Breckenridge Texan

Breckenridge Buckaroo Lonnie Hinson (No. 1) scored two touchdowns against the Boyd Yellowjackets Friday night. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

As of Friday night, Oct. 27, the Breckenridge High School Buckaroos and the Brock High School Eagles are the only two teams in District 4-3A Division I that remain unbeaten in district play this season, with records of 3-0.

For the third 2017 district game, the Buckaroos traveled to Boyd and beat the Yellowjackets 49-14, and Brock bested Bowie, 27-6.

“The kids played well,” BHS Head Coach Casey Hubble said after the game. “We’re really proud of the way they came out and executed offensively and defensively. Not real pleased with the amount of penalties we had…a little sloppy from time to time. That’s what we still need to get addressed.”

As fans, cheerleaders, the band and other supporters bundled up against temperatures in the 40s Friday night, the Buckaroos broke their season district trend of not scoring until the second quarter when Jake Escalon (No. 15) caught an Owen Woodward (No. 12) pass for a touchdown with 5:46 left in the first quarter. Jose Escobedo’s (No. 10) kick was good for the extra point.

At 5:01 in the quarter, Lonnie Hinson (No. 1) intercepted the ball from the Yellowjackets, leading to another touchdown at 3:04 when Zach Willis (No. 25) ran the ball in. A failed point-after-touchdown attempt left the score at 13 to 0 in favor of the Buckaroos at the end of the first quarter.

The fans were excited and then disappointed when two touchdowns were called back due to holding penalties against the Buckaroos early in the second quarter. But, with 7:52 to go in the first half, Hinson caught a Woodward pass for the score. Escobedo’s kick made it 20-0.

However, the Buckaroos weren’t through with the first half; another Woodward to Hinson pass, followed by another Escobedo kick sent them to the locker room with 27-0 on the scoreboard.

Keeping up the momentum, Breckenridge’s Riley Durham (No. 22) caught a 53-yard pass from Woodward for the team’s fifth touchdown, just a minute and 10 seconds into the second half. Chucky Perez (No. 20) made the 2-point conversion, taking the score to 35-0.

The Breckenridge Buckaroos celebrate their win over the Boyd Yellowjackets Friday night with the “rollercoaster” on the sidelines. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Willis’ second touchdown  of the game — a 61-yard run — came with 5:15 left in the third quarter. Escobedo’s good PAT kick made the score 42-0.

The Buckaroos’ final score was Woodward’s fifth touchdown pass of the game. It was caught by Aaryn Medina (No. 6). Escobedo’s fifth successful PAT took the score to 49-0 with 9:53 left in the game.

The Yellowjackets finally came alive in the fourth quarter, ending the Buckaroos’ chances of a shut-out, when they scored at 7:50 and again at 2:45.

The final score of the game was Buckaroos 49, Yellowjackets 14.

Looking back immediately at the game, Hubble said, “We were able to complete some balls. Owen put the ball where we needed to put it, and receivers ran great routes and caught the ball. I know we had one drop, but other than that, it was pretty clean. We had a couple of touchdowns called back, too, so if we can clean that up, we may be able to put some points up on anybody.”

The coach said he doesn’t like to focus on just the offense or the defense when looking at the reasons for winning or losing a game. “It’s a team effort…just proud of the kids in general,” he said. “Feels good to win three in a row. Started off rough, really proud of our kids, the way they’ve held this thing together…we kind of have a saying, ‘Those who stay will be champions,’ so we’re proud of them.”

Elsewhere in the district
While Breckenridge and Boyd were battling on the gridiron, the other four district teams were playing, as well. Brock beat Bowie 27-6, and Paradise came out on top against Ponder, 35-20.

That leaves the 2017 district records, to date, at:

Brock 3-0 in district, 7-1 overall
Breckenridge 3-0 in district, 3-5 overall
Paradise 1-2 in district, 3-5 overall
Ponder 1-2 in district, 3-5 overall
Bowie 1-2 in district, 2-6 overall
Boyd 0-3 in district, 2-6 overall

Next week
On Friday, Nov. 3, Breckenridge will travel to Ponder, which is just a few miles west of Denton, to take on the Lions. The Buckaroos’ final game of the regular season will be against Brock in Breckenridge on Nov. 10. That game will be Senior Night in Buckaroo Stadium.

UIL enrollment
Friday, Oct. 27, also was “snapshot day,” the day that Texas high schools report their enrollment numbers to the University Interscholastic League. The UIL will use the data to formulate the district alignments for football and basketball. Traditionally, the UIL announces the classification levels after Thanksgiving and any re-classifications and realignments in February.

Based on the previous classification levels – even considering typical changes to the levels –  BHS should remain in the 3A Division I level, as should Paradise, Boyd and Brock. Ponder’s numbers were not immediately available publicly. Depending on how much the UIL adjusts the classification levels, Bowie could either stay in 3A Division I or move up to 4A.

According to the Breckenridge Independent School District’s Facebook page, on Friday, BISD broke the 1,500 student mark for the first time since the fall of 2015. Friday’s district enrollment was 1,501, and the high school’s enrollment was 415 students.

Bowie High School turned in an enrollment of 497; Brock’s was 403; Boyd’s was 401; and Paradise’s was 349.

For the 2016-2018 alignment, the UIL cutoffs were:
6A – 2,150 and above
5A – 1,100-2,149
4A – 480-1,099
3A Division I – 319-479
3A Division II – 221-318
2A – 105-220
1A – 104.9 and below

Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown

Cutline, top photo: Breckenridge Buckaroo Zach Willis (No. 25) runs toward the goal line for his second touchdown of the night against the Boyd Yellowjackets. The final score of the game as Buckaroos 49, Yellowjackets 14. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)