Big Country Game of the Week: Breckenridge eyes another upset with Cisco coming to town

Kevin Stinnett watched a little video on Breckenridge before the Buckaroos’ game against state-ranked Childress last week. He was impressed with what he saw and expected the Bucks to pull off the upset – and they did.

Now, Stinnett has to figure out a way to keep Breckenridge from knocking off another state-ranked team – this time his Cisco Loboes.

“I really expected that, just the little bit I got to watch them last week on video,” Stinnett said about Breck’s 38-7 victory over Childress, which was ranked No. 7 in Class 3A Division II at the time. “They’re the real deal. They’re going to be a big test for us.”

Cisco (2-0) – ranked No. 6 in Class 2A Division I – plays Breckenridge (2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Buckaroo Stadium in the Big Country Game of the Week. The Loboes have won the past nine meetings, but the last two have been decided by two TDs or less.

Stinnett, of course, has watched more video of the Bucks, and it hasn’t changed his opinion of the team.

“Probably the fastest team we’ll see this year until, hopefully, late in December,” Stinnett said. “And, man, they play hard and physical, and they’re very sound. They’ve got it turned around over there.”

A different breed

Breckenridge, which plays in District 3-3A Division I, has teased the Big Country before with a potential turnaround. The Bucks have gotten a little better, going 4-7 last year and making the playoffs, losing to Whitesboro 56-14 in the first round, after winning just three games total the previous two years.

Breckenridge hasn’t had a winning season since going 7-5 and winning a playoff game in 2015.

Casey Pearce, the Bucks’ coach, believes this team is better than his past squads.

“Since I’ve been here, this group has a different mindset,” said Pearce, who begins his third season as the team’s head coach. “They’ve bought into what we’re doing. They enjoy being around one another and they’re showing up every day to work. It’s not show up and survive a practice. They’re showing up and enjoying practice time.”

Pearce attributes some of that his coaching staff, which has convinced this team to buy-in.

“We’ve sold that idea for three years, and this group has bought into that idea,” Pearce said. “They like being around here. We have to run them out of the locker room to get them to the house.”

Chase Lehr, a senior quarterback, has completed 18 of 33 passes for 232 yards and six touchdowns. He has thrown three interceptions. Jerry Lawson, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound senior running back, is the leading rusher (25-212, 2 TDs), followed by 5-10, 185-pound senior Anson Rodgers (19-125, 3 TDs).

Pearce attributes the offense’s success to its offensive line.

“Our offensive line is playing with some confidence,” Pearce said. “Since I’ve been here, we hadn’t had the continuity that we have now. They’re probably not the biggest and best athletes that we’ve gotten to coach the last couple of years on the offensive line, but they know what we’re trying to get done.”

Yet where the Bucks really stand out is on defense - their speed impresses Stinnett.

“You can throw a quick hitch or something and green jerseys are going to get there immediately,” Stinnett said. “We’ve got good speed, but we might be outmatched in the speed department.”

Pearce, too, likes his team’s speed.

“We talk about fast fixes your mess ups,” Pearce said. “So, let’s play fast and race around to the football. Right now, Coach (Keith) Oldham’s got them doing that. We’re playing on our feet. We’re getting off our blocks, staying on our feet and tackling on our feet, not being the first one to the ground.

“That’s given us a chance to play in space against these spread offenses. We’re going to get tested this week with them running right at us. I don’t know that we’re necessarily built to deal with a power gap scheme type of offense. We’ll see.”

Overall, Stinnett said Breckenridge is a better ballclub than the one that took the Loboes to overtime last year before losing 28-27 in Cisco.

“Offensively, they’re a lot more multiple, a lot better scheme,” Stinnett said. “Defensively, it’s the same stuff, but every one of them is bigger, stronger and faster than they were last year.”

Loaded Loboes

Cisco is coming off a grueling 18-14 win at Wall. The Loboes beat Clyde 41-13 in the season opener at Cisco.

The Loboes return 17 players, including six starters on offense and nine on defense, from an 11-3 team. Hawley, an eventual state finalist, beat Cisco 17-14 in the Region I-2A final.

While the Loboes have done well in the drop to 2A Stinnett’s first year as head coach in 2020, after taking over for Brent West, he’s still adjusting to the dwindling numbers. Stinnett said the Loboes suited up 20 players last week, but only 16 played meaningful reps.

“It’s pretty much like playing with 16 or 17 kids,” Stinnett said. “It showed last week the difference in depth with Wall, and it’s going to be like that again.”

Class 3A Breckenridge will have more players and more depth, and Stinnett is counting on his players – most playing both ways – to be tougher and better.

“They’re starting on both sides now and playing every rep,” Stinnett said. “Backups are few and far … We’re trying to produce really tough kids who will play hard on every snap, regardless if it’s the first or fourth quarter. If they’re dog tired, we’ve got to get the most out of them.”

The Loboes might have a small core of reliable players, but it’s a solid core, starting with quarterback Hunter Long. The senior was the Reporter-News’ Class 2A offensive MVP last year after running for 2,182 yards and throwing for 949 yards and 44 TDs overall.

Long has completed 9 of 16 passes for 103 yards and a TD this year, while leading the team with 253 yards and three TDs on 51 carries. Trent Huston, a unanimous first-team All-BC running back as a junior last year, has 192 yards and three TDs on 34 carries. He ran for 1,518 yards and 18 TDs on 164 touches last year.

“Our quarterback and running back, everybody knows that’s who’s going to carry the ball,” Stinnett said. “They both run hard. Offensive line is getting better every week.”

Stinnett said the Loboes had too many fumbled snaps on a wet field last week, along with too many drive-killing penalties.

