Breckenridge Texan

The Mothers of Bucks organization kicked off Buckaroo spirit for the upcoming football season by hosting Buckaroo Movie Night at the Breckenridge High School stadium Sunday night.

The MOB arranged to have an outdoor movie screen set up on the 50-yard line in front of the home team stands and showed the movie “Invincible,” a 2006 movie based on the true story of Philadelphia Eagles player Vince Papale, played by Mark Wahlberg. They also served moviegoers free hotdogs, potato chips and bottled water provided by the athletic booster club.

MOB President Tamara Russell, whose son Rance Russell is No. 52 on the Buckaroos, said this is the first time they’ve held a movie night. She got the idea for the movie night after seeing it done at Abilene Christian University, so she checked into places that provide the equipment and put it together.

“This is the first one we’ve done,” she said. “We try to start something at the beginning of the season to pull everybody in and get them excited. I would say it was pretty successful for the first time.”

Russell said members of the MOB also planned on being at the field early Monday morning to cheer the Bucks on for their first practice and first time on the field for the season. She said they will also provide the players with snacks during their breaks between practices.

The Buckaroos will hit the field for two-a-days starting Monday, Aug. 6, at 8 a.m. They will practice every weekday, except Tuesday, Aug. 7, in the mornings from 8 a.m. until about 12:30 p.m. with a break in between morning practices until school starts. On Tuesday, Aug. 7, they will practice from 4 to 7:30 p.m. The players will practice in pads for the first time on Friday.

In addition to Sunday night’s movie night, the MOB will also host Meet the Bucks from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24, in front of the Stephens County Courthouse. She said they will introduce all the fall sports teams and have all kinds of booths, including a dunking booth and music by Matt Stapp.

In addition to supporting the Buckaroo football players, Russell said, the MOB is responsible for the Young Bucks, a mentor program in which varsity football players are matched up with kids in first  through sixth grades.

“We pal them up,” she said “We have a movie night for them; they run through the helmet at the games. The boys try to get to their schools to see them. We come up here a couple of different times after a practice, and they get to hang out and throw the football around and eat something with their Buckaroo mentor.”

The MOB supports the players throughout the season with activities like decorating the locker room and beating the drum at the park downtown during the playoff season, which she said they plan on doing aging this year.

“Decals with Dads,” the event where fathers come and help their sons decorate their game helmets with the team’s decals will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29.

The Buckaroos will play a couple of scrimmage games on Aug. 17 and Aug. 23 before the season officially gets started with the first game on Aug. 31 at Jacksboro’s Tiger Stadium.

Story by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan

Cutline, top photo: Moviegoers watch the movie “Invincible,” a 2006 movie based on the true story of Philadelphia Eagles player Vince Papale, played by Mark Wahlberg, during Buckaroo Movie Night on Sunday. The movie night was sponsored by the Mothers of Bucks as a way to get the community in the Buckaroo spirit for the upcoming football season. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Members of the the Buckaroo football team, their family members and supporters from the community watch a movie during the first Buckaroo Movie Night, held Sunday night in Buckaroo Stadium. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)