Bucks kickoff football season Friday

The high school football season begins Friday with Breckenridge hosting the 10th-ranked Cisco Lobos.

The Buckaroos have fallen to Cisco three years in a row, but after scoring four touchdowns against Early before lightning canceled the Bucks’ final scrimmage of the preseason.

“With this new offense, we’re finally getting the hang of it,” said senior receiver Lonnie Hinson, who racked up more than 150 yards of receiving during last Thursday’s limited scrimmage. “We’re getting the hang of it and we can score a lot easier ... We’re excited and we’re ready to go play ball. I know it’s going to be a tough game. Cisco has always been a tough team.”

While the Buckaroos spent their offseason developing their new shotgun spread offense, the Lobos took a much different approach by refining their run-based approach. 

“We just have to be physical,” Breckenridge defensive coordinator  Brian Valenzuela said. “They run a power offense. A lot of power I, a lot of power toss. They have an inside run game and run a little play-action to keep the defense honest ... They hold you accountable in all areas. You have to be technically sound.”

Valenzuela said the main key to victory for the defense is to maintain their assignments and rely on fundamentals. 

“It’s always exciting and Cisco has always been a great team that is traditionally strong in everything they do,” Valenzuela said. “At the end of the day it’s about us and us getting better every week. Friday night is an opportunity to see where we have progressed through the spring, summer and fall camp and where we’re at moving into district.”

As for the offense, the Buckaroos may come out and surprise the Lobos. Breckenridge offensive coordinator Barry Bowman feels his team can make a statement Friday night and even fans that attended both team scrimmages have not seen the full capabilities of Bucks’ new offense. With Cicsco running a traditional 4-3 defense, the Bucks options through the air are significantly increased.

“They’re a 4-3 team and mess with their coverages a bit,” Breckenridge offensive coordinator Barry Bowman said. “Their safety is a really talented and athletic guy, whose a hard hitter. We have to execute at the highest level. There can’t be any loose balls. Everything has to be exact and on cue.”

Following the Buckaroos’ performance against Early, Bowman said he is excited to open up the playbook and test his players true potential.

“I came from Levelland. Our quarterback broke the touchdown record and the passing record and he did it with the same offense,” Bowman said. “All I have done is taken that offense and brought it here. We have younger guys that have never done this style before of play before. They are going to have to step up into a different system ... We got a whole lot better last week and hopefully we keep progressing.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.