Bucks sneak past Rattlers to secure second win

The Buckaroos were able to take the momentum from their first win of the season into this week, as they outlasted the Tolar Rattlers en route to their second straight win, 19-12.

The game started slow for the Bucks, which occurred Friday, Sept. 26 at Tolar. After receiving the opening kickoff, the visitors’ first drive stalled and they were forced to punt from the Tolar 40.

A few plays into the drive, the Bucks intercepted a pass towards the end zone, but it was negated as there were offsetting penalties on both teams. The Rattlers drove down the field, but the Buckaroo defense stood tall and wound up forcing a turnover on downs on a 4th and goal from the 26-yard line.

As was the case in last week’s win, the Bucks relied heavily on the legs of Jaime Cruz and the hands of Ryan Waller.

Cruz recorded back-to-back tough runs on hand-offs from quarterback Joseph Juneau, whom Coach Casey Pearce has all but named the official starter. However, as he fought for extra yardage on the second run, Cruz coughed the ball up and the fumble was recovered by the defense.

Tolar took advantage of the good field position close to midfield, and at the 3:11 mark of the first quarter, Briton Rice threw a 47-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was wide right as the Rattlers would lead 6-0.

The turnover bug bit the Bucks again on their next drive. After struggling to move the ball on the first two downs, Juneau was picked off and the intercepting player nearly recorded a pick six, but was tackled at the four by Gunnar Pearce.

The Buckaroo defense again came up huge with a stop. A tackle for loss by Hayden Mendoza brought up a 3rd and goal from the eight. Rice scrambled on the next play and was stopped well short of the goal line.

The Rattlers attempted to get the Bucks sleeping, going out of field goal formation to go for it, but were called for a false start. Backed up five yards, Tolar then opted to try a short field goal which was no good.

At the end of the first quarter, the Bucks still trailed, 6-0. Relying on the run game to drive down the field, the Bucks saw runs from Juneau and Cruz—including one of about 15 yards from the latter—to get them set up deep in Tolar territory.

From the 30-yard line, Juneau passed it up for grabs to the end zone, and Waller used his great hands to high-point the football and come up with a contested catch and the touchdown. The Bucks took a 7-6 lead after the extra point went through the uprights with just over six minutes until halftime.

The defense managed to tame the Rattlers again on the next drive, forcing a punt near midfield. The Bucks started with the ball at the 22-yard line after a short punt. Attempting to add another score before the half, Breckenridge was turned away when a fourth-down throw intended for Waller fell incomplete.

The teams traded punts to start the second half before Tolar drove down the field and capped it off with a rushing touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good and the Rattlers led 12-7.

The fourth quarter opened with Juneau getting picked off again, but the defense once again picked off the offense, forcing a turnover on downs.

Juneau made up for the previous turnovers as he threw for a couple of first downs on passes in the middle of the field. Cruz ran up the middle down to within the 10-yard line. Juneau then passed to Cameron David, who caught it and was tackled just shy of the end zone.

It was another pass to Waller that capped off the scoring drive as the Bucks took back the lead, 13-12. A two-point attempt was stopped short on a design quarterback run.

The Buckaroo defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive as the clock ran down below six minutes. Failing to move the ball much themselves, the Bucks had to punt back to the Rattlers. But they caught a break as the punt was muffed and the ball went back into the hands of the offense.

A couple of plays later, Cruz ran up the middle for a five-yard touchdown as the Bucks led 19-12. The Rattlers had a couple of more chances with the ball, taking over at the 9-yard line with only a minute remaining after stuffing Juneau on a run. 
It was a couple of incomplete passes that led to a turnover on downs and the Bucks got into victory formation and kneeled to hold onto the win.

The Bucks are now done with their non-district schedule after going 2-3, and will head into their bye week. The following week, district play begins at Clyde, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10.