WHITEFISH — Dangerous weather spoiled the railroad rivalry between Havre and host Whitefish at Memorial Field on Friday night.

The game was not finished due to ongoing lightning in the area.  Havre led Whitefish 21-7 with three minutes to play in the second quarter when the game stopped. 

“It is what it is, unfortunately we didn't get to finish the game. There was a lot of good stuff, and we can still learn from this, a lot of mistakes we can learn from too. It’s better than not getting any game in,” Whitefish head coach Brett Bollweg said. 

The Blue Ponies didn’t waste any time to get on the board. Sophomore quarterback Oliver Nelson found senior tight end Jayce Hanson open in the middle of the field for a 32-yard touchdown, capping off a 63-yard drive in under 2 minutes.  

Whitefish answered immediately. On the first offensive play from scrimmage, senior running back Cole Moses bounced outside his blockers and was untouched for 60 yards as he ran down the sideline to tie the game. 

Havre got the ball back and continued slinging the ball downfield to their own 30-yard line. The drive came to an end when Whitefish linebacker, Aaron Anderson, intercepted a pass that bounced off a Ponies receiver’s shoulder pads.  

Whitefish took momentum off the turnover and marched down the field to the Havre 2-yard line. Then Havre punched the ball out of junior quarterback Luke Dalen’s hands as he attempted to put the ball across the goal-line. Senior cornerback Solomon Teegan returned the fumble 99 yards to regain the Ponies momentum and take the lead 14-7.  

“Mistakes are going to happen; things are not going to go the way we want. I thought our guys responded well. One play is a 14-point swing and that's a big deal,” said Bollweg. 

After a three and out from the Bulldogs, Havre capitalized again.  

On fourth-and-14 from the Whitefish 30, Nelson found junior receiver Grady Heney for 23 yards to deflate Whitefish’s hopes of a turnover on downs. Senior running back Griffin Terry found the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to widen the gap 21-7.  

After the touchdown, the game was delayed due to lightning. It continued for another hour and ultimately the call was made to end the game.  

Cole Moses led the way for the Bulldogs with 72 rushing yards. Havre QB Oliver Nelson had 115 passing yards.  

Whitefish is back at Memorial field next Friday to take on the Hamilton Broncs. Havre travels again next week to face Billings Central.