Buckaroos wrap up regular football season with win over SA-TLCA, prepare for playoffs

November 09

20:31 2025

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By Brant Thurmond/Breckenridge Texan

The illustrious “B” on top of the Clear Fork Bank building downtown was shining bright Friday evening, Nov. 7, over the Breckenridge skyline, and that could mean only one thing this time of year … the Buckaroo varsity football team was victorious on the gridiron.

In fact, the Buckaroos had just defeated the San Angelo TLCA Eagles 43-0 in Buckaroo Stadium, solidifying the Buckaroos’ trip to the Class 3A Division I playoffs for the first time since 2022.

The Buckaroos will play the Paradise Panthers at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, at Ram Stadium in Mineral Wells.

The Buckaroos’ defense takes down the San Angelo TLCA ball carrier in Friday night’s game. The final score was 43-0. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

On paper, Breckenridge was the favorite in Friday’s game against the Eagles with SA-TLCA still searching for their first win in 2025.

Prior to the game, the school district and fans recognized the Buckaroo seniors, who have given the team a big lift this season.

“I’m proud of the seniors,” Buckaroo head coach Casey Pearce said. “They’ve been through a lot in the last four years, and they’ve done their time and earned what they got tonight.

“I’m super proud of what they’ve done for this program, but it doesn’t need to end tonight,” he said. “We don’t need to have to air up the basketballs after next Friday.”

Pearce noted the need to improve the physicality and ability to run the football as something to improve prior to the playoff game next week.

“I don’t think we were very physical early,” Pearce said. “I think we were a little soft and thinking that this was just going to be a roll and do our thing. So, we better get it figured out before Monday, and that’s on the coaching staff and that’s also on players to rise to the dang occasion and get ready to go win a gold football.”

The Buckaroos’ last playoff win came in 2016 when they defeated the Comanche Indians in the Bi-District round. The Bucks were eliminated in the Area round that year with a 47-35 loss to the Muleshoe Mules.

On Friday night, the Eagles started the game on offense and picked up one first down while using up over four minutes of the first quarter clock before the Buckaroo defense forced a punt.

Three plays and 53 yards later, Jaime Cruz scored the Buckaroos’ first points of the game with a seven-yard touchdown run after picking up 35 yards rushing on the play prior. The PAT by Josiah Acosta was good, giving the Bucks a 7-0 lead with 6:34 remaining in the first quarter.

The Buckaroo defense forced another punt despite a 10-play drive that used up over 5:30 minutes of the clock.

Two plays later, Joseph Juneau connected with Ryan Waller for a 63-yard touchdown pass as the clock expired to end the first quarter. Acosta’s PAT was good, giving the Bucks a 14-0 lead.

The Eagles used up another six minutes of the clock and went on a 13-play drive that was aided in part by a personal foul penalty on the Buckaroos that gave the Eagles a first down. The Bucks came away with a fourth down stop to end the Eagles’ drive.

Erik Saucedo scored the Buckaroos’ fourth touchdown of the game, catching a pass from Joseph Juneau. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Buckaroos went on an eight-play 68-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Juneau. Acosta’s PAT was good, giving the Bucks a 21-0 lead with 2:15 remaining in the second quarter. Waller had a 43-yard reception on third down during the drive to aid the Bucks.

The Breckenridge defense forced another punt, and the offense quickly put together a seven-play 30-yard drive that was capped off with a six-yard touchdown pass from Juneau to Erik Saucedo. Acosta successfully kicked the PAT, giving the Buckaroos a 28-0 lead with 19 seconds remaining in the first half.

The Buckaroos started the third quarter on offense and used the legs of senior Christian Flores on 11 straight plays (all rushing) to go 60 yards, as he capped the drive off with a four-yard touchdown run. The PAT by Acosta was good once again, giving the Buckaroos a 35-0 lead with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter.

Flores battled a foot injury and missed the first five games of the season.

“I wanted to try and get that kid in the endzone,” Pearce said of Flores. “He’s earned it. He’s had a long year.”

The final score of the game came with around a minute remaining in the game as Omar Mendoza sacked the TLCA quarterback and forced a fumble. Hunter Davis scooped up the ball and ran 52 yards for a touchdown. As the PAT was blocked, Davis picked up the ball and ran it into the endzone for the two-point conversion, making the score 43-0.

Looking ahead to the Bi-District matchup against the Paradise Panthers, the Panthers are 9-1 overall, including a 6-0 district record. The Panthers were the district champions of District 4-3A and are currently ranked No. 2 in Class 3A Division I, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

“Top 10 team in the state, and we have gotten to see several of them this year, starting with the second scrimmage,” Pearce said of the Panthers. “If you can’t rise up and find a way to play against a top 10 team in the state, then they are going to embarrass you. It doesn’t matter where you are as a seed; it’s how you plan that first round. If you go 1-0, you got an opportunity to kind of get something going.

“So, our goal is to try and go 1-0 and find a way to win a game,” he said. “We need to see those teams that we saw scratching and clawing in the fourth quarter of those games early and then what we saw against Comanche in the last six minutes. We need to stack that together for 48 minutes.”

Game Stats

The Buckaroos finished with 158 yards rushing and 152 yards passing for a total of 310 yards, while TLCA had 117 yards passing and 15 yards rushing for a total of 132 yards.

Juneau completed seven of 13 passing attempts for 152 yards and had two passing touchdowns. He also had one rushing touchdown.

Waller was the leading Buckaroo receiver with four receptions for 122 yards and one touchdown.

Flores was the leading rusher with 12 carries for 74 yards and one touchdown, while Cruz had four carries for 66 yards and one touchdown.

District 3-3A Results

Comanche (5-5, 2-3) 43
Clyde (7-3, 3-2) 42

Jim Ned (9-1, 5-0) 24
Sweetwater (4-6, 3-2) 7

Breckenridge (4-6, 2-3) 43
SA TLCA (0-10, 0-5) 0

Friday night’s game was the end of the regular season. Before the game, Breckenridge High School’s senior football players, cheerleaders, band members, volleyball players and cross country team members were honored, along with their families. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

At the end of the halftime show Friday night, the marching band played “Amazing Grace” in tribute to 2025 BHS graduate Malachi Harper, who passed away last week. He had been a member of the band and was the 2025 Band Beau. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

During halftime of Friday night’s football game, the Breckenridge High School marching band presented their annual light show. Check out Tony Pilkington’s photos from the show:

2025 Breckenridge High School marching band’s light show. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Breckenridge wide receiver Ryan Waller gains some yardage in Friday night’s game against San Angelo – TLCA. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)