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If a regular pep rally is a hamburger, then this Friday’s pep rally was a Big Mac for big Mac.

The previous sentence is metaphorically true because the pep rally combined two longstanding Mac traditions: the Battle of the Bell, which dates back to the school’s first fall in 1953, and the school’s observance of Pink Week, the annual Peer Accepting Learning and Sharing program event, which since 2010 has raised awareness and money to wage the fight against breast cancer.

The football team brought out the old railroad bell that has served as the trophy in the rivalry game against Travis since the schools’ newspaper staffs partnered together to purchase it in 1953, the year both schools opened in order to relieve overcrowding at Stephen F. Austin High School. McCallum has dominated the rivalry game over the past two decades, but the bell remains a revered artifact that has been a part of the school culture for as long as the building itself.

Mr. Cowles, the PALS adviser, told the crowd at the pep rally that the PALS had raised more than $750 during the week to put toward the fight against breast cancer. And to celebrate that success, he called waves of volunteer teachers and administrators to line up and be pied in the face. As per usual Pink Week protocol, the pie with Mr. Garrison’s name on it served as the central moment of the pep rally.

If the observance of two entrenched Mac traditions didn’t make for a meaty enough pep rally for those in attendance, then perhaps a $2,000 check from McDonald’s did.

Representatives from the fast-food chain provided an oversized check to the football booster club for twice being selected as the McDonald’s Game of the Week.

In addition to the customary performances by the band, cheer squad and Blue Brigade, the tennis and swim teams were recognized. The tennis team qualified for the area tournament after finishing third in the district tournament Oct. 3-5. The swim team kicked off its season by competing at the Trojan Invite Swim at Waterloo Swimming on Oct. 6.

Photos by Joseph Cardenas, Gregory James, Angie Seckar-Martinez, Kelsey Tasch and Dave Winter.