“We put ourselves in some third-and-10s, third-and-15s,” Stinnett said. “That’s not something we’re really capable of picking up against a good 3A team.”

Cisco’s defense played well enough to win the game.

“Our defense bailed us out last week,” Stinnett said. “They played absolutely phenomenal.”

Tre Brackeen, a unanimous first-team All-BC defensive back last year, is back for his senior year and leads a defense that is allowing 13.5 points and 243 yards per game – just 93 rushing.

“They’re a good football team,” Pearce said. “He talked about how down they would be after losing some of those kids they had a year ago. They’re not down. They’re pretty dang good. They look like Cisco.”

How they match up

It all starts with defense for both teams, and this should be a whale of a defensive slugfest.

Cisco makes no bones about it. The Loboes are going to line up and try to play power football with Long and Huston running the ball. The Loboes are averaging 313.5 yards per game, including 262.5 rushing.

Breckenridge is allowing just 67.5 yards per game on the ground.

“We have to control the time of possession,” Stinnett said. “They’re too fast and explosive for us to go three and out and burn 30 seconds off the game clock. We have to keep the ball away from them, give our defense a break and put good, long drives together. Keep the chains moving. We struggled with that against Wall.”

The Bucks, too, like to run the ball with Lawson and Rodgers, but Lehr has had some success throwing the ball. He might have to throw it little more, too, against a Cisco team that’s tough against the run. The Loboes have forced four turnovers, including an interception in each game.

“Offensively, we’ll have to establish some kind of running game,” Pearce said. “That will be pretty tough against their defense.”

Like Cisco, Breckenridge will have to play ball control offense.

“No. 1, we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot and give it back to them,” Pearce said. “We’re going to have to be able to drive the ball and at least punt them in a position where they have to drive the length of the field.”

Then there’s the matter of stopping Long and Company.

“We’re going to have to force them to get uncomfortable one way or another,” Pearce said. “I don’t know how you do that, really. They’re very, very effective at what they do running the football at you. We’ll have to swell up, act like a male dog at some point.”

One team is going to take its first loss of the season, but it’s a game that should make both teams better for district play.

Both coaches are expecting a knock-down, drag-out battle.

“They’re going to give us one heck of a ballgame,” Stinnett said. “Hopefully, we can stay in it and make a game out of it and see what happens in the end.”

Added Pearce: “The Brent West’s and Kevin Stinnett’s aren’t going to show up in Breckenridge, Texas not ready to play. We’ve got a dogfight on our hands come Friday night.”

Pick: Cisco 28, Breckenridge 21

Others to watch

Comanche (2-0) at Early (1-1)

Comanche has been impressive in beating Brady 49-7 and Bangs 42-18.

QB Layden Welch (12-25-2, 206 yards, 2 TDs passing/17-104, 1 TD rushing) makes for a nice 1-2 punch running the ball with Sawyer Wilkerson (30-376, 6 TDs). Wilkerson, a sophomore, ran for 273 yards and four TDs in last week’s win over Bangs.

Early beat the same Bangs team 34-20 in its opener before losing to Tolar 51-14 last week. The Rattlers (2-0) are ranked No. 10 in Class 2A Division I.

Jaxyn Price, a senior QB, has thrown for 466 yards and four TDs, while Griffin Cheslock leads the rushing attack (27-205 2 TDs) for a Longhorns team expecting big things this season.

John-Stewart Gordon (8-136) and Jeremy Brown (10-107) are the leading receivers.

Early beat the Indians 58-14 last season as part of the Longhorns’ five-game win streak to open the year.

Comanche, 1-9 last year, has a chance to make some waves against a very good Early team.

May (2-0) at Knox City (2-0)

Knox City has outscored opponents 114-20, including a 54-8 victory over defending Class 1A Division II champion Strawn in the season opener.

Strawn, though, lost ever starter from last year’s team, while May – a 1A DI state finalist last year – returns a good core.

The Tigers, ranked No. 3 in Class 1A DI, have been impressive in beating Jayton 58-12 in Jayton and Austin St. Stephens 77-46.

St. Stephens went 11-0 last year in winning a Texas Association of Independent Athletic Organizations state title, while Jayton is ranked No. 4 in Class 1A DII despite the loss.

This should be an excellent test for both teams.

Big Country power rankings

Class 4A/3A

1. Stephenville (2-0) – beat Everman 62-61; Decatur (0-2)

2. Brownwood (1-1) – beat Marble Falls 55-16; at Burnet (1-1)

3. Breckenridge (2-0) – beat Childress 35-8; Cisco (2-0)

4. Snyder (2-0) – beat Levelland 21-7; Canyon Randall (1-1)

5. Comanche (2-0) – beat Bangs 42-18; Early (1-1)

Class 2A

1. Hawley (2-0) – beat Lubbock Roosevelt 33-0; Eastland (0-2)

2. Coleman (2-0) – beat Ballinger 48-0; Brady (0-2)

3. Cisco (2-0) – beat Wall 18-14; at Breckenridge (2-0)

4. Albany (2-0) – beat Dublin 55-14; at Seymour (2-0)

5. Roscoe (1-0) – Open; at TLCA-Midland (0-2)

Class 1A

1. Westbrook (2-0) – beat Jonesboro 30-13; Rankin (2-0)

2. Benjamin (2-0) – beat Wildorado 74-0; Open

3. May (2-0) – beat Austin St. Stephens 77-46; at Knox City (2-0)

4. Knox City (2-0) – beat Matador Motley County 60-12; May (2-0)

5. Ira (2-0) – beat Paint Creek 50-0; Jayton (1-1)

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Breckenridge, Cisco battle in Big Country Game of the Week