The Havre High football team earned its biggest win of the 2023 season, going on the road to Lewistown and beating Fergus, (17-14). The Blue Ponies handed the Eagles their second loss of the season and were able to jump out to a (17-0) lead, including an opening 17-play drive that ended with a touchdown.
The Eagles scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and had a shot to win the game at the end, but too many mistakes from the first half kept Fergus off the scoreboard and time ran out.
New Media Broadcasters spoke with coach Jake Eldridge and he detailed how the team was able to stay composed and make one last stand on defense to end the game.
“I think leadership and poise (and) just their belief in one another other and belief in what we are doing,” Eldridge said. “They can prepare and they can play with confidence because they knew they were ready for it.”
“No matter what, we talk about the ‘bending and don’t breakin’ and then (the defense) gets there in the red zone and two thing are going to happen; either we are going to stop them or they’re going to score,” Eldridge continued. “They just played fast and got after it and obviously forced that incomplete pass at the end.”
For as inspiring a win as this was, Coach Eldridge chose to look at the season in a broader sense when he addressed the team after the game.
“The message was that we were just proud of them; for not just that moment necessarily, but also the work that they put in leading up to it (and) understanding that’s where it comes from,” Eldridge said. “It was great for them to be able to have the success in these big games and the ones on the road that we’ve been talking about.”
“To see all their hard work come to fruition, you’ve got to earn what you get and they definitely earned it and they deserved it,” Eldridge continued. “It was a great road win for us obviously against our rival.”
The Blue Ponies finished the 2023 regular season with a (6-3) record and earned a No. 4 seed in the Class ‘A’ State Playoffs. Stay tuned for another story later this week on Havre’s upcoming matchup with Lockwood.
