Breckenridge Texan

Local football fans can get their first look at the 2026 Breckenridge Buckaroos football team on Saturday, Aug. 8, during the annual Watermelon Scrimmage at Buckaroo Stadium.

The Buckaroos will have their official team pictures taken beforehand, and at 11 a.m., the public is invited to attend the preseason scrimmage, an annual tradition that concludes with players being treated to ice-cold watermelon after the workout.

As the Buckaroos prepare for the season, head coach Casey Pearce said this year’s team enters preseason with something it hasn’t had in several years — experience and continuity.

“We’ve got a lot of returning playing time coming back,” Pearce said following Wednesday’s practice. “It needs to show up really early. We’ve got a bunch of players back that played on Friday night the last two years, and they’re going to have to lead this thing.”

The Breckenridge Buckaroos started practice this week. The annual Watermelon Scrimmage will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

While the Buckaroos return many players this year, Pearce said outside expectations remain low.

“Nobody’s counting us to be a factor,” he said. “We’re ranked number 52 in the state, and nobody thinks we’re going to do anything. So we need to turn some heads early and have some traction.”

Pearce expects one of the biggest changes to come along this season is the team’s line of scrimmage.

“I think we’re going to be a different football team because we got a collection of offensive linemen for the first time since I’ve been here that I think can lean on people and play in the defensive front when we need them to,” he said.

The Buckaroos also hope to add a new dimension offensively with a pair of quarterbacks capable of making plays with their legs. Hudson Woodward and Cooper Wimberley are competing for the starting quarterback position after working in the system together over the past year. “Hudson Woodward and Cooper Wimberley — they’re going to fight for that job just like they did a year ago with (Joseph) Juneau,” Pearce said. “But those dudes played a bunch of football together.

“I hope we can just run the football at will, but that’s not always the case,” Pearce said. “The big thing will be the two quarterbacks bring a different element than we’ve had in a while — a known different element — and that being the quarterback running game. That makes defensive play a little bit different football. Whoever ends up with that job is fixing to really be able to help us, and the guy that doesn’t necessarily win that job is going to be on the field at the same time.”

Pearce said the continuity extends beyond the quarterback position.

“There’s been a ton of retention, and that’s the first time I can say that in a long time,” he said. “Probably since 2022, ’23, since we’ve had this kind of retention of the offense and defense. So I’m extremely excited about that, and the kids have come to work. There’s not a bunch of excuses, and there’s not any reasons not to be here.”

The Buckaroos start the regular season on Friday, Aug. 28, at Comanche before facing Early, Cisco, Clyde and Anson in what Pearce calls a tough non-district schedule. He said everyone except district competitor Merkel is ranked ahead of the Buckaroos. “We’re opening at Comanche,” Pearce said. “That’s going to be an emotional ball game after that being a difference in getting in the playoffs a year ago, and we had to play it on two days.”

2026 Buckaroo Football Schedule (Click the image to enlarge)

Week two, Sept. 4, will be the homecoming game against the Early Longhorns, who Pearce said have moved up a division and are picked to be second in their district with Wall. After that, the Buckaroos will play Cisco at Cisco, which the coach said is always a tough game.

Following the Cisco game, the Buckaroos will take on the Clyde Bulldogs, who Pearce said are picked to win the Jim Ned district. He said they have some special players on that team: Devan Wright, Miles Wilsher, and an entire offensive line returning from last year.

The Buckaroos will finish up non-district play against the Anson Tigers, who were five and zero last year going into district play and had some injuries.

“They’ve got (Malachi St. John), who’s committed to ACU as a receiver, six-foot-four, 220-pound receiver. He’ll be a problem for us, and we’re going to have to find a way,” Pearce said.

After non-district play, Breckenridge opens district competition with two games at home.

“Then, we open district play. It’ll be a huge game against (Wichita Falls) City View and Jacksboro at home,” Pearce said. “We get to open first two weeks of district play here. It’ll be very telling as to how that season finishes.”

As practices have gotten underway, Pearce said he’s been encouraged by his team’s approach.

“It’s been a work mindset since they rolled in here on Monday, and the summer has been a work mindset,” he said. “A bunch of guys made huge, huge strides over the course of the last six months, and I hope that shows up because they deserve that investment to pay back to them.”

Although Pearce likes the chemistry he has seen through the opening week of workouts, he knows the real evaluation will come once the Buckaroos face live competition.

“They’re excited, and … there seems like there’s some chemistry,” he said. “We’ll see how it plays out whenever somebody punches us in the mouth.”

Even so, Pearce believes the Buckaroos are further ahead than they were at this time last season.

“Because of the retention, we’re a couple steps in front of where we were a year ago,” he said.

Saturday’s scrimmage will give Buckaroo fans their first opportunity to see that progress firsthand before Breckenridge opens the 2026 season later this month. Additionally, the annual Meet the Bucks event is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, in Buckaroo Stadium.

The Breckenridge Buckaroos, who started practice this week, will start the regular season on Friday, Aug. 28, at Comanche. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Casey Pearce, head football coach for the Buckaroos, right, talks to the varsity and junior varsity players after their practice on Wednesday evening. The community will get to meet all of Buckaroos during the annual Meet the Bucks events on Aug. 21. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Breckenridge High School’s head football coach Casey Pearce, center, goes over plays with the 2026 varsity team. The annual Watermelon Scrimmage will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, in Buckaroo Stadium. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)