Pronghorns escape Tigers' claws

Following their victory over the Meeteetse Longhorns, the Encampment Tigers were on the road again as they were hosted by the Farson-Eden Pronghorns on Friday. While the Tigers were able to take down Meeteetse with a score of 45-15, the Pronghorns were a bit harder for Encampment to catch.

“This was a very physical and hard-hitting football game,” said Kegan Willford, head coach for Encampment. “Unfortunately, we had five turnovers in this game and when you have that many turnovers against a good team, the score will reflect that.”

The Pronghorns are the defending state champions in six-man football this year, as they defeated the Burlington Huskies last year 77-38.

In the first quarter, Encampment was able to keep the Pronghorns from scoring, though they were unable to make any touchdowns themselves. The Tigers were able to score a touchdown in the second quarter, thanks to Reid Schroeder and Dalton Peterson, and a conversion to put them up at 7 points. Farson-Eden, however, answered back that quarter with six touchdowns to put them up at 18 points.

Despite the long lead against the Pronghorns, Encampment worked hard against Farson-Eden with Peterson tackling 16 times and Koye Gilbert and Caysen Barkhurst tackling 10 times. 

While the Pronghorns saw their biggest surge in the second quarter, Encampment kept Farson-Eden’s scoring low in the second half of the game with 8 points in the third quarter and 6 points in the fourth. At the end of the game, Farson-Eden led the Tigers 7-32.

Encampment will hit the road again as they head to Casper to take on the Natrona County High School freshman at 4 p.m. on Sept. 19.

“Through this loss, we have gained valuable experience that will help us the rest of this season,” Willford said. “We look forward to getting back onto the field against NCHS Frosh on Thursday.”