Buckaroos begin district play with a 38-21 loss to Clyde

By Brant Thurmond/Breckenridge Texans

The Breckenridge Buckaroos began the District 3-3A portion of their college football season by hosting the Clyde Bulldogs at Buckaroo Stadium on Friday evening, October 11th.

Before the game, the Buckaroos knew how important it was to start on the right track if they wanted to have postseason success. Now the Bucks find themselves behind eight balls in their eventual loss to the Bulldogs, 38-21.

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

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

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

“Show up and fight. Come and compete,” Pearce said of the mindset ahead of next week’s game. “I just told these players that my opinion of them has not changed since August 5th. If you show up every day and put in the effort, you’re bound to get your investment back at some point. We have not returned the investment they made. They worked their butts off. We have to find a way to pay them back.”

It didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to get on the scoreboard after a Buckaroos punt on their first drive.

A 28-yard punt return accompanied by a facemask penalty put the Bulldogs 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 exchanged fumbles on their next possessions before Clyde capped an eight-play, 64-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run from Tucker Jones following a Buckaroo punt. The PAT was good, giving the Bulldogs a 13-0 lead with 4:03 left in the first quarter.

Another punt was the result of Breckenridge’s next possession after the ball had only moved 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 that ended in a five-yard touchdown run by Clay Deel. The PAT kick was of no use and the score was 19-0 with 10:32 left in the second quarter. The drive was helped 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 take advantage of 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.

Breckenridge’s next possession resulted in a lost fumble after a pass was ruled a reverse pass and the Bulldogs recovered; However, the Buckaroo defense held its own 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 hit the PAT to make the score 26-7 with 31 seconds left in the first half.

The Bulldogs extended their lead to 32-7 on the first drive of the third quarter, which covered 14 plays for 85 yards and used up nearly half of the third quarter’s time. Clyde’s Trey Curry scored on the drive with a six-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion failed.

The Bucks were forced to punt on their first possession of the second half, but 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 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs responded 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 it 38-14 with 13 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Buckaroos responded with a 14-play, 61-yard drive that was capped off with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Juneau to Cam David. Wimberley scored on the PAT to make it 38-21 with 7:28 left in the fourth quarter.

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

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

District 3-3A results

(winner in bold)

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

Freshwater (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 on Oct. 11

• SA TLCA in Clyde
• Breckenridge at Jim Ned
• Freshwater at Comanche

Pink out

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

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

Special Pink Out t-shirts were designed and sold through The Shirt Shop to benefit the Stephens County Our Town organization. All money raised by Our Town stays in Breckenridge to support local families battling cancer.

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

Cutting line, top photo: Buckaroo wide receiver Cam David catches a pass from quarterback Joseph Juneau for the final touchdown of the game Friday night. The Buckaroos scored more points than in any other game that season, but Clyde still prevailed by a score of 38-21. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Check out these other sports stories about the Breckenridge Texans:

Breckenridge begins district play against Clyde on Oct. 11 at Buckaroo Stadium

Buckaroos close out pre-district play with a 42-6 loss to Tolar; The first district game is scheduled for October 11th

Buckaroos shutout by Mavericks at Eastland, 14-0

Buckaroos are still looking for a win after a 30-20 loss at Cisco

Buckaroos are 0-2 after losing their opening game at home to Childress

Buckaroos lose their football season opener to Holliday 64-0

Coach Pearce looks ahead to the upcoming football season as the Buckaroos prepare for opening game against Holliday (August 30, 2024)

(Carla McKeown contributed to this story.)