Buckaroo efforts fall short in Homecoming game against Dublin
Just about every Buckaroo fan in the packed stands was on their feet Friday night, Sept. 28, as the Homecoming game came down to the final 2 seconds.
The score was 21-22 in favor of the Dublin Lions, and the Breckenridge High School team had the ball on their opponent’s end of the field. The fans yelled and screamed and stomped their feet, making as much noise as possible in support of the Buckaroos. The final pass from quarterback Owen Woodward sailed through the air and was caught by Kevin Franco, but he went out of bounds just before crossing the goal line, ending the game on a disappointing note for the hometown team and their fans.
Breckenridge Head Coach Casey Hubble said he was disappointed with the loss, since he thought the team had fixed some of the problems they had faced earlier in the season. “Good job by Dublin,” he said. “They did a great job, and we didn’t, in the first half. Second half, we played a lot better, but not enough.”
Earlier in the game
The Dublin Lions scored first, and the Buckaroos didn’t get on the scoreboard until the second half.
Four turnovers in the first half were the game’s biggest problem, the coach said.
“I thought we had righted some of that, but you can’t turn the ball over four times and win,” Hubble said. “You can’t give a team that many opportunities and expect it to come out the way you want it to.”
With 36 seconds left in the first quarter, the Lions made the first touchdown of the game. The kick was blocked, putting the score at 0-6 in favor of Dublin.
Owen Woodward made the Buckaroos’ first touchdown of the night just a couple of minutes into the second half. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
In the second quarter, after the Buckaroos had moved the ball almost all the way down the field, Dublin recovered a fumble on their own 8 yard line. The Lions, in turn, made their way back down the field to make another touchdown and extra point. With 4:07 left in the first half, the score was Buckaroos 0, Lions 13, and that’s what it remained at halftime.
Following the Homecoming Court activities during halftime, Woodward went for it on a fourth down and made a 48-yard touchdown run. With Justin Bell’s extra point, the score was 7-13 at 9:59 in the third quarter.
About halfway through the quarter, the Lions kicked a field goal, taking the score to 7-16.
The Buckaroos started off the fourth quarter on a positive note when Eric Valdez recovered a Dublin fumble in the Lions’ end zone, scoring a touchdown. The extra point took the score to Buckaroos 14, Lions 16 with 9:05 remaining in the game.
Angel Ruiz runs with the ball in the first half; later in the game, he made Breckenridge’s final touchdown of the night with 1:05 left in the game. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)
With a little more than a minute left in the game, Angel Ruiz scored a 13-yard touchdown for the Buckaroos. Bell’s kick made the score 21-16 in favor of Breckenridge.
But, the Lions weren’t finished. With 19 seconds left on the clock, Dublin scored another touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt was not good, and the Lions were 1 point ahead, 21-22.
The Breckenridge fans were on their feet chanting “Light that B” as the game was down to those last two seconds, which just wasn’t enough time for the Buckaroos.
Hubble acknowledged that the Buckaroos’ effort in the second half was noteworthy but said the team needs to improve.
“It’s like I told our kids before the game, we’ll fight with anybody. We’ll go fight with Brock and push them to the fourth quarter, and, yeah, that’s not our problem,” he said. “But, we make too many mistakes as a football team, and that starts with me.”
Homecoming Queen and King
During halftime, Breckenridge High School senior Miriam Diaz was crowned as the 2018 Homecoming Queen. She was accompanied by the BHS 2018 Homecoming King, Fernando Duron, who had been announced at the pep rally earlier Friday.
Diaz was presented with her crown by last year’s Homecoming Queen, Suri Alvarado.
The complete 2018 Homecoming Court included the following:
Breckenridge High School seniors Miriam Diaz and Fernando Duron were named the 2018 Homecoming Queen and King on Friday, Sept. 28. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Queen and King
- Miriam Diaz and Fernando Duron
Queen Candidates:
- Jaynae Mendez
- Sophia Moun
- Grace Nicklas
- Madi Warren
King Candidates:
- Lane Berkley
- Kevin Franco
- Jimmy McKay
- Eric Valdez
Freshman
- Princess: Sam Smalley
- Prince: Julian Eutimio
Sophomore
- Princess: Hannah Pennartz
- Prince: Jonathan Trejo
Junior
- Princess: Layni Hinson
- Prince: Jaydon Cooper
The Pride of Breckenridge – Buckaroo Band played their game show before the game, in order to allow more time at halftime for the Homecoming Court activities.
Going forward
The Buckaroos have a bye week this Friday, Oct. 5, and will start district play against the Jim Ned High School Indians in Tuscola on Oct. 12.
Jim Ned’s record for the season is 4-1, with two of those games – Brady and Coleman – being shutouts of 49-0 and 69-0, respectively. So far this year, they have scored more than twice as many points against their opponents, collectively, as they have allowed.
Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
Cutline, top photo: The Breckenridge Buckaroos celebrate a touchdown after Eric Valdez recovered a Dublin fumble in the Lions’ end zone. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
