Coyote Beautiful!

Knights avenge ’66 loss to Alice with dominant second half performance, Hail Mary touchdown to end first half

Photo by Charlie Holden.

Gregory James, MacJournalism Sports Team

The McCallum Knights football team won their 13th game of the season to continue their perfect season and to push farther in the playoffs than any McCallum team in history.

They defeated Alice, 33-8, in spectacular fashion in the Alamodome in San Antonio. The last time the two teams met in the playoffs was 51 years ago when Alice won 16-12 in the 1966 playoffs.

Alexander Julian took flight from 5 yards out to land in the end zone for his second touchdown of the second half. Photo by Dave Winter.

This time around, the Knights defense allowed only one touchdown and a two-point conversion in the first quarter and shutdown the Alice offense for the rest of the game.

On the other hand, the Knights offense could not be stopped, reeling off 33 unanswered points after Alice took the 8-0 lead.

The McCallum scoring was opened by a 62-yard Max Perez rushing touchdown. Then the game reached a standstill as a series of three-and-outs led to no scoring in the rest of the first quarter and most of the second quarter.

The Knight defense anchored by Jackson Masters held the Coyotes scoreless after a first-quarter touchdown. Photo by Madison Olsen.

With a late second-quarter Hail Mary by Max Perez for 46-yards to Mason Bryant to end the half, the Knights took their first lead over Coyotes at 14-8, on the last play of the half.

Thanks to a pair of rushing touchdowns by Alex Julian, including a 19-yard rush for 6, and a pair of Ian Carson field goals from distances of 27 and 33 yards, the Knights finished pulled away to a decisive win in the third round of the playoffs.

The Knights offense finished with 241 yards rushing and 167 yards passing. The Knights’ next playoff game is the regional finals against Corpus Christi Calallen in the Alamodome on Saturday.

Both teams are 13-0 district champs but only one will punch their ticket to the Final Four in Dallas.

Mason Bryant’s Hail Mary touchdown into triple coverage gave the Knights a halftime lead they would never surrender. Photo by Ian Clennan.