Encampment buries Miners

The Encampment Tigers kept their winning streak going on October 18, dealing a nearly 50-point homecoming loss to the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners.

The victory over the Miners adds yet another conference win for Encampment, who has sat all season at the top of the 1A South Six-Man Conference with the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Rattlers. HEM, meanwhile, is near the bottom of the conference with a narrow conference win against Casper Christian.

“I thought the team played well against HEM,” said Head Coach Kegan Willford. ‘We are still looking to improve each week and I thought that this was a step in the right direction.”

Throughout all four quarters, the Tigers appeared to have no difficulty scoring—putting up double digits—while keeping HEM to one touchdown each quarter. It was the Miners who drew first blood as the game began, scoring a touchdown following a 21- yard rush.

Gunner Knotwell answered back for Encampment, scoring a touchdown following a 53-yard rush. This was followed by a 1-point conversion by Raden Miller receiving a pass from Knotwell, giving the Tigers an early lead of 7-6. Kannon Gilbert scored another touchdown for Encampment following an 8-yard rush further increasing the lead 13-6. A 6-point conversion following a 34-yard pass from Knotwell to Gilbert further increased the lead. As the 1st quarter came to a close, Korbyn Barkhurst also put points on the board with another 6-point conversion following a 9-yard pass from Knotwell.

Encampment went into the 2nd quarter leading 25-6.

Knotwell continued the scoring in the next quarter, securing a touchdown following a 25-yard rush and putting the Tigers up 31-6 over HEM. Baylin Sifford followed with a 6-point conversion following a 37-yard pass from Knotwell and pushing the score to 37-6.

The Miners were able to answer back with one touchdown following a 4-yard rush.

Galloway O’Leary scored a touchdown for Encampment following a 5-yard rush. Barkhurst followed with a 6-point conversion with a 3-yard pass from Knotwell.

Going into halftime, Encampment had already put up 44 points compared to just 12 from the Miners.

As both teams returned to the gridiron, the Tigers continued their scoring domination as Knotwell scored a touchdown for Encampment and extended the lead 50-12. Dashaal Baysinger followed with a point-after-touchdown (PAT) which gave Encampment a 40-point lead, 52-12, early in the second half. The Miners scored a touchdown of their own, running 60 yards after a kick-off return.

Encampment answered back with two touchdowns, one from Sifford following an 8-yard rush and one from Gilbert following a 1-yard rush. As the game entered the final quarter, the Tigers led 64-18 over HEM.

In the 4th quarter, the Miners secured their fourth touchdown of the match with a 44-yard rush. Encampment followed with a six-point conversion as O’Leary received an 18-yard pass from Chase Brown. Tate Zeller provided the final score for the Tiger with a 3-yard rush for a 1-point conversion.

The final score was 71-24.

Knotwell was the rushing leader with 141 yards against the Miners. He was also the passing leader, passing for 176 yards. Gilbert led in receptions, receiving for 73 yards.

Following their win against the HEM Miners, the Encampment Tigers are 6-0 for the season and 4-0 for conference play. The Tigers have the same record as the LSRV Rattlers, who will come into Tiger Nation on October 26.

“We are looking forward to our game against Snake River on Saturday,” said Willford. “It will be a good measuring stick for our team going up against the number one team in six-man.”

Coached by Jack Cobb since 2017, the Rattlers have been 1A Six-Man State Champions three times since 2019, were back-to-back champions for 2021 and 2022 and had a 30-game winning streak from 2021 to 2023. The two teams last faced off on October 7, 2023 just before the 1A Six-Man Playoffs.

Kickoff for the Encampment Tigers against the LSRV Rattlers will be at 2 p.m. on October 26.