Breckenridge Texan

Owen Woodward (No. 12) celebrates Friday night, as the Panther Stadium scoreboard in the background displays the Buckaroos’ victory in Paradise. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Breckenridge High School Buckaroos turned their first district game of the season into their first 2017 win when they bested the Paradise Panthers in double overtime Friday night.

Playing in his first varsity football game, BHS sophomore Aaryn Medina (No. 6) scored a crucial touchdown on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Owen Woodward (No. 12) in the second overtime period, tying the game at 37-37.  Jose Escobedo’s (No. 10) kick was good to win the game for the Buckaroos.

It was almost a repeat of the 2016 Buckaroos vs. Panthers game, when – in double overtime – Breckenridge won 28-21 in Buckaroo Stadium. This year’s matchup was in Paradise, and the final score was Buckaroos 38, Panthers 37.

Head BHS coach Casey Hubble acknowledged after the game that the team had solved some problems they’ve been facing this year, after losing five non-district games in a row. “We’ve continued to work on (the passing game). That’s what we’ve wanted to do all year; we just struggled early on to get it going. Tonight, it worked,” he said.

However, he also noted some issues they still need to work on. “We continue to put ourselves in a bind with penalties, with false starts, with passion getting the best of us, and emotions,” Hubble said. “It’s a game of emotion, but you have to check it. If you play with all emotion, you can’t control it, so we have to understand when to turn it on and use it and funnel it within the whistles, within the confines of the rules.”

The win wasn’t necessarily an easy one for the Buckaroos, who came into the game after a bye week. At four different times during the Paradise game, the score was tied.

“It’d be nice if we could make it easy, but for some reason, we’ve struggled to do that,” Hubble said. “Like I told the kids at the end of the game, we’ve got fighters, and if we can get some of the other stuff under control, the discipline and stop making the mistakes, we can whip people. The kids earned it. They played unbelievably hard the whole game…just kept fighting. Proud of ’em.”

Despite the season record of five losses to one win, the coach said that the team has maintained a good attitude. “We struggle with some things, and we’ve got to get better at those. But, as long as we’re fighting and continue to show up every day like they have…you know, when you’re 0 and 5, there’s a lot of ways to completely melt down. People start pointing fingers, negative things happen. And, that has not happened,” he said. “Our locker room is up, kids have showed up to practice the last two weeks and had great workouts. And hopefully we’re coming together as a team. And, we love the kids, the kids love coaches, and that’s the goal.”

Zach Willis (No. 25) runs in a Buckaroo touchdown Friday night against the Paradise Panthers, who also wore green and white uniforms for the first district game of the season. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Regarding the Buckaroos’ improvement over the other games they’ve played this year, Hubble said, “Guys made the plays. It’s that simple. When you get into a game like this, really any game, guys gotta make plays. Our jobs as coaches is to work them all week … and, not to diminish what coaches do, but once the game starts, you know, our roles are very minimal. The work’s already done, and kids gotta go make plays. And that’s what we challenged them with, and they made some plays tonight.”

Friday night’s game started off a little slow for the Buckaroos, as the first quarter ended with a score of Breckenridge 0, Paradise 14. But Breckenridge quickly caught up with two touchdowns and successful extra points in the second quarter, including one an interception return by Zach Willis (No. 25) with only 50 seconds to go in the first half. They headed to the locker room tied 14-14.

The Breckenridge team kept up the pace in the second half, scoring again when Woodward completed a pass to Jake Escalon (No. 15), making the score Buckaroos 21, Panthers 14 in the third quarter.

As the third quarter ended, the Panthers fumbled a kickoff, and the Buckaroos took over the ball. That led to a 22-yard run by Willis with 11:49 on the clock in the fourth quarter. The Buckaroos were ahead, 28-14.

The Panthers scored about halfway through the final quarter, bringing it to 28-21.

The score was tied again when, following a Buckaroo fumble, the Panthers scored with 4 seconds left in regular play. The game went into overtime with a score of 28-28.

In overtime, Escobedo kicked a field goal, which was matched by the Panthers, leading to a 31-31 tie and a second overtime.

The Panthers scored first in OT2, but they missed the extra point. The score was Buckaroos 31, Panthers 37, when Medina caught that Woodward pass and Escobedo made the extra point, securing the win for Breckenridge.

As fans of the Buckaroos poured onto the field at Panther Stadium, yelling and screaming their excitement, Hubble said, “Winning’s good. Winning solves lots of problems.”

Breckenridge Buckaroos Riley Durham (No. 22) and Jose Escobedo (No. 10) celebrate the final point in Friday night’s win over the Paradise Panthers. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown

Cutline, top photo: Breckenridge sophomore Aaryn Medina (No. 6) catches a 25-yard pass by Owen Woodward to score the final touchdown in double overtime Friday night when the Buckaroos traveled to Paradise to take on the Panthers. The team’s improved passing game helped lead the Buckaroos to victory, 38-37. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)