The Havre football season came to an end this past Saturday after the team was defeated in the second round of the Class ‘A’ State Playoffs by the Beaverhead County Beavers, (28-21).
After being down by as many as two touchdowns, the Ponies were able to fight back and tie the game at 21 with a little over one minute left in regulation. Havre coach Jake Eldridge spoke with New Media Broadcasters about the decision to kick the extra point instead of going for two to try and put even more pressure on the Beavers to execute their two-minute drill.
“As we were driving down there, we were having conversations about going for two or kicking it,” Eldridge said. “Me and offensive coordinator (Jake) Criner were talking about it, but ultimately decided in that point in time with how much time was left and where we were at in the game and the calls that we had that we were going to go ahead and kick it and hopefully get into overtime. That was definitely spoken about.”
In the midst of heartbreak, coach Eldridge gave a message to the team about how they represented themselves out and left it all out on the field that day.
“The message to them was not to hang their heads and to keep their chest up,” Eldridge said. “That game does not define who they are and what this team was about.”
Havre finished the 2023 football season with a (7-4) record and a second-straight season with a playoff berth. Coach Eldridge reflected on the season as a whole and said these players who showed up and worked hard day in and day out will define the program in the years to come.
“The growth over the course of the season was tremendous,” Eldridge said. “The work that they put in from the end of the season prior until then…the leadership and the camaraderie and the teamwork (were) just tremendous.”
“Hopefully the framework and the groundwork that they’ve set forth is going in the right direction,” Eldridge continued. “I’m just super proud of that team and everything they did for us and what they were able to accomplish.”
“We’re going to be back,” Eldridge said. “We’re excited about the future (and) we’re not going to get stopped next year.”
