BHS win over Ponder sets stage for showdown against Brock
The Buckaroos defense takes down a Ponder ball carrier Friday night. Breckenridge held the Lions to just 7 points in the game. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
With a full moon rising over Ponder Field, the Breckenridge High School Buckaroos ran to victory over the Lions, 43-7, Friday night, Nov. 3, securing their spot in the bi-district playoffs and setting the stage for a showdown next week with Brock for the district championship.
The Buckaroos took control of the game from the first time they touched the ball Friday night when No. 25 Zach Willis returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, the first of five he made in the game. No. 10 Jose Escobedo made the extra point kick, for a score just 13 seconds in first quarter of 7-0.
“(Zach Willis) played well. He ran the ball really hard, kept his feet moving, just did a good job,” said Head Coach Casey Hubble after the game. “A lot of guys, they do a lot of things up front defensively on that front line, and you really just have to focus on keeping your composure and understanding your assignments and then get the ball in our kids’ hands and let them do what they can do. Zach did a good job, and so did the offensive line and the quarterback, too.”
Both Hubble and Willis gave credit to the entire team. “Without my blockers, it would’ve been nothing for me,” Willis said on the Buck Fever Podcast’s post-game interview. “Our line came out, and they were more physical this week; they got it done.”
Additionally, Hubble said the Buckaroo defense has been improving, as evidenced by the lower scores of recent opponents. In the first six games of the year, each of the opposing teams scored more than 20 points on the Buckaroos. In the last three games, Bowie scored 14, Ponder 7 and Bowie 6.
“Our defensive line is doing a great job. Our coaching staff continues to work hard every day and try to become the best we can be,” he said. “On the defensive side, it’s kind of coming together. We’ve fixed some of our issues with tackling. Just proud of our kids. Our secondary is doing really well. The linebacker corps is pretty solid and doing a great job. Our defensive line is becoming pretty dominant.”
In the second quarter, Willis scored his second touchdown, running the ball in four yards. The point after was no good; the score was 13-0 with 5:38 on the clock.
Buckaroo fans hardly had a chance to sit back down, when two and a half minutes later, Willis ran seven yards for his third touchdown. With 2:38 left in the first half, the score was 19-0.
The Ponder Lions made their lone touchdown of the night just before the second quarter ended. With the extra point, the teams went into halftime with a score of Breckenridge 19, Ponder 7.
The Buckaroos didn’t let their guard down once the second half started, and less than four minutes into the third quarter, Willis ran the ball 37 yards for the score. Escobedo’s kick was good, and the score was 26 to 7 with 8:34 on the clock.
Owen Woodward gains yardage in the Buckaroos’ win, 42-7, over Ponder. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
A few seconds later, a fumble recovery gave the ball back to the Buckaroos. Willis continued his successful running game and took the ball nine yards across the goal line for his second touchdown in less than a minute – his fifth and final touchdown of the night. Escobedo’s kick was good, and the score with 7:39 left in the third quarter was 33 to 7.
With still more than half of the third quarter left, the Buckaroos went on to score again before the period was up. At 5:48 on the clock, No. 7 Kyler Knight caught a pass from No. 12 Owen Woodward for Breckenridge’s sixth touchdown in the game. With a good kick by Escobedo, the score was 40 to 7.
The two teams continued to battle back and forth, and Escobedo kicked a field goal not long after the beginning of the final quarter, taking the score to Breckenridge 43, Ponder 7. Despite a Ponder interception, that’s where the score would remain throughout the rest of the game.
“Things are starting to come on. We struggled a little bit early (in the season), but, you know, great football doesn’t just happen. It’s not like you just plug in an offense and everybody just knows what to do. It don’t just happen,” Hubble said. “I’m proud of our guys for continuing to work. We’re in a good spot right now. And, we’re just going to, hopefully, keep getting better. That’s the plan.”
Looking ahead to next week’s home game against Brock, the coach said he will evaluate what they do and what the Buckaroos have been doing well. “We’ll game plan,” he said. “Brock, they do a great job over there, and we have a lot of respect for them. But, we don’t really care about them. We’re going to focus on us and get better at what we do.”
The game against the Brock Eagles is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10. It will be the last regular season game of the year, as well as Senior Night and the “light show” by the Pride of Breckenridge – Buckaroo Band.
“We love playing in that stadium,” Hubble said. “It’s the best stadium around for a long ways, if not the best one in the state. So, hopefully the crowd will show up and we can perform.”
Currently, Brock and Breckenridge are tied for first place in the district, with each having a district record of 4-0 for the season. The winner of Friday’s game will be the district champion.
With six teams in the district and four teams going to the bi-district playoff, Breckenridge is assured a spot. Depending on the outcome of Friday’s game, the Buckaroos will play either the third- or fourth-place team from District 3, which includes Brady, Clyde, Comanche, Early, Merkel and Jim Ned.
With the win over the Ponder Lions, the Breckenridge High School Buckaroos are headed into a showdown with Brock for the district championship. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown
Cutline, top photo: Zach Willis runs for the goal line in one of his five touchdowns Friday night in Ponder. The Buckaroos beat the Lions 43-7. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
