Buckaroos beat Bulldogs, prepare for playoff game against Brock
After shutting out the Clyde Bulldogs Friday night, the Breckenridge High School Buckaroos varsity football team will face the Brock High School Eagles for the second time this year in the UIL Conference 3A D1 Region 1 Bi-District playoff game, scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, in Abilene’s Shotwell Stadium.
The Buckaroos’ playoff spot was secured when they beat the Clyde High School Bulldogs 28-0 in Buckaroo Stadium for the final district game of the year.
“It always feels good to win,” Buckaroos Head Coach Casey Hubble said. “It wasn’t perfect; it’s never going to be perfect. We put up 28 points and gave up none, so (I’m) very proud of the kids.”
The Pride of Breckenridge-Buckaroo Band was outfitted with multiple strings of lights during Friday night’s halftime show. Since it was the last home game of the season, it was the band’s traditional “Blackout” light show. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Following tradition, as the last home game of the season, the Breckenridge-Clyde matchup was “Senior Night” for the football team, band and cheerleaders. Additionally, during halftime, the Pride of Breckenridge-Buckaroo Band presented its annual “Blackout” light show with the band and color guard members adorned with lights.
“They played hard and worked hard for the last five years, so pretty rough season this year as far as not being able to get some of the wins, but (I’m) unbelievably proud of those guys,” Hubble said about the senior football players. “Their dedication to this team and to this community and what they’re trying to do.. just proud of them, proud of them. They’re a reason why we’re able to be where we’re at and about to go into the playoffs again.”
The game
In the game to determine the fourth place in District 3-3A-Division 1 and a spot in the playoffs, with Kevin Franco in the quarterback position, the Buckaroos scored first when Angel Ruiz ran the ball in five yards at 6:18 on the clock in first quarter. Justin Bell’s kick was good, putting the score at 7-0.
Buckaroo J.T. Caraway sacks Clyde quarterback Dylan Neuman in Friday night’s game. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
In the second quarter, Ruiz ran in a 21-yard touchdown with 4:57 left in the half. Bell’s kick was good. The teams went into halftime with a score of 14-0 in the Buckaroos’ favor.
At the end of a scoreless third quarter, Jonas Arellano intercepted a Bulldogs pass, which led to a 1-yard touchdown Ruiz scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Bell’s kick put the score at 21-0 with 11:15 left in the game.
But the Buckaroos weren’t finished. Less than a minute later, Griffin Flournoy recovered a Clyde fumble. At 8:20 in the fourth quarter, Ruiz scored his fourth and final touchdown of the night. Bell kicked one final extra point, and the score was 28-0.
Neither team scored for the rest of the game, giving the Buckaroos their second district win of the season.
In many of the early games this year, this Breckenridge team suffered from turnovers and penalties, but both of those problems were limited in Friday night’s game. The Buckaroos had two turnovers and two penalties, none of which resulted in scores for the Bulldogs.
“That’s always fun whenever you can not get penalties…your offense keeps moving and you don’t help the other team,” Hubble said. “So, I’m just proud of our kids, proud of our coaching staff. Our kids were on task this week after losing a close one against Wall. I think lesser-character kids would have found a way to look for the exit, but that’s not the kind of kids we have, and (I’m) very proud of them.
Bi-District
Going in to Friday night’s game, Breckenridge and Clyde were tied for fourth place with district records of 1-3. With the win, the Buckaroos are secured in fourth place, while Clyde moves to the fifth place position and out of the playoffs. Early, with a district record of 0-5, also will not be in the playoffs.
Breckenridge will play the Brock Eagles in the Bi-District playoffs on Thursday. The two teams played in a downpour earlier this season. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
District 3-3A Division 1’s team in the top spot is Wall with a district record of 5-0. On Friday night, the Jim Ned Indians beat the Eastland Mavericks, putting them in the second- and third-place spots, respectively.
In the Bi-District round of the playoffs, Wall will play Pilot Point in Early on Friday; Jim Ned will play Whitesboro on Friday; Eastland will play Boyd on Thursday; and Breckenridge will play Brock on Thursday.
Thursday night’s game will be the second this season for the Buckaroos and the Brock Eagles (9-1 overall, 6-0 district). The two teams played in Brock on Sept. 21. The game was played in a torrential rainfall, and the Buckaroos lost 9-20.
Last season, the Buckaroos beat Brock when the two schools were in the same UIL district, making Breckenridge the district champions. In the 2017 playoffs, Breckenridge lost to Merkel in the Bi-District round, and Brock lost to Rockdale High School in the final championship round.
Hubble said the Buckaroos would start on Saturday getting ready for the playoff game. “Let’s go to work,” he said.
Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
Cutline, top photo: The Breckenridge Buckaroos celebrate Friday night as the last few seconds tick off the clock, giving them a 28-0 win over the Clyde Bulldogs and securing their spot in the playoffs. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
