Buckaroos start district play with 38-21 loss to Clyde

October 12

21:37 2024

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By Brant Thurmond/Breckenridge Texan

The Breckenridge Buckaroos started the district 3-3A portion of their varsity football season Friday evening, Oct. 11, by hosting the Clyde Bulldogs at Buckaroo Stadium.

Prior to the game, the Buckaroos knew the importance of starting off on the right track if they wanted to make a post-season run. Now, the Bucks find themselves behind the eight ball as they ultimately fell to the Bulldogs 38-21.

Sawyer Wimberley gains some yardage for the Buckaroos in Friday night’s game against the Clyde Bulldogs. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Buckaroo offense showed signs of life late in the first half and in the second half, but following the game Friday, head coach Casey Pearce continued to stress the importance of offensive consistency.

“There’s bright spots every week, but we can’t seem to string anything together,” Pearce said. “It’s frustrating and aggravating.”

Now, the Buckaroos will turn their attention to the Jim Ned Indians, who were defeated by Comanche 13-10 in overtime Friday.

“Show up and fight. Show up and compete,” Pearce said on the mindset heading into next week’s game. “I just told those players that my opinion of them has not changed since Aug. 5. When you show up every day and you work your tail off, at some point your investment has to be returned. We haven’t returned the investment they have put in. They have worked their butts off. We got to find a way to pay them back.”

It didn’t take the Bulldogs long to get on the scoreboard following a punt by the Buckaroos on their opening drive.

A 28-yard punt return, accompanied by a facemask penalty, set the Bulldogs up at the Buckaroo 10-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage, the Bulldogs scored on a 10-yard run by Miles Wilsher. The PAT was blocked by the Buckaroos, giving Clyde an early 6-0 lead with 9:50 left in the first quarter.

The two teams traded fumbles on their next possessions before Clyde, following a Buckaroo punt, capped off an eight-play 64-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run by Tucker Jones. The PAT was good, giving the Bulldogs a 13-0 lead with 4:03 left in the first quarter.

Buckaroo defensive lineman Xavier Rodriguez takes down the Clyde ball carrier in Friday night’s game. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Another punt was the result of the next Breckenridge possession after moving the ball just 14 yards in six plays before the punt.

The punt was downed at the Clyde five-yard line and that led to a 13-play 95-yard drive by the Bulldogs, resulting in a five-yard touchdown run by Clay Deel. The PAT kick was no good, making the score 19-0 with 10:32 remaining in the second quarter. The drive was aided in part by a horse-collar penalty on third down and an offsides penalty on fourth down that gave the Bulldogs a first down.

A punt after three plays was the result of the Buckaroos’ ensuing drive.

The Bulldogs were able to cash in on the defensive stop with a six-play 42-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Devan Wright to Tucker Jones. The PAT was good, giving the Bulldogs a 26-0 lead with 7:25 left in the second quarter.

The Buckaroos had a chance to force a fourth down attempt, but an offsides penalty on third down ultimately kept the drive alive.

The next Breckenridge possession resulted in a lost fumble after a pass was ruled a backwards pass and the Bulldogs recovered; however, the Buckaroo defense held its ground and forced the Bulldogs to punt.

The Clyde punt led to a 10-play 82-yard drive by the Buckaroos that ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Joseph Juneau to Sawyer Wimberley. Wimberley successfully kicked the PAT, making the score 26-7 with 31 seconds remaining in the first half.

The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 32-7 on the opening drive of the third quarter that went 14 plays in 85 yards and used up close to half of the third quarter clock. Clyde’s Trey Curry scored on the drive with a six-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion failed.

Buckaroo defensive back Erik Saucedo stops the Bulldog ball carrier from advancing in Friday night’s game. Saucedo was wearing pink gloves and sleeves because it was the Pink Out game for Breckenridge in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Click here to see more Pink Out pictures. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Bucks were forced to punt on their first possession of the second half, but after five plays into the ensuing drive, Buckaroo Jaime Cruz recovered a fumble for the Buckaroos.

On the first play of the next Buckaroo possession, Juneau connected with Wimberley on a 30-yard touchdown pass. Wimberley’s PAT was good, making the score 32-14 with 2:37 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs were able to answer with a quick four-play 68-yard drive that ended with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Wright to Kendrick Johnson. The two-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 38-14 with 13 seconds left to play in the third quarter.

The Buckaroos responded with a 14-play drive that covered 61 yards and was capped off with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Juneau to Cam David. Wimberley connected on the PAT to make the score 38-21 with 7:28 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Buckaroo defense came away with a big fourth down stop at the Buckaroo three-yard on the next Clyde possession after the Bulldogs moved the ball 47 yards in 11 plays deep inside Buckaroo territory.

Breckenridge was unable to capitalize on the stop and were forced to punt, and Clyde took a knee, ending the game with a 38-21 win.

District 3-3A Results

(Winners in bold)

Comanche (4-2, 1-0) 13 OT
Jim Ned (3-3, 0-1) 10

Sweetwater (3-3, 1-0) 90
SA TLCA (0-6, 0-1) 0

Clyde (3-3, 1-0) 38
Breck (0-6, 0-1) 21

District 3-3A games Oct. 11

SA TLCA at Clyde
Breckenridge at Jim Ned
Sweetwater at Comanche

Pink Out

Friday night’s football game and Tuesday night’s Lady Bucks volleyball games were “Pink Out” events in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The Buckaroo cheerleaders traded their green and white uniforms for pink and white, and many of the football players wore pink gloves, sleeves and other items. Additionally, the Buckaroo Marching Band wore pink plumes on their hats and decorated their instruments and uniforms with pink ribbons.

Special Pink Out t-shirts were created and sold via The Shirt Shop, benefiting the Stephens County Our Town organization. All of the money raised by Our Town stays in Breckenridge to help local families dealing with cancer.

Click here to see the Breckenridge Texan’s Pink Out photo gallery.

BHS junior Alyssa Phelps displays a sign on her drums honoring her aunt’s mother, Pamela Taylor, who died from breast cancer recently. Band members wore pink during their halftime show as part of Pink Out at the game Friday night. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Buckaroo wide receiver Cam David catches a pass from quarterback Joseph Juneau for the final touchdown of Friday night’s game. The Buckaroos scored more points than they have in any other game this season, but Clyde still came out on top with a score of 38-21. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)