp 25-33-369

Rushing — Jordan Schroeder 19-30

Receiving — Thurman Holdsclaw 10-138, Zach Plum 6-133, Thomas Gruber 4-37, Ned Malone 1-11, Jordan Schroeder 4-50.