WyoPreps’ Game of the Week: Encampment at Farson-Eden [VIDEO]

This week’s WyoPreps.com high school football ‘Game of the Week’ as voted by the fans is a Class 1A Six-man game with Encampment at No. 3 Farson-Eden.

The Pronghorns are the defending Six-man state champs and have been to Laramie and the title game the last three years.

By contrast, Encampment has brought back football after a 29-year absence. The Tigers have only played five seasons of high school football. This is their sixth. Encampment used to play 9-man in 1990, but now it's 6-man. They are technically playing a JV schedule and are not eligible for the playoffs, but have picked up a few varsity games after Ten Sleep had to cancel their schedule for 2019.

Friday’s game in Farson will be the ninth meeting in football between the two schools. The Pronghorns have a 6-2 edge in the series, but the Tigers won the last two in 1990. That was Encampment’s last football season until this year. The Tigers wins, according to Wyoming-football.com, were 14-12 at Farson in the second game, and then a forfeit in the last game that went to Encampment.

WyoPreps’ David Settle caught up with both head coaches to spotlight this matchup. Encampment head coach Kegan Willford is in his first year on the job. Farson-Eden head coach Tripp Applequist is in his eighth year with the Pronghorns. Hear what they had to say about a new program vs. an established Six-man powerhouse, key personnel, facing this opponent, and their keys to victory.

These two programs played for the Class 1A boys’ basketball state title last March. Farson-Eden won the game on a late shot. It’s turned this game into a bit of a friendly rivalry.

While the Tigers are a new team, the Pronghorns are trying to reload, as they lost five All-State players off last year’s title team.

Who to Watch for Encampment: The two senior leaders are Reid Schroeder and Dayne Anderson. They are complemented by junior Dalton Peterson. The Tigers first game in 29 years was a 45-15 victory at then No. 4 Meeteetse last Saturday. That knocked the Longhorns from this week’s top five rankings.

Who to Watch for Farson-Eden: With stars of the last three years team’s gone, new players are emerging in different roles. Early on, Paxton Hunt has thrown five passes, complete four, and three have gone for touchdowns. Carson Jones, Levi Johnson, and Colin Malec all scored a pair of TDs in the opening win over Guernsey-Sunrise last week, 55-8. Johnson anchored the defense with 17 points. Colby Jones had seven tackles, which included three tackles for loss.

Key Segments of the Game:

Encampment - The Tigers possess good athleticism and need to use that to make plays against a very stingy Pronghorn defense. Encampment has to contain the big play for Farson-Eden.

Farson-Eden – Experience is their ally. The Pronghorns may have lost key seniors and all-state players, but many of this team’s key guys received a lot of playing time thanks to lopsided scores the last couple of years. Farson-Eden must use that inside edge of knowledge and game proficiency. Keeping Peterson in check for Encampment might limit the Tigers effectiveness.

Kick-off is at 11 a.m. from Farson Football Field.