Tigers takedown Farson-Eden

Encampment wins over defending state champions, 38-30

The Encampment Tigers were able to secure another win this weekend as they held their first home game of the season on September 18.

One week after being dealt a loss by the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Rattlers, the Tigers roared back to secure the No. 3 spot in the 1A Six-Man West Conference. On Saturday, Encampment hosted the Farson-Eden Pronghorns, the defending Six-Man State Champions. Last season, Farson-Eden dealt a loss to the Tigers in the semi-final round of the playoffs. While Saturday's game wasn't a revenge match by any means, it was a chance for Encampment to show they still had plenty of depth.

In the 1st quarter of the game, the Pronghorns wasted no time in putting points on the board. With a total of three touchdowns and two point-after-touchdowns, Farson-Eden put themselves ahead by 22 points. The Tigers, however, would not go into the next quarter scoreless as Quade Jordan rushed for 65 yards to put 6 points on the board.

As the game progressed into the 2nd quarter, the Pronghorns' control of the Encampment gridiron all but disappeared as the Tigers sank in their claws. In fact, while Farson-Eden had put up 22 points in the 1st quarter, they wouldn't make a single touchdown in the 2nd quarter. Encampment, meanwhile, put up 14 points of their own.

"We put ourselves in a pretty big hole to start the game," said Kegan Willford, head coach of the Encampment Tigers. "Our players didn't panic and stuck with the game plan and, by halftime, we had gotten ourselves back into the game."

Before the first half ended, Jordan scored two touchdowns for the Tigers, one with a 13 yard rush and the other after a 6 yard rush. A point-after-touchdown from Michael Anderson brought Encampment to within 2 points of the Pronghorns as they went into halftime.

When both teams returned to the field, the Tigers continued to put up a defense and prevented Farson-Eden from reaching their goal line in the 3rd quarter. Along with preventing the Pronghorns from scoring, Encampment scored two more touchdowns with both coming from Caysen Barkhurst. The first came following a 17 yard rush and the second followed a 23 yard rush. 

As the game went into the final quarter, what started as a 22 point lead for Farson-Eden had turned into a 10 point lead for the Tigers. In the 4th quarter, Barkhurst scored again following a 40 yard rush putting Encampment ahead 38-22 over the Pronghorns. Farson-Eden would manage to score one more touchdown and a point-after-touchdown to bring the score 38-30.

In the final minutes of the game, the Pronghorns were tantalizingly close to their goal line and repeatedly attempted to evade Encampment. The Tigers, however, had a victory in their sights and managed to foil every attempt. As the final buzzer sounded, Encampment walked off the gridiron with an 8 point lead over the defending state champions.

"Overall, I thought we showed a lot of grit to come back in this game and to get a stop near the goal line to end the game," Willford said. "We still need to correct our mistakes as far as turnovers and penalties go, but it's always good when you can get a conference win in the west conference."

The win over Farson-Eden was hard fought. The Tigers managed to rush for 331 yards with Jordan rushing for 191 yards and Barkhurst rushing for 137 yards. Jordan and Barkhurst were the scoring leaders as well, with both scoring three touchdowns and aided by Anderson's kicking. 

The Encampment Tigers get a bye this week, meaning they have two weeks to prepare to take on the Meeteetse Longhorns, who are currently the No. 2 team in the 1A West Conference. While the Longhorns dealt a 12 point loss to the Dubois Rams, the Rattlers dispatched the Burlington Huskies, proving yet again how competitive the conference is.

Encampment will be hosted by the Meeteetse Longhorns at 3 p.m. on October 1.

 

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