Breckenridge Texan

With a full moon rising and the superstition-invoking Friday the 13^th on the calendar, Buckaroo fans made the short drive to Cisco on Friday evening to watch the Breckenridge varsity football team take on the Cisco Loboes.

Trying to beat a solid Cisco team that was coming off a 20-13 loss to the Wall Hawks at Chesley Field was no easy task for the Buckaroos.

In the end, it was the Loboes that came away victorious with a score of 40-19, leaving the Buckaroos still searching for their first win of the 2019 season.

Buckaroo Quarterback Owen Woodward threw two touchdown passes and ran in one touchdown in Friday’s game against the Cisco Loboes. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

But, it was perhaps a glimpse of things to come for the Buckaroos, who put on a much physical and steady display of effort on both sides of the ball.

This style of football has been what head coach Casey Hubble has tried to instill in his team from his first year as coach back in 2014: Fast, Physical and Fearless.

“I challenged them to play a more physical style of football (against Cisco), and they answered that. I was very proud of them for that,” Hubble said. “I challenged them to take care of the football, and they answered that. We had one turnover late that kept us from being able to go in and score.

“I love these guys and want way more for them than just to be in a game,” he said. “I had a lot of fun tonight. It was fun to coach and fun to see us execute. But if we are going to win games like that, we are going to have to be more disciplined.”

Now that the Bucks have proven their physicality level, Hubble and the team can now turn their sights to the discipline aspect of the game.

“That is the next step and something that we have lacked,” the coach said. “If we are going to take the next step, that’s where the challenge is.”

Another bright spot for the Bucks was the level of execution from the offensive side of the ball.

“They executed the game plan. We failed to do that the past couple of weeks,” Hubble said. “If we (had played) like we did tonight (against Jacksboro and Comanche), then we (would be) 2-1 right now. But we didn’t.

“We had a better week of practice and preparation,” he said. “The coaches coached better, and the players played better. But it wasn’t enough tonight, and we are never going to be satisfied. But we just got better. We took care of the ball and executed better on offense and defense.”

Aaryn Medina catches a pass for a first down at Chesley Field in Cisco. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

With the shortage in numbers at the varsity level and a few injuries, the Buckaroos had to lean on freshmen Jerry Lawson, last week against Comanche, and Anson Rodgers, this week following last week’s injury to Kooper Shook.

“Anson came up and did a good job for us this week,” Hubble said. “He did an unbelievable job filling in and ran the ball hard for us. He got us some great positive yards on kick off return and stuck it up in there like he wasn’t scared. I am really proud of him.

“Jerry is going to grow every week,” the coach said. “He’s going to get better and better every week. He has a chance to be the best, dominant defensive end we have ever had and we have had some really good ones. That will be up to him to make that happen.”

Cisco started the game with the ball in Buckaroo territory and moved it 49 yards in 11 plays before Stanley Callahan scored on an 8-yard run with 5:56 remaining in the opening quarter. The PAT failed to make the score 6-0.

Breckenridge moved the ball from their own 41-yard line to the Cisco 27 before failing to convert fourth down.

The Loboes needed just five plays to move the ball 63 yards before Haven Will scored from nine yards out on the first play of the second quarter. The PAT was good, giving the Loboes a 13-0 lead with 11:55 left in the second quarter.

The Buckaroos answered with a 14-play 73-yard drive that was capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run by Owen Woodward. The PAT by Justin Bell was good, making the score 13-7 with 5:08 to play in first half.

Cisco responded with a 5-play 42-yard drive that saw Callahan break free for a 42-yard touchdown run. The PAT kick was good, to make the score 20-7 with 2:55 remaining in the second quarter.

A mistake on the ensuing kickoff where the ball seemed like it was close to going out of bounds but took a Cisco roll and led to the Loboes recovering at the Buckaroo 6-yard line, proved to be costly as Gibson Hearne increased the Loboes’ lead to 26-7 with a 5-yard touchdown run two plays later.

With 2:01 left in the first half, the Buckaroos execution of the two-minute drill was on display as they moved the ball 65 yards on 9 plays en route to the endzone.

The Buckaroos converted a fourth and five along the way as Woodward found Aaryn Medina for an 8-yard completion and the first down.

Three plays later, Woodward connected with Kyle Canada on a 6-yard touchdown pass with just 5 seconds left before halftime. The PAT was no good as the Bucks trailed 26-13 at halftime.

The Bucks were forced to punt on their opening drive of the third quarter after they were behind the sticks following back-to-back penalties.

Cisco needed just six plays to go 58 yards before finding pay dirt with a 25-yard touchdown run by Issac Acosta. The PAT was good to make the score 33-13 with 6:45 left in the third quarter.

Breckenridge put together a 56-yard drive moving the ball to the Cisco 23-yard line and chewing up nearly seven minutes of the clock. The drive ultimately did not result in points as the Bucks failed to convert on fourth and long.

The Buckaroo defense came away with a solid stop on the ensuing Loboes drive and forced a punt. Six plays and 72 yards later, Breckenridge answered with a 26-yard run by Jonas Arellano with 7:04 to play in the game. The PAT was no good as the Bucks trailed 33-19.

Jonas Arellano made the final Buckaroo touchdown in Friday night’s game against the Cisco Loboes. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cisco scored the final points of the game with 21-yard pass from Hearne to Dax Brunson on fourth and two with 2:26 remaining in the game.

The next Buckaroo drive saw the Bucks move the ball to the Cisco 36-yard line, however the only Buckaroo turnover ended the drive.

The Buckaroos finished the game with 364 total yards, 143 passing yards for 8.4 average, 221 rushing yards for 5.3 average, 6 penalties for 50 yards, 1 turnover, and 1 punt in 65 offensive plays.

Cisco finished with 281 total yards, 73 passing yards for 14.6 average, 208 yards rushing for 5.9 average, 3 penalties, and 1 punt in 42 offensive plays.

With the loss, Breckenridge dropped to 0-3 overall, while Cisco improved to 2-1.

The Bucks will host the Brock Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at Buckaroo Stadium.

Revenge could be on the mind for Buckaroo players as Brock eliminated them from the playoffs in 2018.

Brock goes into next week’s game 2-1 with wins over Iowa Park (21-7) and Liberty Christian 28-21.The Eagles’ only loss so far in 2019 was to 4-A Division I Brownwood in the season opener, 10-0.

District 3A-Division I results (9-13-19)

Cisco 40 (2-1)
Breckenridge 19 (0-3)

Jim Ned 62 (3-0)
Merkel 0 (0-3)

Clyde 34 (2-1)
Comanche 0 (1-2)

 Early 19 (2-1)
Tolar 18 (1-2)

Eastland 60 (3-0)
Albany 28 (2-1)

Wall 20 (3-0)
Midland Christian 14 (1-2)

The Breckenridge Buckaroos had 143 passing yards and 221 rushing yards against the Cisco Loboes in their third game of the 2019 season. Next week, they face the Brock High School Eagles in Buckaroo Stadium. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

*Statistical numbers are unofficial at time of publication and were provided courtesy of Charlie Parker, KLXK-KROO Radio.

Story by Brant Thurmond/Breckenridge Texan

Cutline, top photo: Head Coach Casey Hubble praised the Buckaroos’ efforts in the game against Cisco to improve their playing style by being more physical and taking care of the football. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)