Ponies wear out 'Dogs in opener
The Bulldogs varsity football team never had a chance to catch their breath on Saturday as the Havre Blue Ponies kept fresh legs on the field and ran past Whitefish for a 28-12 win at Memorial Field.
Havre's Grant Pattison led the Blue Ponies with 120 yards on the ground and scored two touchdowns in the second half. Whitefish's junior quarterback Mac Roche was the game's top passer, tossing for 131 yards.
Despite being a statistically even match — Whitefish racked up 221 total yards to Havre's 252 — the nonconference loss exposed the Bulldogs' short roster against teams with as much depth as Havre. The Blue Ponies' roster listed 61 players while the Bulldogs named 38.
With most of Whitefish's team having to play on both sides of the ball, coach Pat Dryden said that by the end of the game, his team was physically worn out and his running backs had no gas left in the tank.
"Every year we have to earn every yard we get," Dryden said. "We've got to get in better shape. We know we're going to be thin on the roster, so we need to develop more depth."
Dryden said his team will focus on conditioning drills in practice this week.
After a scoreless opening quarter, the 'Dogs put six points on the board early in the second after a 49-yard drive. The drive featured two fourth-down conversions, including a 16-yard pass from quarterback Mac Roche to Kalin Hale and another to Christopher Forrest to put the Bulldogs on the 2-yard line.
Hale tallied 41 yards receiving on four catches for the game. Senior Tanner Benedict capped off the effort with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Whitefish looked poised to head into the half with the lead until the Blue Ponies pounded the ball into the end zone with eight seconds hanging on the clock. Havre kicked in the extra point to take a 6-7 lead and serious dose of momentum into the locker room.
The Ponies opened the second half with a 68-yard march to the end zone, then put the game away with two quick scores by Pattison, including a 56-yard scamper down the sideline and a 46-yard punt return.
Whitefish capped off the afternoon's scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Nielsen.
Bulldog sophomore Maxl Smith was a bright spot on defense, making two interceptions despite playing with a brace on his left hand.
Whitefish plays next at Browning on Friday at 7 p.m.
Havre 0 7 14 7 — 28
Whitefish 0 6 0 6 — 12
Whitefish — Tanner Benedict 2 run (kick blocked)
Havre — Ryan Myers 8 pass from C.J. Evans (Danny Roe kick)
Havre — Casey Schaub 18 pass from Evans (Roe kick)
Havre — Grant Pattison 46 punt return (Roe kick)
Havre — Pattison 56 run (Roe kick)
Whitefish — Jeremy Nielsen 5 run (kick failed)
Wfsh
First downs 8 10
Rushes-yards 27-157 38-90
Passing yards 95 131
Passing (com/att/TD/int) 7-22-2-2 13-22-0-0
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties NA NA
Individual Stats
RUSHING — Havre, Grant Pattison 10-120, Casey Schaub 4-23, C.J. Evans 6-9; Whitefish, Daniel Simmons 12-69, Tanner Benedict 11-43.
PASSING — Havre, Evans 7-22-2-2-95; Whitefish, Mac Roche 13-22-0-0-131.
RECEIVING — Havre, Matt Emge 2-35, Myers 1-8, Schaub 1-30; Whitefish, Kalin Hale 4-41, Christopher Forrest 3-26, Connor Silliker 2-45.
Conference standings
Team ALL Conf
C. Falls 1-0 0-0
Ronan 1-0 0-0
Libby 0-1 0-0
Polson 0-1 0-0
Whitefish 0-1 0-0