Ponies SWAMP Red Devils

The Havre Blue Ponies has an exciting rest of the season ahead of them, especially after a great first home game.

The Blue Ponies took to the field Friday night and played a fantastic game against the Glendive Red Devils at Blue Pony Stadium, putting on a show and beating the Red Devils 43-6.

Winning the first home game of the season puts the Ponies in a good light moving forward. Havre and its fans had an awesome night and head coach Ryan Gatch is excited with what his team did on the field.

"There was a lot of ebbs and flows in the game," Gatch said. "Real proud of how hard our players played the whole game. It's fun to see them compete through four quarters."

The game opened with the Blue Ponies on the offensive on their own 40 yard-line. A quarterback keep and a few runs by senior Mason Dionne would set Havre up at the Glendive 46-yard line. Then, sophomore Trenton Maloughney completed a pass to senior Reese Bulkley, who made an explosive run to the endzone, capping off a 60-yard opening drive in the starting minutes of the first quarter. The Ponies would miss their extra point but lead 6-0.

The rest of the first quarter was a battle of defense for both teams. Glendive tried to push down the field but a tough Pony defense lead them to fail to score on their opening drive. The Ponies looked to rack up some more points, only for the Red Devil defense to stop them, too. Havre started another drive with 2:33 left, but still no score.

Then came the second quarter. The Blue Ponies still had the ball and scored in just the opening seconds. With more quarterback keeps and runs by Dionne and junior Kellen Detrick, plus a quick pass for a few yards, Havre was in great field position deep in Red Devil territory.

Dionne then rushed to the endzone from the six-yard line for a score, pulling off a 2:46 drive. Afterward, the Ponies completed a successful two-point conversion to extend their lead 14-0.

Glendive continued to struggle, gaining little yards on their next drive, and in the end had their quarterback sacked by senior Quinn Springer. Havre had a similar struggle on its possession, turning the ball back over to the Red Devils.

After the turnover, Glendive marched down the field and scored a touchdown of their own, ending the 70-yard drive in just under two minutes. Then, the Red Devils missed the PAT, making it 14-6 with the Ponies still leading.

Havre then found another spark. Glendive kicked off the ball to Dionne, who raced down the field to score once again for the Ponies. With another two-point conversion good, HHS would end the half up 22-6.

Dionne had a game to remember with three touchdowns and was thankful for his team and his offensive lineman, especially a certain lineman who stepped up.

"Thanks to all my o-line guys," said Dionne. "Thanks to John South. He stepped in today. We had a hurt guy and John stepped up real nice, got the job done, and our whole line just executed and we played really well."

After a great show by the Havre High marching band and flag team, the Red Devils kicked off the third quarter. Glendive opened the quarter with some good runs by senior tailback Nelson Crisafulli, but again had to punt in the end. However, Havre wouldn't let the Red Devils get the punt away. As the ball was snapped, Detrick broke through the line, raining down on the punter. The ball did not sail down the field but shot straight up in the air and fell into the hands of junior Brock Nystrom, who ran it to only a few yards short of the goal line.

Havre capitalized on the opportunity, and a two-yard quarterback keep by Bulkley, as well as another good extra point, would add on to the Blue Ponies' score, putting them further ahead 29-6. HHS would continue to dominate the rest of the third quarter. A great punt return deep into Red Devil territory set up another touchdown run by Bulkley and a good extra point kick put the Ponies up 36-6.

More heated play by Crisafulli attempted to put the Red Devils in the endzone, but the Havre defense denied them every time for the rest of the third.

The fourth also proved fruitless for the Red Devils. A tackle for loss by Detrick and an interception by freshman Hunter Sawdy gave the Ponies the ball back on Glendive's 10-yard line. That led to Dionne rushing one more time to the endzone along with a good PAT, giving HHS a comfortable 43-6 lead.

From there, the Red Devils could not make it to the endzone and Havre celebrated with a home victory. Both sides of the ball for the Blue Ponies put forward an amazing game.

The offense ended the night with a total of 107 passing yards, 165 rushing yards, 10 first downs, six touchdowns, and 52 plays. The Ponies had a 44-percent third down efficiency and a 20-percent fourth down efficiency.

Bulkley ended the night with three touchdowns and put forth his case as a productive quarterback and receiver for the Ponies. Sophomore Trenton Maloughney also had a good night for Havre, throwing a touchdown pass and doing good work on special teams, making three-of-four PAT attempts. Detrick had 11 rushing and receiving yards. Orion Thivierge totaled 29 yards receiving and had a deep punt return.

Senior lineman Kasee Henderson, who produced a great game on the line, showed his appreciation for the team and the line.

"We're some dudes," Henderson said. "It's just so fun. Probably the best line play we've had since I've been here. Everyone was on the same page, working as a fist. That's what you've gotta be as an o-line is a fist. One person goes wrong and we're all wrong. I'm pretty proud of our guys."

Henderson also gave a shout-out to his fellow player John South.

The Ponies not only had a great offensive game, but an awesome defensive showcase, too. Thivierge had seven tackles and a tackle for loss, Nystrom had four tackles, and junior Bradyn Winchell racked up two tackles and an assist. Springer ended the night with one tackle, assist, sack and tackle for loss. Overall, the defense finished with 28 tackles, 12 assists, one sack, three tackles for loss, one fumble, and one interception.

Detrick was a major standout in the Havre defense, with three tackles, a tackle for loss and a blocked punt. Detrick couldn't help but be in good spirits after the game.

"I feel great," said Detrick. "I feel like our defensive line did really good and our linebackers filled holes. And great calls from our coaches."

Victory is sweet for the Ponies and some called it a blowout victory, but Gatch sees it differently and knows Glendive gave his team some challenges throughout the game.

"I wouldn't say it was a blowout," Gatch said. "Their team played hard the whole time. Very good, well coached football team, and a lot of young players out there. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of noise they make going down the road."

Gatch's sportsmanship is something to respect. With his team moving forward with a 1-1 record, Gatch will have a lot to work with after seeing what the Ponies put out on the field.

Havre's next challenge will be an away game in Hardin, where the Ponies will play the 0-2 Bulldogs Friday at 7 p.m., looking to add another win to their season.

Blue Ponies 43, Glendive 6

HAV – Trenton Maloughney 54 pass to Reese Bulkley (PAT no good)

HAV – Mason Dionne 6 run (Conversion good)

GLEN – Buckley pass to Nelson Crisafulli (PAT no good)

HAV – Dionne kick return TD (Conversion good)

HAV – Bulkley 3 run (PAT good)

HAV – Bulkley 56 run (PAT good)

HAV – Dionne 12 run (PAT good)

Havre Individual Stats

Passing – Trenton Maloughney 4-6 for 87, Reese Bulkley 3-6 for 20

Rushing – R. Bulkley 13-85, Mason Dionne 20-69, Kellen Detrick 2-11

Receiving – R. Bulkley 2-67, Orion Thivierge 3-29, K. Detrick 2-11said