Breckenridge Texan

By Brant Thurmond/Breckenridge Texan

Coming off back-to-back district wins, the hype and excitement was at high level Friday evening as the Breckenridge Buckaroos battled the Wall Hawks.

In a game that was crucial for playoff seeding and could have very well set up a match-up for a district championship next week against the No.1 state-ranked Jim Ned Indians, the Buckaroos were faced with a tough task of knocking off the Hawks, but ultimately were defeated by the Hawks 29-26.

Breckenridge dropped to 2-1 in District 3-3A, while Wall improved to 2-1. Wall’s remaining opponents include Clyde and Early, two teams which the Buckaroos have already played and defeated, while Breckenridge will have a road trip to Tuscola to play Jim Ned next week before hosting San Angelo TLCA in the district finale.

There were many positives to take away from Friday’s game, but head coach Casey Pearce said it was a few missed opportunities in the second half that ultimately ended up being a big deciding factor in the outcome.

“Our kids battled. We got fighters,” Pearce said. “I have no reservations about how we planned or how these kids prepared. We did some things to put us in a bind. We got stops in the second half and didn’t take advantage of those opportunities.

“Dealing with that offense, it’s going to consume clock and we better be efficient with what we get done,” the coach continued. “We did some things right. We just got to keep playing. We have tough kids. We just got to go execute better.”

Wall started the game with possession of the ball, and the Buckaroo defense quickly forced a punt after just three plays.

The Buckaroo offense answered with its first points of the game by going on a 10-play 89-yard drive, which was capped off with a 40-yard touchdown run by Anson Rodgers. The two-point conversion was no good, but the Bucks held an early 6-0 lead with six minutes left in the first quarter.

Wall answered with an eight-play drive that stretched 67 yards and was capped off with 5-yard touchdown run by Dane Reynolds. The PAT was good, making the score 7-6 with 3:08 remaining in the first quarter.

The Buckaroos responded with a long drive of their own, moving the ball 75 yards in nine plays en route to a 9-yard touchdown run by Rodgers. Jerry Lawson converted the 2-point conversion, giving the Bucks a 14-7 lead with 11:19 left in the second quarter. The drive was aided in part by a 27-yard pass reception by Zeke Castillo from Chase Lehr. Rodgers also had a 15-yard pass reception on the drive as well.

Wall cut the deficit to one point (14-13) following a six-play 66-yard drive that was capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run by Dominic Garcia with at the 8:44 mark of the second quarter.

In an attempt to carry the momentum, Wall successfully recovered an onside kick attempt on the ensuing kick-off, but the Buckaroo defense stood its ground and forced a punt after just three plays.

Unfortunately for the Buckaroos, the Wall defense had an answer of their own and forced the Bucks to punt after just three plays as well.

Wall needed just two plays on their next drive before they scored on a 32-yard touchdown run by Garcia. The 2-point conversion was good, giving the Hawks a 21-14 lead with 6:03 remaining in the second quarter.

Not fazed by the quick score, the Bucks responded with another score of their own following an eight-play 54-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown run by Lawson. The 2-point conversion failed, making the score 21-20 with 1:18 left in the second quarter. Adrian Ruiz had a 39-yard reception on third down for the Buckaroos to help set up the touchdown run by Lawson two plays later.

Wall was content taking the 1-point lead into halftime and ran out the remaining 1:18 left on the clock.

Buckaroo defenders tackle a Wall player during Friday night’s district game. To see more photos from the game, click here for the Photo Gallery. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)

Following the halftime break, the Bucks got the ball to start the second half and were looking to regain the lead but following two straight positive plays that ended up getting a first down, the Buckaroo offense was hit with back-to-back penalties and a sack, which forced a punt.

Wall responded with a nine-play 56-yard drive that chewed up 4:08 of clock and ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Gabe Haskins to Jacob Richardson. The 2-point conversion was good and stretched the lead to 29-20 with 3:30 left in the third quarter.

The Buckaroos were able to move the ball to the Hawk 14-yard line on the ensuing possession but came up short as they were unable to convert the 2 yards needed for first down after three straight runs.

Wall took over with 14 seconds left in the third quarter and roughly a minute later, Buckaroo Julian Eutimio recovered a Hawk fumble to give the ball back to the Buckaroo offense.

Breckenridge took over at midfield and went on a 13-play drive, converting three third-down attempts and one fourth-down attempt, before Lawson capped the drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion failed and with 6:45 left in the game, the Bucks trailed 29-26.

Wall returned the ensuing kick-off to the Buckaroo 26-yard line, but two plays later Fabien Lopez forced a fumble that was recovered by Rodgers.

The Buckaroo offense was unable to capitalize on the turnover as they were forced to punt after just three plays.

Wall took over with 4:11 remaining in the game, were able to pick convert two third down attempts to keep their drive alive and run out the remainder of the clock.

Breckenridge finished with 196 yards passing and 136 yards rushing on 40 attempts for 332 yards of total offense. Lehr completed 15 of 20 passing attempts for all the Bucks’ passing yards.  Castillo led the team in receiving yards with 74 yards on three receptions. Rodgers was the leading rusher with 103 yards on 16 attempts and two touchdowns. Wall finished with 288 yards rushing and 34 yards passing for a total of 322 yards.

The Buckaroos will return to action at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, in Tuscola to play the Jim Ned Indians.

“They (Jim Ned) are the best team in the state right now,” Pearce said of Jim Ned. “These kids are battling, and I will take my chances when we roll into Jim Ned.”

District 3-3A Results

Early (6-2, 1-2) 34
Clyde (1-7, 1-2) 15

Jim Ned (8-0, 3-0) 70
SA TLCA (0-8, 0-3) 0

Wall (4-3, 2-1) 29
Breckenridge (3-5, 2-1) 26

Oct. 29 games

• Breckenridge at Jim Ned
• Clyde at Wall
• Early at SA TLCA

Jerry Lawson takes a hand-off from Buckaroo quarterback Chase Lehr during Friday night’s game against Wall. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)

Anson Rodgers runs passed Wall defenders after taking a hand-off from quarterback Chase Lehr. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Members of The Pride of Breckenridge – Buckaroo Marching Band  enter Buckaroo Stadium Friday night dressed in pink to show their support for Pink Out which brings awareness of the disease breast cancer. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Breckenridge High School varsity cheerleaders, who were sporting pink shirts and accessories for Pink Out night, were the “Big Country Homepage Cheerleaders of the Week.” Click here to see the segment which aired on KTAB-TV on Friday night. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Zeke Castillo pushes past two Wall defenders during Friday night’s district game at Buckaroo Stadium. To see more photos from the game, click here for the Photo Gallery. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

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