Breckenridge Texan

By Brant Thurmond/Breckenridge Texan

It was a must-win situation Friday night, Nov. 7: The winner in the Breckenridge Buckaroos vs. the Henrietta Bearcats would advance to Class 3A post season. In a game with a combined 99 points, it was the Bearcats that came away with the 64-35 win over the Buckaroos.

Henrietta will be the fourth-place team from District 4-3A, joining the other top finishers of the district – Jacksboro, Merkel and Holliday – in the playoffs.

The Buckaroos finished the season 1-9 overall and 1-4 in district with the lone win coming in the district opener against Wichita Falls City View.

“It’s not the way we planned for it to go,” Breckenridge head coach Casey Pearce said on the season. “But the ones that are here, the people that are here and the ones that have supported us through thick and thin, that’s what matters in Breckenridge, Texas.

“All the nay sayers and trash talkers, they can go on,” he said. “The people that are standing on this field tonight and the kids that are standing on this field tonight and this coaching staff that is working with these kids, that’s what matters.”

While the Buckaroos had one of their better defensive efforts a week ago against the Merkel Badgers, the Bearcats’ offensive production on the ground running the ball was hard for the Buckaroo defense to stop this week.

The Buckaroos were plagued by offense and special teams mistakes early on that allowed the Bearcats to start their first three possessions deep inside Buckaroo territory.

“Mistakes early put us in a hole, and we couldn’t recover from it,” Pearce said. “We took some shots (throwing the ball) and landed a few. When you can’t shut the run game down consistently, it’s going to be a long evening, and it was a long evening.”

Buckaroo Hudson Woodward stepped into the quarterback position after Cooper Wimberley suffered a shoulder injury. He ran in one touchdown and threw two touchdown passes. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Breckenridge’s defense held its own for the first two Bearcat possessions before the Bearcats got on the board with a 12-yard run by Cruse Coleman. The PAT was good, giving the Bearcats a 7-0 lead with 2:14 remaining in the first quarter.

While the first quarter didn’t yield much offensive production for either team, the second quarter yielded an additional 36 points for the Bearcats and 21 points for the Buckaroos.

Following a Buckaroo punt, Gunnar Pearce put the Bucks on the scoreboard as he scooped up a blocked punt by Buckaroo Hunter Davis and ran 30 yards for a touchdown. The Bucks’ PAT was good, tying the score at 7-7 with 10:01 remaining in the second quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Coleman returned the kick 85 yards for a touchdown as the change in momentum was short-lived for the Buckaroos. With the touchdown and PAT, the Bearcats took a 14-7 lead at the 9:46 mark of the second quarter.

Another punt was the result of the next Buckaroo drive, which led to 75-yard touchdown run by Coleman on the first play from scrimmage. The PAT was good, giving the Bearcats a 21-7 lead with 7:20 left in the second quarter.

The Buckaroos put together their first solid drive of the game on their next possession with a six-play 47-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Hudson Woodward. The Bucks converted the two-point conversion, making the score 21-15 with 5:40 remaining in the second quarter.

The Bearcats answered back with a quick three-play drive that ended with a 27-yard touchdown run by Pearson Ezimako. Another successful PAT made the score 29-15 with 4:41 to play before halftime.

Another successful Buckaroo offensive possession led to a six-play drive that totaled 75 yards and ended with a nine-yard pass from Woodward to Issac Flores. The PAT was no good, making the score 29-21 with 3:07 remaining in the first half.

The Buckaroo defense takes down the Henrietta ball carrier in Friday night’s game. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Bearcats scored 14 unanswered points to close out the first half with touchdown runs of 36 and two yards by Coleman, putting the score at 43-21 as the teams went to the locker rooms for halftime.

Henrietta stretched the lead to 50-21 at the 8:59 mark of the third quarter with a seven-play 68-yard drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown run by Coleman.

The Buckaroos were forced to punt after just three plays and a miscue on the punt allowed the Bearcats to have a short field at the Buckaroo 28-yard line.

Three plays later, the Bearcats scored again with a 12-yard pass from Tucker Teague to Pate Cody. The PAT was good, giving the Bearcats a 57-21 lead with 6:29 remaining in the third quarter.

On the first play of the ensuing Buckaroo drive, Pearce broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run. A successful PAT cut the lead to 57-28.

The Bearcats scored once again on a 15-yard pass from Teague to Eli Morris. The PAT was good, making the score 64-28 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.

The Buckaroos scored their final points of the game with 1:46 left in the fourth quarter with a 67-yard pass from Woodward to Zach Beltran.

The Bucks faced some adversity in the game as starting quarterback Cooper Wimberley suffered a shoulder injury in the first half, but the “next man up” mentality was the key for the Buckaroos as Woodward came in to fill the role.

Buckaroo quarterback Hudson Woodward hands off the ball to Gunnar Pearce in Friday night’s game in Henrietta. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

“It’s been that way since these dudes set foot in the program,” Pearce said. “They are the most unselfish group that we have probably coached in the last seven years. I’m proud of what we collected and put together. It’s frustrating that it’s the hardest work that has been put into a 1-9 season. They showed up every week. They competed and they worked.”

Looking forward to the 2027 season, the Bucks will have some shoes to fill as several key players will graduate in the spring, but success at the JV level will be beneficial in 2027.

“We do have a program established, and we are trying to feed it,” Pearce said. “We’ve had success at every level with these different groups. All we got to do is try to reload.

“We have to find bodies to fill spots in the offensive line,” he said. “We got to replace Joacim Fernandez, Brayden Bounds. Those are big dudes. We are going to have to find the next man up. It’s the next man up that will fight and compete like they do.”

Seniors who will graduate in the spring include Hudson Woodward, Hayden Mendoza, Zach Beltran, Canyon Shirley, Gunnar Pearce, Damien Reynolds, Leo Mendoza, Yanell Trejo, Crispen Pineda, Lesavier Gutierrez, Christian Lechner, Ramses Picasso, Caleb Lassiter, Braeden Marshall, Brayden Bounds, Carson Couch and Joacim Fernandez.

“The senior class is special to me,” Pearce said. “Yeah, my son (Gunnar) is in that class, but that’s the first group that I got to see pre-athletics, and we’ve worked them all the way through. They all came back together this year. We had some leave the program and come back. Some of them played baseball and basketball only and came back.

“We collected those guys that finished their junior high career together and they came back and played as seniors,” he said. “That’s special and meant something to them.”

Pearce said this year’s junior class will help pave the way for success in 2027.

“This junior class behind them is a special group,” Pearce said. “The sophomores that we have had contribute for us is a big deal. We are going have to lean on them. It’s coming. They know that and there’s an expectation with it.”

District 4-3A Results

Jacksboro (9-1, 5-0) 56
City View (0-10, 0-5) 6

Merkel (7-3, 4-1) 48
Holliday (3-7, 3-2) 22

Henrietta (5-5, 2-3) 64
Breckenridge (1-9, 1-4) 35

Final Standings

1. Jacksboro
2. Merkel
3. Holliday
4. Henrietta
5. Breckenridge
6. City View

Bi-District Matchups

• Jacksboro (9-1) vs San Angelo Grape Creek (2-8) 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, Gordon Wood Stadium, Brownwood
• Merkel (7-3) vs Crane (7-3) 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, San Angelo Stadium, San Angelo
• Holliday (3-7) vs Coahoma (7-3), 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, Eagle Stadium, Holliday
• Henrietta (5-5) vs Stanton (7-3) 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, Tiger Stadium, Snyder

The Pride of Breckenridge — Buckaroo Marching Band performed at halftime in Henrietta. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Buckaroo marching band performed their 2026 halftime performance for the final time Friday night. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Buckaroos’ final 2026 football game was chilly as temperatures remained in the lower 50s in Bearcat Stadium. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Breckenridge High School senior Gunnar Pearce runs in a touchdown in Friday night’s game against the Henrietta Bearcats. He scored two touchdowns — a 30-yard run and a 73-yard run — in the game. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)