Anderson Trojans vs. McCallum Knights
Taco Shack Bowl
House Park
Austin, Texas
August 26, 2021
7:30 p.m. Kick-Off
Anderson and McCallum will square off for the 49th consecutive season in the 20th annual Taco Shack Bowl in Austin on Thursday night. The Trojans lead the all-time series 28-20 and have won the last two Taco Shack Bowls, including a 14-7 defensive slugfest in last year’s season opener. Since Taco Shack began sponsoring the game, after Anderson moved up a classification and the two teams began playing in the season opener, the Trojans lead the series 10-9.
Anderson Trojans Players to Watch
2020 Record: 1-7
Anderson struggled a year ago with the Taco Shack Bowl serving as its only victory of the season. Roderick Thompson was promoted from assistant coach to head coach this season, and with many key players returning from a year ago, the development of this Trojan team will be something to watch this season.
The key for the Trojans will be in the backfield. Quarterback Fred Dale (1,138 passing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2020) is back with a full year of starting experience under his belt. However, the star man for the Trojans will be his backfield counterpart running back Colin Page. Page was a constant threat to go the distance last season, rushing for 980 yards and four touchdowns. Out at receiver, look for the reliable Reid Garcia (20 catches for 243 yards) to step up after the graduation of star man Grose Kiel.
Defensively, I.V. Webb will be a threat from his defensive end position. In last year’s meeting between these two teams, he burst onto the scene with 14 tackles. Junior safety Cole Canaday (5 interceptions and 50 tackles) will be a leader in the secondary after being named a team captain this season while his fellow safety and captain Will Fonken (74 total tackles) was a tackling machine a year ago.
McCallum Knights Players to Watch
2020 Record: 5-3
McCallum Head Coach Tom Gammerdinger is back for his fourth season in charge after the Knights went 5-3 a year ago before being knocked out by Georgetown East View in the bi-district round.
The Knights have nine starters back on offense including quarterback Jaxon Rosales (A three-year starter who earned second-team all-district in 2020), running back Brock Fanning (A 2020 first-team all-district selection), wide receiver Nate Davidson (another 2020 first-team selection), and tight end JD Jordan, who scored the lone touchdown for McCallum last year against the Trojans. The Knights will hope this plethora of offensive weapons allows them to find better success against the Trojan defense than they did a year ago.
Defensively, junior Miles McCollum will look to plug up the trenches from his defensive tackle position after earning District 14-5A Division II Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2020. Behind him, linebacker Tino Rodriguez and safety Jake Hissey were both 2020 first-team all-district selections and will lead a defense that held opponents to just 11.7 points per game in the regular season a year ago.
You can catch the action on KBVO in Austin or on the IHSFAN network at 7:30 on Thursday as Anderson looks for its third-straight Taco Shack Bowl victory while McCallum aims to tie up the annual Taco Bowl series at 10 victories apiece.
Meta Description: A breakdown of the annual Taco Shack Bowl matchup between Anderson and McCallum.
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