Three Tigers picked for a shootout

Three Encampment football players have been selected to play in the 2024 Wyoming-Nebraska Six-man Shootout All-Star Game. The annual cross-border game will kick off at Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska on Friday, May 31.

Quade Jordan, Ryon Miller, and Kaben Pickett were all selected to play on the Wyoming team.

“It should be a lot of fun and I think it would be a good time to meet new kids,” Jordan said. “It would also be great to play against teams that we have not played against before.”

Jordan said it is the greatest honor to represent Encampment with his teammates He said it will be a special moment to play together as a team for the last time.

“It is a great opportunity to represent Encampment with myself, Ryon, and Kaben,” Jordan said. “(There’s) Not many kids who get picked and having three kids from Encampment be picked is a great honor.”

Pickett said this will be different, especially playing with teams he has played against before.

“It’s going to be a cool experience and it will be fun to play with kids we played against in the last four years,” Pickett said. “It will also be fun to play for one last time with my two teammates.”

Pickett said he is fortunate to be selected because few players get to play in the annual cross-border game. He said he is excited to play in this game.

Miller said he’s looking forward to playing on the gridiron for the last time.

“It is a huge honor to represent my school,” Miller said. “I also look forward to playing with friends who played on other Wyoming teams and it would be cool to see us all together as a team for one day.”

Miller said words cannot express what it feels like to be picked, especially if another player could have been picked over him. He said this was a great experience for him.

“It is a special feeling and you feel good to be one of the 15 or so to be picked,” Miller said. “It is a huge honor for me to be one of three players to represent our school.”

Kagan Willford, head coach for Encampment Tiger Football, said all three players deserved to participate in this year’s cross-border All-Star game. He said it would be great to see them play together just one more time.

“Having Ryon, Quade, and Kaben selected to represent Wyoming in the six-man shootout is a testament to what these three young men have done on the football field for the past four years,” Willford said. “They’ve put a lot of effort into the Encampment Football program and it’s exciting to see them get to play together one more time.”

Willford said Jordan’s hard work and determination is why he was selected to play in the Shrine Bowl this June. He said it is not easy to get picked to play in this game, especially in six-man football.

“Getting selected to play in the Shrine Bowl can be tough, especially for six-man players,” Willford said. “Quade has put a ton of time into becoming the player that has become and works during the season and the off-season. I’m glad he will experience the Shrine Bowl and play some 11-man football. It should be a good experience and transition since he plans to play football in the fall.”

Jordan will play in the 2024 Wyoming Shrine Bowl on, June 8,, at Cheney Alumni Field in Casper. Jordan said he is looking forward to playing in both games.