Breckenridge Texan

By Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

The Breckenridge High School Buckaroos varsity football team is headed to the Bi-District playoffs as the second seed for District 3-3A Division 1. They will take on the Whitesboro Bearcats at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at Castleberry ISD’s W.O. Barnes Stadium.

The stadium is located at 4801 Blackstone Dr. in River Oaks (Fort Worth), and Whitesboro will be on the home team side. Tickets will cost $5 for adults and $3 for students. Click here to purchase tickets to the game.

The Buckaroos’ 61-0 win over the San Angelo – TLCA Eagles on Friday night, Nov. 5, along with Early’s 24-14 win over Wall, led to a three-way tie for second place in the district with Breckenridge, Early and Wall each having a 3-2 district record. The district’s tie-breaking formula resulted in the Buckaroos being in second place, Early in third place and Wall in fourth place.

Jim Ned, with a 5-0 district record, is in first place. Clyde (1-9, 1-4) and San Angelo TLCA (0-10, 0-5) did not make it to the playoffs.

Playoffs

The Whitesboro Bearcats are the third seed in District 4-3A Division 1 with a district record of 5-2 this year. The winner of the Breckenridge-Whitesboro game will go to the Area round of the playoffs and play the winner of the Bushland-Slaton Bi-District game.

The BISD All-Sports Booster Club will sponsor a Buckaroo Bonfire, beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, north of the baseball fields.

In the Bi-District round, Jim Ned will take on Peaster; Early will play Pilot Point; and, Wall will face District 4-3A winner Brock.

2021 UIL Texas Football State Championships 2021 Football Conference 3A D1

Breckenridge vs. San Angelo – TLCA

On Friday, Nov. 5, the Breckenridge Buckaroos hosted the San Angelo – TLCA Eagles in Buckaroo Stadium. The Eagles came into the game with a 0-9 record for the season and hadn’t won a game since October 2019 when they were in District 4-3A Division 2.

The referee talks to State Rep. Glenn Rogers and the Breckenridge and San Angelo – TLCA players before the coin flip at Friday night’s game. Rogers was on hand to toss the coin. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Breckenridge’s State Representative Glenn Rogers attended the game, tossing the coin to determine who would receive the opening kickoff. SA-TLCA won the coin toss and chose to receive.

The Eagles failed to score on that initial possession and punted to the Buckaroos. Anson Rodgers scored the first Buckaroo touchdown of the night; Benny Escobedo’s extra point kick was good. The score was 7-0 with 9:18 left in the first quarter.

A few minutes later, Rodgers intercepted the ball, and at 6:58 on the clock in the first quarter, Buckaroo Quarterback Chase Lehr scored. Another extra point by Escobedo put the score at 14-0.

Senior running back Cedric Baladez scored the Buckaroos third touchdown of the night. Another successful kick gave Breckenridge a 21-0 lead over the Eagles. For one more score before the end of the first quarter, junior running back Jerry Lawson ran in a 46-yard touchdown. After a failed extra point attempt, the score was 27-0 with 1:02 left in the first quarter.

Senior running back Cedric Baladez evades the San Angelo defense in Friday night’s game in Buckaroo Stadium. Click here to see more photos from the game in the Breckenridge Texan Photo Gallery. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Less than 90 seconds into the second quarter, junior wide receiver Adrian Ruiz made a 74-yard touchdown. The extra point by Escobedo put the score at 34-0 with 10:35 left in the first half. A Lehr pass to Baladez resulted in another touchdown. A successful kick gave the Buckaroos 41 points at 4:30 on the clock.

Just before the first half ended, Lehr made a 22-yard run to score; Escobedo’s extra point made the score 48-0 to end the half.

The Buckaroos continued their touchdown streak in the second half when senior wide receiver Tyler Valdez returned the opening kickoff for an 85-yard touchdown run. A failed kick put the score at 54-0 with 11:38 left in the third quarter.

The final score of the night came when sophomore running back Kayden Garcia scored on a touchdown run. Escobedo’s final kick of the night gave the Buckaroos a score of 61-0.

“I thought our kids do what we needed to do tonight,” head coach Casey Pearce said after the game. “We controlled the things we could control, executed and did things right. I thought we played with class.”

District 3-3A Results

Breckenridge (4-6, 3-2)  61
San Angelo – TLCA (0-10, 0-5) 0

Early (8-2, 3-2) 24
Wall (5-4), 3-2) 14

Jim Ned (10-0, 5-0) 35
Clyde (1-9, 1-4) 7

Nov. 12 Games – Bi-District

• Breckenridge vs. Whitesboro at Castleberry ISD
• Jim Ned vs. Peaster at Tarleton State University
• Early vs. Pilot Point at Saginaw High School
• Wall vs. Brock at Clyde High School (Thursday, Nov. 11)

Sophomore kicker Benny Escobedo contributed 7 points to the Buckaroos’ score Friday night with his extra-point kicks. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Buckaroo quarterback Chase Lehr crosses the goal line Friday night. He ran in two touchdowns in the first half of the game. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Pride of Breckenridge – Buckaroo Marching Band performed their traditional “light show” at halftime during Friday night’s game. They will present a longer “Black Out” concert at Buckaroo Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Buckaroo Band and Cheerleaders get the crowd fired up as the football team prepares to take the field for the second half of the game against San Angelo – TLCA. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: The Buckaroo defense tackles a San Angelo – TLCA player in Friday night’s game. Breckenridge dominated the Eagles throughout the game, winning 61-0 and earning the No. 2 seed in the Bi-District playoffs next weekend. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Click here to see more photos from the Breckenridge vs. San Angelo game in the Breckenridge Texan’s Photo Gallery. (Senior Night photos will be uploaded soon.)

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