Coach Pearce takes look at upcoming football season as Buckaroos prepare to take on Holliday in opening game

August 30

11:08 2024

Print This Article Share it With Friends

By Brant Thurmond/Breckenridge Texan

Noted as one of the most exciting times in Texas, high school football season is upon us and the 2024 schedule will get underway this week.

Texas high school athletes, as well as band members and cheerleaders, from across the state have braved 100-degree temperatures over the past three weeks leading up to being able to represent their communities this fall and in hopes of making it to the championship game at Austin’s AT&T Stadium in December.

The Breckenridge High School Buckaroos open the 2024 season by traveling to Holliday to take on the Eagles at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, Aug. 30, in Eagle Stadium.

The Buckaroos had a dual scrimmage with Fort Worth Castleberry and Gainesville on Aug. 15 and then hosted a scrimmage against Wall, who is ranked No. 9 in Class 3A Div. II, according to Dave Campbell’s pre-season rankings, on Aug.22.

Buckaroo head football coach Casey Pearce talks to the team during the annual Watermelon Scrimmage earlier this year. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The 2024 Buckaroo football team is coming off a somewhat disappointing season as the Breckenridge missed out on the 2023 Class 3A playoffs and finished last season 4-6 overall, including a 1-4 record in District 3-3A.

With the UIL realignment earlier this year, the road to the playoffs in 2024 will not be an easy path for the Buckaroos with the reorganized district including Sweetwater (which dropped down from Class 4A Div. II), Jim Ned, Comanche (up a classification from 3A Div. II), Clyde and San Angelo TLCA. The Bucks lost Vernon, Bowie and Iowa Park due to the realignment.

The Bucks return four offensive and five defensive starters from the 2023 season and have 13 lettermen returning as well.

This year, Breckenridge has a young team with not much Friday night experience at the varsity level.

“I think the scrimmage against Wall exposed some of that, but it also exposed how they were going to respond and some of them really responded well,” Buckaroo head coach Casey Pearce said. “I’m glad that some of that is out of the way, but Friday nights are Friday nights, and this Friday night is going to be pretty telling. We need to be able to hang in there and weather the storm early and somehow find a way to put some points on the board and give the ball back to our offense as many times as we can defensively.

“It’s going to be interesting for sure,” Pearce continued. “It’s probably the most nervous I’ve been going into a season, just because of the youth of the team and things I feel like I have to expose them to.”

The Buckaroos will have a new face at the quarterback position as Zage Gravitt comes in from Witchta Falls High School, following the consolidation of Wichita Falls Old High, Hirschi and Rider, to take over the reins.

“Zage Gravitt moving here was a big plus, especially when in the first week of fall camp Joseph Juneau sprains a knee and has to miss two scrimmages because of it,” Pearce said. “With Zage moving in, we are pretty blessed, especially after losing Hudson Woodward out of the mix in the spring. That was kind of scary not to have your gun slinger ready to go and have all your parts.”

Gravitt is the son of Byron Gravitt, Breckenridge’s new special teams coordinator, and Emily Gravitt, BHS’s new head volleyball coach.

“Zage has come in here and has done a great job,” Pearce said. “His dad and mom have obviously contributed big to our program. I think Joseph Juneau will see some time at quarterback, but the biggest thing is they both need to be on the field at the same time. They have some cohesiveness to them, and they lead by example and people follow them.”

After three scrimmages, the Buckaroos start the 2024 football season tonight against the Holliday Eagles in Eagle Stadium. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Among the key returners for the Buckaroos will be Jaime Cruz, Sawyer Wimberley, Christian Flores, Jack McKay, Hayden Mendoza and Douglas White at the skill positions.

“I think everyone knows what Sawyer can do when he gets the football in his hands,” Pearce said. “He’s going to play offensively and defensively for us this year. He hasn’t played any defense since eighth grade, and I take it upon myself that that hasn’t gotten done because he’s a value to this football team on both sides of the ball.”

