Bucks lose to Dublin in Homecoming thriller

The Breckenridge Buckaroos suffered a heartbreaking loss in their Homecoming game Friday against the Dublin Lions. In a nail biter that came down to the final seconds, the Bucks lost 22-21. The loss drops them to 2-3, while Dublin is 5-0.

To open the game, the Bucks offense looked much of the same as the previous three weeks they had played. Quarterback Owen Woodward threw two picks in the first half, and the offense suffered a fumble in the red-zone, which ended their longest drive of the night up to that point. Defensively, they held the Lion offense, but Dublin managed to find the end zone twice, with one of their extra-point attempts blocked. At half, the score was 13-0.

After the Homecoming festivities at halftime, The Bucks came out and put together a quick scoring drive, which was capped off by Woodward running the ball in for a touchdown. The Bucks had almost 300 yards rushing on the night, with Angel Ruiz racking 167 yards and Woodward reaching 100.

Dublin was able to get a field goal before the third quarter ended, bringing the score to 16-7, a two-possession game. The Bucks punted the ball away with a little more than 10 minutes left to play. Dublin’s drive that followed ended with their quarterback being sacked and losing the ball in the end zone, which was picked up by the Bucks, bringing the score to 14-16. The Bucks defense reeked havoc in the backfield all night long, sacking the quarterback seven times and allowing a little more than 100 yards rushing to a team that has averaged nearly 200 on the season.

The Bucks got another stop and marched down the field, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 1:05 left to play, the score 21-16. Dublin was able to get into the red zone in two plays. After a couple of incomplete passes, Dublin’s quarterback hit his receiver on the left sideline of the end zone and scored with 19 seconds left. They missed the two-point conversion, with the score 22-21.

The Bucks received the kickoff and were able to get it to Dublin’s 42-yard-line with eight seconds left. An incomplete pass from Woodward took six seconds off, and it became Hail Mary time with two seconds left and 42 yards to go. Woodward passed it deep left to Kevin Franco, who was able to make a juggling catch, but was short a couple yards. The game ended there.

Dublin continues their win streak of five games and Breckenridge loses their third game in a row, albeit in a thriller to an undefeated team. The Bucks had four turnovers on the day, but three came in the first half where they didn’t score. The one in the second half came from a Kevin Franco punt return. In the second half, the Bucks outscored Dublin 21-9. It was the most productive offensive day they’ve had since their opening game against Jacksboro.

The Bucks will enter their bye week. They will play against Jim Ned on Oct. 12. Jim Ned is currently 4-1 and coming off a 49-0 win against Brady.