Tigers bound for War Memorial Stadium

Just three years into their six-man program, the Encampment Tigers have obtained their Golden Ticket to the University of Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium on November 12.For some of the players, who stood before the Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees their freshman year, it is an almost poetic end for their senior year. For 30 years, Encampment played for nearby Saratoga and have spent the past two seasons in a varsity schedule earning their stripes. Denied entry into the championship round last year by a single point, the Tigers secured a 20 point lead over the Dubois Rams on November 5 to secure their spot."We are excited to be getting an opportunity to play for a state championship this week.  This has been one of our long-term goals for the season," said Head Coach Kegan Willford. "We can't wait to make the trip to Laramie for the game on Friday.

"Despite a complete shutout the weekend before against the Guernsey-Sunrise Vikings with a 68-0 score, the match against the Rams wasn't one guaranteed for Encampment even if they had dispatched Dubois in the regular season. In the first round of the playoffs, the Rams butted heads with the Hulett Red Devils for an eventual win against the No. 1 East team. 

Though the Tigers were the first, and only, team to score in the 1st quarter, Dubois' defense worked to keep the scoring low. Encampment would manage two touchdowns and a point-after-touchdown in the first 10 minutes of the game. Both the touchdowns came from Quade Jordan with the first following an 8 yard rush and the second following a 39 yard rush. A point-after-touchdown from Michael Anderson put Encampment up 14-0 heading in the 2nd quarter.

In the 2nd quarter, there was much more back-and-forth between the two teams as Dubois began to put points on the board. The Rams would manage to put their heads down and score 20 points before half-time. The Tigers meanwhile, put up another 14 points to keep a narrow 8 point lead.

Caysen Barkhurst was the first Tiger to score in the 2nd quarter following a 43 yard punt return. The second touchdown for Encampment came from Jordan, who rushed for 16 yards. A successful point-after-touchdown from Anderson ensured the Tigers' lead going into halftime, 28-20. 

"Offensively our running game worked well again," said Willford. "Defensively we missed some plays in the first half, but made some adjustments at half that helped for the rest of the game. Special teams played well and even scored a touchdown off of a punt return."

Returning in the 3rd quarter, there would only be one touchdown from either team. While the Rams were, again, scoreless they would manage to keep Encampment's scoring low. The lone touchdown came from Jordan following a 65 yard rush.

As the game reached its final quarter, fans of both teams were treated to a true football game as the Tigers and Dubois went back and forth on the scoreboard. While the Rams would put up 16 points on the board, Encampment kept ahead with 22 points in the 4th quarter. Even as Willford pulled his senior players to give his 1st string some field time, the Tigers would ensure they didn't let Dubois push their way through to a last minute win.

A 42 yard rush from Jordan began the final quarter of the game and was followed with a point-after-touchdown from Anderson. This was followed by a 42 yard return, this time from Koye Gilbert, after an interception. Another successful point-after-touchdown from Anderson put Encampment ahead 50-20 as the clock began to wind down.Two more touchdowns and successful point-after-touchdowns would give the Rams their 16 points of the final quarter. Meanwhile, Gilbert would receive a 25 yard pass from Kaban Pickett to give the Tigers their final 6 points of the game.

When the final buzzer sounded, Encampment had won 56-36 over the Rams.The Tigers rushed for a total of 282 yards with Jordan rushing for 257 yards while Barkhurst rushed for 17 yards and Gilbert rushed for 8 yards. It was indeed a rushing game as the passing leader was Pickett with 25 yards and the receiving leader was Gilbert with 25 yards.

Encampment won't be the only Carbon County team traveling to Laramie on Friday. It will be a Battle of the Pass as the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Rattlers secured a narrow 47-46 win over the Meeteetse Longhorns. The Tigers will walk onto the gridiron with a 7-1 regular season record and a 3-1 conference record. Encampment's only loss came from LSRV, who has a 9-0 regular season record and a 5-0 conference record.

The Tigers and the Rattlers will kickoff at noon on November 12 at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie.