Breckenridge Texan

By Brant Thurmond/Breckenridge Texan

On a cool Halloween evening in the Mustang Bowl, the Breckenridge Buckaroos had high hopes of pulling off an upset and helping their playoff seed with one game remaining.

Unfortunately for the Buckaroos, it was the Sweetwater Mustangs that had the upper hand for the majority of the night en route to a 44-0 win over the Bucks.

The loss dropped the Bucks to 3-6 overall and 1-3 in District 3-3A, while the Mustangs improved to 4-5 overall and 3-1 in district with a date with Jim Ned next week to decide the final district standings.

Currently, Sweetwater and Clyde are tied for second in the district standings with both teams having a 3-1 record.

Buckaroo wide receiver Ryan Waller avoids a Sweetwater Mustang after catching a 37-yard pass. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Buckaroos will close out their regular season at home against San Angelo TLCA, who are winless this season.

Barring a complete breakdown by the Buckaroos, the Bucks will make the 2025 Class 3A-Division I playoffs as the fourth-place team from the district and are on a collision course with the Paradise Panthers, who will likely be the district champion from District 4-3A.

Paradise is currently 8-1 overall and 5-0 in district ahead of their final regular season against the Boyd Yellowjackets on Nov. 7.

A loss to San Angelo TLCA by the Buckaroos would lead to a tie breaker, which can be a complex process, to determine if Breckenridge is the fourth-place team or if the Comanche Indians will represent the district as the fourth-place team.

In Friday’s game against Sweetwater, the Buckaroo offensive struggles were evident as the Bucks managed just 23 yards of offense in their first three possessions with their third possession ending in an interception.

The Mustangs scored on each of their first three possessions in the first quarter as a result of the offensive inconsistency by the Buckaroos.

Sweetwater’s Caiden Ortiz connected with Rohyn Price for a 12-yard touchdown pass. The PAT was good, giving the Mustangs a 7-0 lead with 6:57 left in the first quarter.

Following a Buckaroo punt, the Mustangs scored again with a 50-yard run by Nick Avila. The PAT was good once again, making the score 14-0 with 4:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs capitalized on the interception on the third Buckaroo drive with a 22-yard field goal by Isaias Hernandez, giving the Mustangs a 17-0 lead with four seconds remaining in the first quarter.

“We are going to have to figure out a way to get things blocked whenever they pinch it off and force us to the edge,” Buckaroo head coach Casey Pearce said of the offensive consistency struggles. “We got to be able to get on the edge and be positive in what we are trying to do.

“We got to be able to throw the football and knock pressure down (with offensive line) and keep the quarterback in the pocket so we can deliver the football,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”

The next Buckaroo drive went 48 yards in eight plays to the Sweetwater 25-yard line, but a failed fourth down attempt gave the ball back to Sweetwater. Ryan Waller had a 37-yard reception on the drive to help the Bucks.

Breckenridge forced the Mustangs to punt on the next possession and drove the ball 36 yards in 10 plays to the Sweetwater 15-yard line before another inception put an end to the drive.

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

The Mustangs capitalized once again on the turnover with a six-play 75-yard drive that was capped off with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Ortiz to Darwin Blueford. The PAT was no good, making the score 23-0 with 27 seconds remaining in the first half.

Sweetwater needed just seven plays to go 70 yards on their opening possession of the third quarter that ended with a four-yard touchdown run by Mason Blueford. The PAT was good, giving the Mustangs a 30-0 lead with 8:50 left in the third quarter.

The first Breckenridge possession went just six yards before Cason Fields intercepted a pass by Joseph Juneau.

One play later, the Mustangs scored again with a 51-yard run up the middle by Amare Arevalo. The PAT was good, making the score 37-0 with 7:16 left in the third quarter.

The Bucks moved the ball three yards in three plays before being forced to punt. A penalty on the punt resulted in a first down for the Bucks. The Buckaroos attempted a fake punt after five additional yards of offense but failed to convert the first down.

Sweetwater answered with a five-play 52-yard drive that ended with 10-yard touchdown pass from Ortiz to Kayden McCann. The PAT was good, making the score 44-0 with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter. The touchdown pass would be the final points of the game for either team.

The Buckaroos had 39 yards rushing and 106 yards passing for a total of 145 yards, while Sweetwater had 168 yards rushing and 303 yards passing for a total of 471 yards of total offense.

“It wasn’t a very good football game, and we took a butt kicking,” Pearce said. “We didn’t respond very well when they started punching us in the mouth. We’d better get it figured out.”

The Buckaroos will host San Angelo TLCA at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at Buckaroo Stadium. The game will include Senior Night and the annual light show by the Breckenridge High School marching band.

Buckaroo running back Jaime Cruz makes some yardage as the offensive line blocks the Sweetwater defense. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Breckenridge High School marching band added some Halloween spirit to their performance in the Mustang Bowl during the game, which was on Friday, Oct. 31. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Alyssa Phelps with the Buckaroo marching band wore a Spiderman costume for the game against the Sweetwater Mustangs, which was on Halloween night. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Quarterback Hudson Woodward hands the ball off to Hayden Mendoza in Friday night’s game against the Sweetwater Mustangs. Next week, the Buckaroos will play their final game of the regular season against San Angelo TLCA in Breckenridge. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)