Until Gordon Wood's Brownwood Lions eclipsed them in 1960, the Buckaroos were the scourge of West Texas.Breckenridge's football success goes back to oil boom era in the late 1920s.

P. E. Shotwell, who coached the Buckaroos from 1927–34, guided the team to the state finals in 1929, where they tied Port Arthur Jefferson 0–0 in the snowy weather of Waco.

[6] Despite Breckenridge's declining population as the oil boom faded, the Buckaroos still played some of the largest schools in West Central Texas.

[5] Yet, during the 1950s the Buckaroos formed a true dynasty under head coaches Cooper Robbins (1945–51), Joe Kerbel (1952–54) and Emory Bellard (1955–59).

Breckenridge appeared in five Class 3A State Championship games, winning four times in 1951, 1952, 1954, and 1958 and tying Cleburne for the title in 1959.