Huskies outlast Encampment, headed to Laramie

It was exactly what you want to see in a playoff game in Burlington on Friday as the Huskies hosted Encampment for the semifinal game. Scoring came quickly and often from both teams and it was a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle to the end.
“It was quite the game,” said Coach Trent Aagard. “Both teams played like they wanted to go to Laramie.”
Offensively, the Huskies had a massive game with 242 rushing yards and 338 passing yards. “I thought we came out strong on offense and did a good job of putting pressure on them to score also. Jordan Michaels had a monster offensive game with four rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns. It’s been fun watching him become more confident in his abilities.”
Michaels was joined in scoring by Joe Bassett who had three touchdowns. Jordan Casey had two and Rykael Andrew and Weston Gotfredson each added one. “We got good contributions from everyone who played. Jordan C, Weston, Joe, Hunter Aagard and Mickey Maroni all had some big plays in the passing game. Rykael had a great throw to Joe for a touchdown and I thought our kicking game did what we needed with Kyler Winters and Brikton Wardell,” said Aagard.
Defensively, the entire Husky line contributed on tackles and Bassett led the way. “Joe did a great job of leading the defense; he had 14 unassisted and 6 assisted tackles along with an interception,” said Aagard. “Kyler, Weston, Rykael, Will Aagard, Hunter, Mickey and Brikton blocked and rushed hard. Jordan B and Jordan M stepped up their pass defense when we needed it.”
The Huskies gained the lead in the first quarter but neither team backed down. Burlington outscored Encampment in the first half and went into halftime leading 44-33. Despite Encampment putting up more points than the Huskies in the second half, Burlington won the game, 80-73.
“This week we are going to need big contributions from everyone again,” said Aagard. “Playing for a championship is a big deal and something this team and town should be excited about. These boys have improved steadily all year. Now they get the chance to go earn a championship. I’m super proud of what they have accomplished but we are not satisfied yet. Little Snake is a great team and we will get their best shot, so we have to give them ours.”
The Huskies will play Little Snake River in Laramie on Saturday with a kickoff time off 10 a.m.

BURLINGTON 80, ENCAMPMENT 73
RUSHING — Burlington 37-242 (Jordan Michaels 21-187, Joe Bassett 14-51).
PASSING — Burlington 22-of-32 for 338 yards (Jordan Michaels 20-of-28 for 303 yards.
RECEIVING — Jordan Casey 6 catches for 113 yards, Joe Bassett 4 catches for 70 yards.
DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS — Joe Bassett led the way with 39 points (14 solo tackles, 6 assisted tackles and 1 interception), followed by Jordan Michaels with 22 points (4 solo tackles, 2 assisted, 1 blocked kick and 1 interception), Rykael Andrew with 12 (3 solo tackles, 2 assisted, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack and 1 pass breakup), Jordan Broederlow with 11 (5 solo tackles and 1 assisted).