While not a district contest, tonight is arguably Anderson’s biggest game of the season, as they will face cross town rival McCallum in Taco Shack Bowl XXIII. The Trojans, winners of two straight will look to make it a three-peat when they take the field tonight and should have a very good chance of doing just that.
Anderson is led by its high octane offense with several division 1 commits in Max Gerlich (UTSA), Ed Small (TCU), and Zayden Sharp (Air Force). That trio along with help from other key players such as Ben Hatcher, Tristan Waidelich, and Jay Fullmer will look to overpower the Knights defense and score and often. In last year’s contest, Small hauled in 9 receptions for 113 yards and 3 touchdowns, and there’s no reason to expect anything less from him this year. Gerlich is known for his arm and will likely look to Ed early for easy completions and big gains.
Sharp, Waidelich, and Hatcher were all large contributors to last season’s offense as well, but should play even bigger roles tonight as an added year of experience should help this trio that clearly has the advantage over any defenders Mac throws at them. Adding sophomore Fullmer to the bunch only makes this offense more explosive as he has the ability to break big plays as a receiver or out of the backfield.
Defensively, the Trojans feature many returning starters from last year’s team including captains Colin Haines, Gage Webb, and Liam McMillan. Those three are the key difference makers for Coach Hatcher’s defense and should have little problem wrecking havoc on the Knights’ offense from the first drive. McMillan and Webb both had double digit tackles in last year’s Taco Shack Bowl and the latter linebacker got home for a sack as well.
McCallum’s best player is their senior quarterback, Luke Dunham, but with an undersized team around him, Dunham should have a lot of trouble driving the ball down the field against the Trojans tonight. If Anderson’s offense can put points on the board early and pressure the Knights to go score for score with them, expect Dunham to turn the ball over at least once if not multiple times. Haines, the Trojans top defensive back, has shown ample ability to jump routes and break up plays for this defense over the past few seasons, and should have a chance to come away with an interception tonight.
Last season, the Trojans put a 42-0 beat down on the Knights, but I think they have the potential to run up the score even more in this one. This offensive group is one of the most explosive we’ve ever seen out of Anderson and could easily put up 7 or 8 touchdowns on McCallum while, save for Jack Middleton, the defense is much the same as the one that shut the Knights out a year ago.
Tickets to the game have already sold out so get there early, be loud, and cheer on your Trojans in what should be the Central Texas game of the week in high school football. The atmosphere around this game is always fantastic and signs point to that holding true tonight. Anderson 56 McCallum 3
