Bucks suffer homecoming loss, 27-24

The Buckaroos learned how quickly fortunes can change in Texas high school football Friday night after falling to Dublin 27-24 thanks to a late rally.

Following an 18-yard run into the end zone by senior running back Terrance Roberson, his second of the day, the Buckaroos seemed in high spirits and looking for their first win of the season on homecoming night, but Dublin scored 21 unanswered points to play spoiler.

“We should have not lost the game, but we did,” Breckenridge coach Casey Hubble said. “The next day I broke down film and saw why we lost. We made too many mistakes and didn’t play a smart game … We did not get the result we wanted. We can sit around and blame whoever we want, but I’m never going to blame kids. I’m always going to accept the responsibility that my job is to get them ready to perform.”

After a field goal by senior kicker Jose Escobedo, the Buckaroos seemed to break it open after a 53-yard reception for a touchdown by senior running back Zach Willis on a swing pass from sophomore quarterback Owen Woodward. Willis ended the day as the Buckaroos leading rusher with 107 yards on 17 carries. 

“Early on we were feeling pretty good,” junior offensive lineman Tristan Hall said. “By halftime, I thought we were going to come out and do the same thing, but it went down hill from there.”

A 5-yard touchdown by senior running back Terrance Roberson, his first of two on the night, and another extra point by Escobedo put Breckenridge up by double digits going into halftime. Roberson was second in rushing with 56 yards on 10 carries and was a one-man highlight reel on defense with eight tackles and two sacks, but even that was not enough to stall Dublin in the second half.

“I felt pretty bad and like I could have done more,” Roberson said. “That’s just the way I am. I always put a lot on myself.”

With the loss, Breckenridge falls to 0-4 and face a tough Hirschi team that comes into Friday with a  2-1 record. The Huskies were picked to finish fourth in the big 4A Region 1 District 4 standings by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine and nearly toppled small 4A state contender Graham 42-35 two weeks ago. Roberson said the Huskies’ size, both on offense and defense, is only matched by their speed to match and that means the Buckaroos are going to have to perfect their angles of attack in order to compensate for any physical shortcomings.

“They’re big, really big. Our lines are going to have to step it up because [Hirschi] is a good team and we can’t underestimate them,” Roberson said. “We’re going to have to rely on our technique. With them being big, it’s going to expose our downfalls and what we’re not doing right. We’re going to have to practice our techniques and staying low, because they’re bigger than us but size doesn’t matter.”

Hubble said preparation for Hirschi will be much easier than previous weeks because the Huskies run the same offensive and defensive schemes as the Buckaroos with both teams favoring a shotgun spread on offense and a 4-3 defense. With that in mind, Hubble said he will continue focusing on improving his team as much as possible with Friday’s game being the Buckaroos final dress rehearsal before the actual show begins Oct. 13 when the Bucks open the district season against Paradise.

“It’s about us executing better; that’s our message,” Hubble said. “Until district starts, we’re just trying to get better every week. We did not do that last week and we have a long way to go … We’ve never been about wins and losses in the non-district, other than the fact we want to win. Those have no bearing on the district title or the district race to get in the playoffs. I don’t want to lesson the importance to winning. That is the objective, but in the grand scheme of things everybody enters the district race the same.”

Breck       3   14  6    0 - 24 

DHS         6    0   6  15 - 27

First Quarter

7:24: Escobedo field goal. 0:32  Marky Ybarra 6-yard run (no good).

Second Quarter

10:46 Willis 56-yard catch from Owen Woodward (XP good). 2:19 Roberson 8-yard run (XP good).

Third Quarter

7:19: Roberson 18-yard run (kick good). :47 Jacob Stanley 5-yard catch from Josh Haynes (XP no good).

Fourth Quarter 

7:15  Stanley 25-yard catch from Haynes (2-point good). 4:39 Blake Porter 30=yard catch from Haynes (XP good).

Individual Stats

RUSHING — Willis 17-107, Roberson 10-56, Woodward7-33, Lonnie Hinson 5-45.

PASSING —  Woodward 3-13-1-1, 134.

RECEIVING — Angel Ruiz 2-70, Hinson 2-47, Eric Valdez 1-17.