In first round playoff action at home, the Havre Blue Ponies football team shut down East Helena on Friday night, (42-19). They did it off the effort of senior running back Tate Nelson, who carried the ball 29 times for 203 yards with four total touchdowns.
Havre struggled early, giving up a 33-yard touchdown pass from Vigilantes quarterback Jack Taylor to DeonDray Ellis on the fourth play of the game. The Ponies had to punt on their first offensive possession, but the defense woke up as Pierce Caplette made an interception off a ricochet two plays later.
The first Nelson touchdown was recorded at the 7:11 mark of the first quarter on a 7-yard scamper to tie the ballgame up. After a Vigilantes punt, the Ponies secured a 3-yard touchdown run from quarterback Griffin Terry to put Havre in front for the first time and they would not squander it ever again. East Helena did counter as Taylor threw a dime to his favorite target Slade Olson, but the extra point was no good and Havre had a (14-13) lead at the half.
Terry and Nelson connected on a broken play to begin the third quarter, a touchdown from 24 yards out to make it (21-13). The Pony defense got a key stop on fourth down deep in their territory and got the ball right back to have Terry find Tre Gary on a 4-yard TD. The Vigilantes would not go quietly as Hayden Wright found the end zone from 40 yards out with a missed 2-point conversion, but Havre once again countered with a five-yard touchdown from Nelson to bring the score to (35-19) early on in the fourth.
Nelson secured the victory by breaking a run of 65 yards to score his fourth touchdown of the night. Havre’s defense had three takeaways in the game to put the contest out of reach.
Havre’s next test will be an undefeated Frenchtown squad at their place for the second round of playoffs. Kickoff is set for 1pm next Saturday, Nov. 9.