Leading the offensive line will be Antley Rodgers, who has started for the Buckaroos in the last three seasons. Pearce also expects big things out of senior Fabricio Davila.

“I hope Fabricio has a breakout year for us,” Pearce said. “He has done some things thus far, he and Antley both, that we expect because of years playing, but to see it come to life. They will have some young ones playing around them, so they are going to have to lead and be vocal and talk and get those ones on track. At this point, they have done that. We got to go do it for four quarters on Friday night and see how it works out, but those guys are going to go work.”

The Bucks will host Childress (8-4 Area Finalist) for their home opener on Sept. 6 before traveling to Cisco (5-7 Area Finalist) on Sept. 13 and Eastland on Sept. 20 (3-8) before returning home to host Tolar (14-2 2A Div. I State Finalist) on Sept. 27 for homecoming to close out the non-district portion of the 2024 season.

“We scrimmaged the No. 9 team in the state (Wall), and we are going to play the No. 8 team in the state in Class 3A Div. II (Holliday) this Friday night,” Pearce said. “Then we got Childress that is the No. 11 team in the state I think. We lined up some competition that’s going to prepare us, especially for our district.”

Pearce praised the positive environment in practice, in the locker room, and the coaching staff as well.

“There’s a lot of kids wanting to learn and we are coaching effort,” Pearce said. “It’s different in the mode in which we are trying to make progress. Everyone is going to throw the credit back at me, but I credit those that come here to work and show up every day. They (coaches) show up at 7:20 for a meeting and then go teach class all day and then they are ready to teach at a practice. That’s big to all our kids, and they see that and trust them. We got some things going that we haven’t had going in the last couple of years here or maybe the whole time I’ve been here. The staff we have is huge for this group of kids.”

2024 Breckenridge Buckaroos Varsity Football Team and Coaching Staff (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Breckenridge vs. Holliday

The 2024 season opener will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30, in Holliday against the Eagles.

The Eagles are coming off an 11-2 season that saw them make it to the regional semi-finals.

Holliday returns 25 lettermen and seven offensive and six defensive starters in 2024.

The Buckaroos, pictured here at the Watermelon Scrimmage, will take on the Holliday Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 30 in Holliday. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Some of the top players to watch include Parker Jones, Ty Harrison, Jimmy Hamill, Ashryn Berry, Steele Skinner and Jaedin Kim.

Jones, who had 141 tackles defensively in 2023, is a two-time all-state linebacker and is expected to lead the defense and be the primary ball carrier.

Berry, who had 643 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2023, and Hamill are both returning first team all-district selections and return for the Eagles.

Holliday plays in District 6-3A Div. II with Jacksboro, Wichita Falls City View, Henrietta, Millsap and Valley View.

The Eagles are predicted to finish second behind Jacksboro, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine, which was released earlier this summer.

“If you look at their (Holliday) roster, they are junior (and) senior heavy,” Pearce said. “It’s always going to be that way in Holliday, Texas, because of their program numbers. They have lost some pieces from that regional final team that got beat by Jacksboro, but they have replaced them and are big up front. They got some big offensive linemen, very similar to what Wall looked like last Thursday evening.

“They got some skill players that can go and have some foot speed,” the coach continued. “When they get the ball in their hands, it’s pretty potent.”

Defensively, the Eagles will be in a four-man front as part of their 4-2-5 defense and bring pressure based on situation.

“They are very steady and not a whole lot of pressure, like we saw last week, but they are going to bring pressure by down and distance,” Pearce said. “They’re going to be lined up right, and we are going to have to stay on them and block them and earn every inch that we get. It’s going to be a street fight up front.”

For the Buckaroos to come out on top, Pearce noted the importance of managing the clock and getting stops defensively to get the ball back to the offense.

“We are going to have to chip away and keep it close and keep the clock managed to the best of our ability,” he said. “The kicking game is going to be huge. First ball game of the year and a new set of players and all the unknowns situationally…how do they respond and how do they function?”