Bucks outlast Indians in thrilling finish

In a game that took two days to complete, the Breckenridge Buckaroos (3-5, 1-2) squeaked by the Comanche Indians (3-5, 0-3) for a thrilling 26-22 victory. 

The win puts the Bucks in strong playoff position as they now sit in fourth place in the district after picking up their first 3A-1 Region 1 District 3 win. 

The teams got just over half of the first quarter played Friday, Oct. 24, before severe thunderstorms in the area forced action to be suspended until 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Bucks began with all the momentum on their side, scoring two quick touchdowns before the storms hit. At the 8:06 mark of the first quarter, Joseph Juneau threw downfield to Ryan Waller, who came down with the catch and ran into the end zone for a 6-0 lead. 

Following the kickoff to the Indians, the Bucks chased down quarterback Cooper Welch and forced him out of bounds to force a punt. After starting the drive near midfield, Jaime Cruz broke away for a long touchdown run on a strong second effort after looking like he was down. 

The two-point try was no good as the Bucks would lead 12-0 at just over six minutes to go in the quarter. 

It was only a couple of plays into the next Comanche drive that the lightning delay commenced, with 5:37 remaining in the first. 

After almost an hour, the teams decided to suspend action until the following day. 
When the action picked back up Saturday afternoon, all the momentum the Bucks had was completely wiped out as they struggled to get anything going.

Kicking themselves in the foot with penalties and allowing long plays down the field, the Indians started to sneak back into the game. 

After forcing a punt, the Bucks were unable to move the ball much and had to punt themselves despite strong running from Cruz. Welch completed a deep pass downfield to Ct Burford to set the Indians up at the 29 of the Bucks. 

The Breckenridge defense stood tall to force a field goal attempt, which ended up going through the uprights from over 30 yards out. At that point, the Bucks' lead was down to 12-3 at 8:45 of the second quarter. 

Struggling to move the ball again, the Bucks tried to get a big play of their own down the field as Juneau threw it deep. But the momentum shifted completely the other way as Buford got in front of the pass and picked it off before running it all the way back for a pick-six touchdown. 

Waller then came up with an interception of his own at the Bucks’ 44-yard line, but Juneau was intercepted again on a pass intended for Waller in the end zone by none other than Buford. 

The teams traded punts before the time ran out in the half, with the Bucks still holding onto a 12-10 lead. 

Buford continued putting his mark on the game as he came down with his third interception of the game on a third-down pass from Juneau and returned it to midfield.
 
The Bucks hoped to get off the field with a third down coming up for Comanche, but Buford recorded another big play, catching a pass from Welch and running inside the five-yard line. From the three, the Indians then ran in for the score as they took a 16-12 lead at the 4:58 mark of the third quarter. 

The Bucks couldn’t move the ball and were forced to punt, but then Waller picked up his second interception of the game at the Breckenridge 40. However, they couldn’t take advantage as they had to punt again before the quarter ended. 

Dallas Gillete caught a pass and ran down to the one-yard line on a 55-yard play a couple of plays into the final quarter. In a wildcat formation, the Indians then ran it in for the score, extending their lead to 10 points. 

The Bucks turned the ball over on downs and then forced another turnover of their own as Cooper Wimberley picked off a pass. With time running out on the Bucks and needing a score to stay in the game, they looked to be moving the ball down the field. At the edge of the red zone, Juneau passed to Hunter Davis, who ran upfield, hoping to gain more yardage, but coughed it up and Comanche recovered the ball at the Breckenridge 10. 

With under four minutes in the game, Wimberley picked up his teammate with another interception as the defense did its best to give the offense another chance. 
Cruz then took the handoff and ran up the gut for about a 20-yard touchdown, and it was 22-19 after the Josiah Acosta extra point was good. 

The Indians muffed the ensuing kickoff and the Bucks recovered the ball to set themselves up at the 20, needing a field goal to tie and a touchdown to take the lead. 

Cruz rushed for about eight yards on third down to set up a 4th and 2, but after the two-minute warning, a false start pushed it back. Instead of going for it, the Bucks then went for the tying field goal attempt. Caden Carroll broke through the line and got a hand up to block the kick as it remained 22-19. 

With the Indians looking to run out the clock, their starting center got injured before a big third down. The new center snapped it high on the next play and the Bucks took advantage to stuff the quarterback behind the line. 

A tipped punt landed near midfield as the Bucks took over with just over a minute remaining. After Erik Saucedo picked up some yardage on a short pass, Juneau threw down the field into the end zone for Wimberley. The sophomore, who already made his mark on defense, came down with the catch in tight coverage and held on for the big score. 

“That’s unreal,” coach Casey Pearce said. “Haven’t seen that in a long time.”

With 46 seconds to go, the Bucks took the lead back at 26-22. Strong kickoff coverage forced Comanche to start the drive at the 22-yard line. On fourth down, a pass downfield that was up for grabs wound up in the hands of Buford as he picked up the first down with three seconds left. That left the opportunity for a Hail Mary. The pass seemed to be in the air for an eternity, especially for the sideline and Bucks’ fans watching in the stands. When all was said and done, Cruz and Canyon Shirley knocked it down as the Bucks celebrated. 

“Somehow get it knocked down, cause we did everything we could previously not to,” Pearce said of what was going through his mind when the ball was in the air. “Find a way to make a play; that’s all you can do. That’s all you can ask for, is players to show up and make plays.”

“We did everything we could not to [win],” Pearce said. “Saw some emotions on the sidelines take over in the first half. We got through it; a maturing team gets through it and finds a way to do it. We’ve grown up a bunch today.”

The Bucks have two games remaining, first at Sweetwater Friday, Oct. 31 and then at home Friday, Nov. 7, against SATLCA. 

“The work we put in the next two weeks will be and it could change the way we see this thing out,” Pearce said. “Going on the road again. We proved it on the road. If you can go into the playoffs, it’s going to be on the road.”