Blue Ponies shut down by Laurel Locomotives

The regular season came to an end for the Havre High football team on Thursday night with a contest against Laurel at Blue Pony Stadium. The Blue Ponies have had an excellent season that will see them play in the postseason next weekend. However, their regular season came to a disappointing end with a 3-0 loss to the Laurel Locomotives.

"Tough ball game. Laurel's a very good football team. They're well, coached and they play really hard," HHS head coach Jake Eldridge said. "They were everything that we thought they would be and credit to them. It was a defensive ball game and they got three more than we did."

Long offensive drives during the night were a rare sight and that was seen early on in the game. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Ponies went three and out and punted the ball to Locomotives.

On their opening drive of the contest, the Locomotives did move the ball. On a third down early in the drive, a facemask on the Ponies gave Laurel a first down. But over the next three plays, the Ponies played better to force a fourth and eight at the Havre 38-yard line. On the fourth down play, Gus Robertus' throw deep down the right sideline was intercepted by Jason Wold and then returned to about midfield.

Back-to-back runs from Tate Nelson gave the Ponies a first down to start the drive. But the Ponies could not move the ball any further as they punted it away again. The Locomotives then failed to build on their opening drive as they went three and out and punted it back to Havre.

The Ponies continued to struggle to move the ball. After a personal foul on Havre made it third and 22 at the Havre 41-yard line, Kale Van Campen's pass down the middle was intercepted by Aden Winder.

Starting in Havre territory, the Locomotives looked to take advantage of the opportunity. Three straight runs to start the drive gave Laurel a first down at the 32-yard line. After a holding penalty on the offense, a facemask on the Ponies made it first and one, which Chase Chapman converted for another first down at the Havre 15-yard line.

But penalties continued to plague Laurel. Another holding penalty pushed Laurel back to make it first and 23. After an encroachment penalty on Havre and a run to make it third and nine, a false start backed up Laurel to make it third and 14. Jericho Bracelet then sacked Tanner Schwend to make it fourth down. On the field goal attempt, the Locomotives botched the snap and Havre recovered the ball to keep it scoreless.

The Ponies could not ride that wave of momentum as they quickly went three and out. After two runs to start their drive, the Locomotives got a big play when Robertus found Tanner Knaub deep down the right sideline for a 31-yard gain down to the Havre 19-yard line. But on the next play, Robertus fumbled the ball and Carson Harris recovered to give it back to the Ponies.

With little time left in the first half, the Ponies finally found some momentum on offense. On second and ten, Van Campen connected with Harris for an 11-yard gain for a first down. Two plays later, Van Campen completed a pass to Jacob Herring for a five-yard gain for another first down.

The Ponies eventually worked their way to midfield but were forced into a fourth and four at their own 40-yard line. But an encroachment penalty on the Locomotives gave the Ponies a first down and extended the drive.

After a run from Nelson, Van Campen completed a short pass to Herring to give Havre a first down at the Laurel 38-yard line. But a holding call on the penalties made it first and 20 with seconds left in the half. After two incompletions, the Ponies ran the ball to run out the clock, making the score 0-0 at the half.

When the Locomotives got the ball to start the second half, they put together the best drive of the night. After a holding call to start the drive, two straight runs by Camden Johnson made it third and eight. After a run by Owen Younger failed to convert, Diesel Yarger kept the ball on a fake punt to give Laurel a first down.

The Locomotives then gave the ball to Younger on the next four plays. During that stretch, he gave Laurel another first down and got the Locomotives down to the Havre 35-yard line. Two plays later on a fourth and one, Robertus kept the ball on a sneak for a first down.

After a facemask penalty gave Laurel another first, the Ponies held down Laurel on two straight running plays. But on third and six, an encroachment on Havre made it third and one, which Laurel easily converted with a run by Robertus down to the Havre six-yard line.

"Penalties are going to hurt you, especially in critical situations. That's something that we don't want, but they're going to happen," Eldridge said about penalties in the game. "That doesn't make or break the game. You have to be able to overcome those things."

With it being first and goal, the Havre defense finally responded to stop the Locomotives. Laurel was put behind the chains as a holding penalty made it first and goal at the Havre 19-yard line. Younger then ran the ball on three straight plays, but the Ponies held strong to keep him out of the endzone. On fourth and goal at the 11-yard line, the Locomotives kicked a field goal for a 3-0 lead late in the third quarter.

While the night ended with a loss, the Havre defense had a strong performance. The Ponies forced several turnovers and only allowed three points in the game. Despite what would usually be seen as a great defensive performance, the Ponies' few mistakes made the difference in the game.

"I thought we played fine. They got some chunk yards at times," Eldridge said about his defense. "We weren't fitting the run the right way. We made some adjustments and started doing a little better."

The Ponies looked to respond on offense as they got the ball back late in the third quarter. Van Campen got the drive started with a scramble and then a completion to Crawford Terry for a first down.

The Ponies were forced into a fourth down, but a Laurel penalty gave Havre a first to extend the drive. Then, later on a third down, a defensive pass interference made it first down at the Laurel 45-yard line.

But the Ponies could not take advantage of the penalties as they once again went on to punt the ball. While the Ponies made mistakes that prevented them from moving the ball, Eldridge made sure to credit the stingy Laurel defense for its play.

"They're a good team. They force you into mistakes and they play really hard," Eldridge said. "I think it's just two good ball teams going at it and we see that by the score."

The Locomotives started the drive on their own one-yard line looking to run out the clock. After two straight runs, another costly encroachment on Havre gave Laurel a first down. The Locomotives continued to run the ball but the Ponies eventually got a stop to force a punt and give the offense one last shot in the game.

With the game on the line, mistakes continued to cost the Ponies. After a completion to start the drive, Van Campen was sacked to put the Ponies in a third and seven in their own territory. But the Ponies responded when Van Campen connected with Terry for a first down to Laurel 42-yard line.

And the mistakes came back. A false start and then two incompletions made it third and 15 at the Laurel 46-yard line. Van Campen was then sacked by Johnson on the next play. On fourth and 20, Van Campen's pass down the middle fell incomplete and Laurel took over on downs. The Locomotives then ran out the clock to secure the win.

With the loss, the Ponies finished the regular season with a 6-3 record. While Thursday's game was disappointing, the Ponies head to the postseason as they are set to host a playoff game at Blue Pony Stadium next Saturday. With another game coming up, Eldridge believes his team can rebound and compete next weekend.

"This is a battle-tested football team. We've played a lot of really good teams in the east," Eldridge said. "It's a new season. We have the opportunity to get into the playoffs and now it's one game at a time. We're 0-0 right now and I think it was a great regular season and it's put us in position right now to be able to go and compete in the playoffs."

The HHS football team will open the playoffs at Blue Pony Stadium on Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.