November 12, 2021 |
Encampment and Little Snake River are in Laramie today for the 1A 6-man football championship. The two teams from Carbon County are already the best in the state in their class. One will bring home the banner.
For the Tigers, the road to the title game began a year ago, said their coach Kegan Willford. Encampment lost a heartbreaker to Farson-Eden 42-41 in the semi-final round. The one-point loss hurt. It also provided motivation Coach Willford said.
Win or lose today, the Encampment football story is already a wild success. For nearly 30 years, from 1990 to 2018, Encampment did not have its own team. In three short years since football was reinstated, the Tigers have grown into powerhouse. The returning upperclassmen are out to avenge themselves. The younger players are eager to see what they can do better.
Coach Willford said he’s been trying to keep this week as normal as possible leading up to today’s big game. The team left for Laramie late yesterday afternoon so they could get settled. They were going to get onto Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium, just to try it on for size. For a program that didn’t even exist three years, today is a big deal for the team and the community.
Coach Willford said he’s looking for a balanced performance today from the Tigers. Today’s title matchup is a repeat of week two when LSR used home field advantage to beat Encampment 66-24. The Rattlers can run and throw the ball, Coach Willford said.
Both the Tigers and the Rattlers play in the western conference. Kickoff is set for noon today. No matter the outcome, Carbon County is the winner today.
Related: Rattler Head Coach Cobb weighs in on title game against Encampment
