Blue Pony football is coming off of a chaotic loss at Custer County last Friday night. New Media Broadcasters spoke with head coach Jake Eldridge and he articulated his thoughts about how his team had the lead with less than three minutes left to play before giving up the game-winning score with under a minute to play.
“(There were) a lot of different emotions in a lot of different ways,” Eldridge said. “But I think at the end of the day, the thing I appreciate the most is just the fight and the resolve in our kids.”
“We’re definitely facing adversity on the field, but the kids continue to battle,” Eldridge continued. “They stayed together and they fought hard as a team. I obviously love the kids to death for that.”
“That’s what you want as a football coach,” Eldridge said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more in that respect.”
A football season will always have its adversity and Havre is experiencing that right now with injuries and a two-game slide. Coach Eldridge shared that he and the coaching staff weren’t able to set their kids up in the right space and that would be a priority with practicing this week.
“I think it’s just the team mentality and having players stepping up and doing whatever they have the team be successful,” Eldridge said. “Injuries are part of the game and we’re still trying to cultivate our depth and put people in positions to be successful.”
“(The) kids are working really hard at it,” Eldridge continued. “There are kids that are doing a lot of different things than they had originally planned on this year.”
“It comes down us as coaches just being able to prepare them,” Eldridge said. “That’s what we didn’t do well enough last week.”
Next up for Havre football is a date with the Dawson County Red Devils, who come into this fixture with a win under their belt against Lockwood last week. Coach Eldridge did not shine a spotlight on the upcoming opponent, but rather emphasized the need to go out and show what the Blue Ponies are made of.
“(We’re) going out there and believing that we can get the job done and competing,” Eldridge said. “The kids are doing that.”
“They’re positive and they’re working their butts off and they’re a highly competitive group,” Eldridge continued. “We’ve got great leaders right now.”
“We’ve got one game in front of us and we’ve got to prepare to play the game on Friday night,” Eldridge said. “That’s what we’re doing.”
Havre’s (1-2) game with Glendive (1-2) kicks off from Blue Pony Stadium around 7pm on Friday night. Kyle Leeds will bring the action to you on KOJM-610AM, 98.3FM, 92.5 Digital Channel 3, and HiLineToday.com.
