Breckenridge Texan

By Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

The Breckenridge Buckaroos varsity football team wrapped up the 2023 season with a trip to Clyde on Friday, Nov. 3. At halftime, the score was a promising 14-14, but the second half wasn’t as successful for the Buckaroos and the final score was 14-34 in Clyde’s favor.

The Clyde Bulldogs received the ball first and scored in less than three minutes. Then, the scored again with 2:25 left in the first quarter, making the score Clyde 14, Breckenridge 0.

The Buckaroo defense sacks the Bulldog quarterback in Friday night’s game in Clyde. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)

Halfway through the second quarter the Buckaroos got on the scoreboard when quarterback Cam Escalon passed the ball to wide receiver Alexis Franco, who ran it in for a touchdown. Benny Escobedo kicked the extra point, and the score was 7-14 with 5:55 left in the first half.

Just before the end of the second quarter, Escalon connected with wide receiver Brilee Bernal for the touchdown. Escobedo’s kick was good again, and the score was 14-14 with 32 seconds left in the half.

Clyde opened the second half with an onside kick, which was recovered by the Bulldogs. They scored a minute and a half later, setting the tone for the rest of the second half. The extra point attempt by Clyde was blocked, and the score was 14-20 with the Bulldogs leading at 10:33 on the clock in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs scored again just as the third quarter ended, and the fourth quarter started with a score of 27-14. Clyde scored the final points of the game about four minutes later, and the score was 34-14 with 7:53 left in the game.

“Onside kick, we knew it was coming, but we did not handle it…frustrating,” Pearce said. “We didn’t recover from that. … We gave them a possession that they didn’t deserve, and look what happened. Things snowballed on us. They got two scores there quick. We weren’t able to get anything going offensively. We had some shots, had some big plays that just didn’t end up in our favor.”

Looking back over the season, Pearce said things just didn’t go the way the team planned.

Brilee Bernal runs for the goal line in Clyde’s Bulldog Stadium on Friday, scoring the Buckaroos’ second touchdown of the night. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

“There were a lot of expectations coming into this season with this group to see if we could develop the chemistry and win ballgames,” he said. “(We had) great chemistry, great work. It just didn’t play the way we wanted it to play. I think, physically in the trenches, we struggled at times, midseason. That’s not on anybody or anything. It’s just where we’re at and what happened and how it went.

“But I’m not disappointed in this group,” Pearce continued. “The way they finished this ballgame is the epitome of how they practiced and worked every week. … It’s a great group of kids. I hate to see them go, but they’ve got things in front of them that they’re gonna be successful at because of the things they experienced.”

The coaches and the team are ready to start preparing for next season, he said.

“We got to do things to help ourselves regroup and get ready for a new season next year,” Pearce said. “We’ll see what we can put together. We’ve got kids that compete and hopefully understand what competing and fighting and having chemistry in the locker room means. That’s that’s crucial to ever turn the corner and be successful and win gold footballs. So we got to continue to work.”

The Buckaroos finished with 111 passing yards and 45 yards rushing on 25 attempts for a total of 156 yards. Clyde had 264 yards rushing on 49 attempts and 213 yards passing for a total of 477 yards.

Escalon completed 11 of 19 passing attempts for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Franco led the Bucks’ rushing attack with 45 yards on 20 attempts. He was also the Buckaroos’ leading rusher with two receptions for 49 yards and one touchdown. Bernal had six catches for 42 yards and one touchdown.

DISTRICT 3-3A RESULTS

(Winners in bold)

Clyde (9-1, 4-1) 34
Breckenridge (4-6, 1-4) 14

Jim Ned (8-2, 4-1) 14
Iowa Park (4-6, 3-2) 7

Bowie (1-9, 0-5) 7
Vernon (8-2, 3-2) 42

Bi-District MATCHUPS

• Clyde (9-1, 4-1) vs Peaster, the No. 4 seed from District 4, (4-6, 3-3), at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 in Dublin
• Jim Ned (8-2, 4-1) vs Whitesboro, No. 3 seed in District 4 (5-5, 4-2), at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 in Burleson
• Vernon (8-2, 3-2) vs Paradise, No. 2 seed in District 4 (9-1, 5-1), at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 in Wichita Falls
• Iowa Park (4-6, 3-2) vs Brock, No. 1 seed in District 4 (7-3, 6-0), at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 in Graham

DISTRICT STANDINGS

1. Clyde – 4-1
2. Jim Ned – 4-1
3. Vernon – 3-2
4. Iowa Park – 3-2
5. Breck – 1-4
6. Bowie – 0-5

The Pride of Breckenridge – Buckaroo Marching Band performs at halftime in the final game of the season. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Breckenridge High School marching band gave their final game performance of the season at halftime in Clyde. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Alexis Franco evades a member of the Clyde Bulldogs on his way to a touchdown in Friday night’s game. Both of the Buckaroos’ touchdowns came in the first half of the game. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)