Buck Bachmeier, right, joins his older brother Bear Bachmeier after BYU's victory over Georgia Tech in 2025 Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Buck is the youngest of four Bachmeier brothers to play football at Murrieta Valley.

For more than a decade, the Bachmeier name has been attached to some of the biggest moments in Murrieta Valley football history.

On Friday night, the youngest brother got one of his own.

With the Nighthawks trailing Cajon in the final seconds, sophomore quarterback Buck Bachmeier connected with Kayden Borden on a crossing route. Borden broke into the open field and raced for a 69-yard touchdown, putting Murrieta Valley ahead with three seconds remaining in a dramatic 43-38 victory.

“It feels great. There's just a lot of emotions flowing right now,” Bachmeier said after the game. “It was an intense game, but we ended up getting the victory. … We went out there and got a hard, hard win, but it's good for us, first one of the season.”

It was a remarkable finish on its own. Put into the context of the name on the back of the quarterback's jersey, it meant a little more.

Buck is the youngest of four Bachmeier brothers to play football at Murrieta Valley and the third to play quarterback for the Nighthawks. Before him came Hank and Bear at quarterback, while Tiger established himself as one of the most productive receivers and return specialists in program history.

Hank Bachmeier set the standard. From 2015-18, he threw for 13,150 yards and 156 touchdowns at Murrieta Valley, briefly holding the CIF Southern Section career passing record before Cajon's Jayden Daniels surpassed it. He went on to play at Boise State, Louisiana Tech and Wake Forest before continuing his career professionally in Europe.

Tiger added to the family's legacy in a different way.

The receiver finished his Murrieta Valley career with 238 receptions for 3,958 yards and 40 touchdowns, along with six kickoff-return touchdowns.

Bear became the next Bachmeier behind center.

The two overlapped in 2022, Bear's first season as Murrieta Valley's starting quarterback. Tiger caught 97 passes for 1,525 yards and 15 touchdowns that year, accounting for 15 of Bear's 26 touchdown passes.

Bear then spent three seasons as the Nighthawks' starter and built an impressive record of his own.

He finished his high school career with 6,810 passing yards and 59 touchdown passes while adding another 1,724 yards and 33 touchdowns on the ground. Murrieta Valley reached the CIF Southern Section playoffs in all three of his seasons as the starter, including the Division 2 championship game during his senior season.

During his true freshman season, Bear surpassed 3,500 yards of total offense, becoming the only true freshman quarterback in the FBS to reach that mark.

Tiger, meanwhile, spent two seasons at Stanford before transferring to BYU, reuniting the brothers at the college level.

Now another Bachmeier is coming through Murrieta Valley.

Only this time, Buck's opportunity arrived sooner than expected.

The sophomore left-hander entered the season as Murrieta Valley's varsity backup behind three-star junior Ty Isaia, who threw for 1,784 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for another 530 yards and three scores in 2025.

When Isaia was injured during the second quarter against Servite, Buck was called upon to finish the game. He completed 9 of 16 passes for 62 yards in his first extended varsity action.

Two days later, Buck learned he would make his first career start against Cajon.

Preparing for his first start also meant leaning on two people who knew exactly what he was stepping into. According to his father, Michael Bachmeier, Buck spent the week talking football with Bear and Hank, two former Murrieta Valley quarterbacks who had been in his position before. Hank, now playing professionally in Europe, was still helping his youngest brother prepare from thousands of miles away.

Then came Friday night, and with the game hanging in the balance, the sophomore delivered.

Bachmeier said he recognized Cajon playing with two high safeties and knew where he wanted to go with the football.

“It was two-high. It was wide cross, and Kayden's a dog, so I was just looking for him over there,” Bachmeier said. “I just ended up airing it out. He made a great play after the catch, and the rest is history, I guess.”

The Bachmeier name already carries plenty of history at Murrieta Valley. Hank set passing records, Tiger became one of the program’s most productive playmakers and Bear accounted for 92 touchdowns before taking his career to the college level.

Now Buck is beginning to write his own.

One start is far too early to know where that story will go. But a 69-yard touchdown pass with three seconds remaining was quite a first chapter.