Breckenridge to start district play tonight against Clyde in Buckaroo Stadium
By Brant Thurmond/Breckenridge Texan
After a disappointing start to the season, the Breckenridge Buckaroos varsity football team gets a chance for a reset as they start the 2024 district 3-3A campaign tonight against the Clyde Bulldogs at Buckaroo Stadium.
The district opener is set to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online (click here). To get everyone in the spirit, there will be a pep rally at noon outside the Stephens County Courthouse, and Clear Fork Bank will host a tailgate party at the bank parking lot, 100 block of East Williams Street, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The Buckaroos will go into tonight’s game with a 0-5 record.
Their struggles with offensive consistency have been evident, with just one pre-district game (week 3 against Cisco) with multiple offensive touchdowns in the 30-20 loss in Cisco.
The Bucks scored just one offensive touchdown in the final two games after being shutout by Eastland (14-0) on Sept. 20 and suffering a 42-6 defeat on homecoming to Tolar in their final non-district game Sept. 27. Breckenridge put up seven points with against Childress with a kick-off returned for a touchdown after being shutout by Holliday in the season opener 64-0.
Statistically, the Bucks average 6.6 points per game (through five games), which ranked them fifth in the district, while defensively the Bucks allowed 37 points per game, which was fourth in the district.
The Buckaroos’ non-district opponents had a combined record of 16-10.
The Buckaroo defense will be tested this evening as the Bulldogs averaged 34.4 points per game in the first five games, while allowing 41.4 points per game.
Clyde’s points per game average is ranked first in the district, while their defense is fifth among district opponents.
Buckaroo head coach Casey Pearce said the Bucks have fallen short of the expectations in the first five games but said a clean slate is a fresh start for the team.
“It’s been a disappointment to start the season for us,” Pearce said. “0-5 is for sure not what we expected to be. But that’s where we are at, and we have a chance to start with a fresh slate. The first thing we got to do is win a ball game. Our goal this week is we got to be 1-0.
“If we can do that, that gives us chance to get into the playoffs,” Pearce said. “That’s what we have been working for since Aug. 5.”
Pearce acknowledged that the road to the playoffs will not get any easier with the new district schedule that includes Clyde, Comanche, Jim Ned, Sweetwater and San Angelo TLCA.
“The road isn’t going to get any easier than what the pre-district schedule was,” Pearce said. “Clyde has had their share of defeats, but they have won more ball games than us so it’s going to be a competitive ballgame.
“We are going to have to make plays and try to create some explosiveness in this offense and try to get off the field on defense,” he continued. “We got our work cut out for us.”
One of the biggest keys that Pearce noted was being able to run the football.
“We got to be able to run the ball and set up some things and throw it down the field,” the coach said. “We are very capable at the skill positions with the ball in our hand, but in order to be dynamic with the ball in your hand, you got to have creases to run it in. We have struggled to create running lanes for our backs and keep pressure off our quarterbacks.”
As far as the district playoff contenders are concerned, Pearce said the Buckaroos and Clyde could be fighting for the fourth place spot.
“To me, the race for the playoffs is between Clyde and us as the fourth place team and then everyone is chasing Jim Ned and Comanche,” Pearce said.
DISTRICT OUTLOOK
Five games into the season and Comanche and Jim Ned sit at the top of the standings at 3-2. Sweetwater and Clyde both start the district schedule at 2-3 and Breckenridge and San Angelo TLCA round out the district at 0-5
Looking forward to the rest of the district games:
Jim Ned – Oct. 18
(at Indian Stadium in Tuscola)
Jim Ned looks to be a favorite to win the district, but the Indians’ game against Comanche might shake the district, so to speak, as that game will play a critical role in the race for the district championship.
The Jim Ned Indians are averaging 26.4 points per game offensively and are allowing 21.8 points defensively through five games. Their opponents have a combined record of 17-10, which ranks third overall in strength of schedule based off opponent records.
Jim Ned has had wins over Lubbock Trinity, Jacksboro, and Holliday, while losing to Lubbock Estacado and Wall by a combined eight points.
Comanche – Oct. 25
(Buckaroo Stadium)
Comanche averaged 29 points per game offensively and allowed an average of 20.8 points per game defensively through five games. They are second in most points per game offensively and rank first among district opponents in points allowed per game.
Their opponents have an overall record of 18-8 through five games, which ranks second in strength of schedule, based off opponent records.
Comanche picked up wins over Llano, Eastland and Tolar, while being defeated by Poth and Tolar.
Sweetwater – Nov. 1
(Buckaroo Stadium)
The Mustangs enter district play with an overall record of 2-3 through five games.
Sweetwater picked up wins over Midland Greenwood and Lubbock Estacado and was defeated by Idalou, Seminole and Wall.
The Mustangs averaged 23.4 points per game offensively while allowing 32.2 points per game defensively, which ranks them fourth and third respectively among district opponents.
Sweetwater’s opponents have a combined record of 22-8 (Idalou, Wall and Estacado have played six games) which comes in as the toughest opponent combined record.
San Angelo TLCA – Nov. 8
(in San Angelo)
The Eagles are 0-5 overall through five games and average four points per game offensively and have allowed an average of 61.4 points per game defensively.
TLCA lost to Tahoka, Cisco, Ballinger, Austin Hyde Park, and San Angelo Grape Creek.
The Eagles’ opponents have a combined record of 16-10, which puts them in a tie for fifth as the Buckaroos’ opponents have a 16-10 combined record as well.
Check out these other stories on the Breckenridge Texan:
Buckaroos shutout by Mavericks in Eastland, 14-0
Buckaroos still looking for a win following 30-20 loss in Cisco
Buckaroos move to 0-2 after home opener loss to Childress
Buckaroos drop football season opener to Holliday, 64-0
Cutline, top photo: Breckenridge High School senior Sawyer Wimberley evades Cisco Lobo Hudson Hernandez in the Sept. 13 game in Cisco. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
