Like many of the incoming freshmen at MAC, the Taco Shack Bowl turns 15 this year. For the first time, the Taco Shack Bowl is older than some of the students who will be attending it for the first time as MAC students. The resurgent Knights hope to end a two-year slide in the series. Anderson tries to win three in a row for the second time. In the 14-year history of the series, both teams have won three in a row but neither side has had a four-year winning streak (so no seniors can say that they swept the series during their time as Taco Shack Bowl warriors). The complete year-by-year history of the series is presented below. Taco Shack Bowl XVI kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night at House Park.
Taco Shack Bowl I — 2002
Anderson 21, MAC 18 (0-1) — Both teams scored three touchdowns, but three missed conversions after touchdown made the difference in the inaugural Taco Shack Bowl. “We could have beaten them if it wasn’t for our own stupid mistakes,” junior Logan Woody said to Knight reporter Chonie Bailey. “It’s not that they are better than we are at all.”
Taco Shack Bowl II — 2003
Anderson 27, MAC 25 (0-2) — In a winner-take-district showdown before a packed House Park crowd, the Trojans edged the Knights, thanks to a MAC letdown in the third quarter and some controversial calls that went Anderson’s way. “Everything we did we got called on, but everything Anderson did they did not get called on,” senior Anthony “Box” Williams told Drew Berliner of The Shield. “[But] you just can’t blame it on the refs. You have to blame it on the team.” [Interesting fact: According the 2004 Knight, McCallum defeated Lake Travis in 2003 by a score of 28-14.]
Taco Shack Bowl III — 2004
MAC 42, Anderson 21 (1-2) — The Knights rode a complete game on all sides of the ball to their first Taco Shack Bowl victory. Ben McMahan and Andre Banks connected for a 92-yard touchdown pass, while the defense held t
he Trojans to five yards per carry. “Beating Anderson was definitely the highlight of my season,” kicker Halston Brown told Becca Durr and Robyn Riley of The Knight. “We hadn’t beaten them the four years I had been here, and I think the win gave us confidence that carried through the rest of the season.” The Knights won district for the first time in 38 years and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. [Interesting fact: Thanks to senior Laurn Randell’s interception, the Knights defeated Austin High 35-29 after three overtimes.]
Taco Shack Bowl IV — 2005
MAC 27, Anderson 14 (2-2) — At the start of the 2005 season, Coach Pat Honeycutt told Mel Dean of The Shield: “We are working for a common goal, which is the district championship. … We are looking for everybody doing their part in the program, unselfishness and putting individual needs and wants on the back burner.” Not only did the team run the table to win district for the second year in a row, but it advanced past the third round of the playoffs for the first time. To start the season, the Knights dispatched the Trojans to even the Taco Shack Bowl tally at two games apiece. “It was great beating Anderson again,” senior strong safety Patrick Canul told Eric Waelder of The Knight.
Taco Shack Bowl V — 2006
MAC 52, Anderson 12 (3-2) — Senior Marcus Mann was the man, scoring four first-half rushing touchdowns, junior Van Franks ran the opening second-half kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and junor Knowl Richardson ran an interception deep in MAC territory for a long punctuating touchdown, as MAC routed Anderson to take the series lead, 3-2. “I was lost for words when the game was over,” Mann told Jessie Pearson of The Knight. “[The game] felt like a dream, like it didn’t happen.” For the third straight year, McCallum won the district title.
Taco Shack Bowl VI — 2007
Anderson 44, MAC 20 (3-3) — Wide receiver Jordan Cole scored a MAC touchdown on the game’s opening play, but a one-hour rain delay extinguished MAC’s hot start. “We lost our composure, and the weather didn’t make it any easier,” senior Marshall Giddings told The Knight. “Basically, Anderson got the best of us.”
Taco Shack Bowl VII — 2008
MAC 43, Anderson 42 (4-3) — Quarterback Clete Donovan scored the decisive touchdown in the game’s closing minutes to seal the victory in an extremely close game. “The touchdown was actually a play gone wrong, so I just had to try and run and go for a touchdown,” Donovan would say after the game.”The win felt good, especially since it meant a lot to the seniors.” The Knight were district co-champions.
Taco Shack Bowl VIII — 2009
Anderson 31, MAC 17 (4-4) — Playing for a first-year head coach Todd Raymond, the Knights came up short against the Trojans. “It was heartbreaking to lose to Anderson because we wanted to win for Coach [Honeycutt], but it taught us not to be cocky,” senior Chris Buratti said. The Knights clearly learned their lesson advancing to the third round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2005. [Interesting fact: the Knights played the game in black pants, and because of the loss, the team did not wear them for the next two years. “The coaches are very superstitious,” Sterlyn Reed, then a freshman, said a year later.]
Taco Shack Bowl IX — 2010
Anderson 48, MAC 34 (4-5) — An extremely young Knights team lost to the Trojans to open a season that the players and coaches would later deem a rebuilding year. The Knights also lost the Battle of the Bell to Travis that year, but rebounded to defeat LBJ, 55-41. “I always looked up to the seniors from past years taking the field for the first game,” said senior Jacob Backhous, one of the team captains for the Taco Shack Bowl. “It really hits you when it’s you and your buddies walk out for Taco Shack Bowl.” Fellow team captain Keegan Beall added, “All we could think about was that it was our last first game.”
Taco Shack Bowl X — 2011
Anderson 16, MAC 10 (4-6) — The Trojans won the Taco Shack Bowl for a third year in a row and a sixth time in 10 tries. “Losing a rivalry game really hurts,” senior Tat Whitley said, “but you can’t worry about it. You have to focus on winning the next game.” The Knights did just that, rebounding to defeat Vista Ridge for Homecoming and Travis to win the Battle of the Bell.
Taco Shack Bowl XI —
2012
MAC 16, Anderson 7 (5-6) — Faced with the prospect of going 0-for-Anderson during their high school careers, the MAC seniors rallied to win the Taco Shack Bowl for the first time. “Since I have been at McCallum, there hasn’t been a senior class that has gotten to see a Taco Shack victory, so it was great to experience that,” senior quarterback Griffin Stuesser said. First-year coach Jason “Cecil really motivated the team by knowing the importance of the game.” For the first time in four years, the Knights beat Anderson, Travis and LBJ all in the same season to win the district title.
Taco Shack Bowl XII — 2013
MAC 38, Anderson 22 (6-6) — The Knights started the year with a repeat win to knot the Taco Shack Bowl series at six wins apiece. “My favorite thing about the Taco Shack Bowl is all the hype that comes before the game,” senior Jack Holbrook said. “So many fans show up for the game, and it’s the best.” The team again defeated its three primary rivals to win district and advance to the second round of the playoffs in the Alamo Dome.
Taco Shack Bowl XIII — 2014
Anderson 33, MAC 23 (6-7) — After graduation and a coaching change made the Knights a green team, McCallum lost its first Taco Shack Bowl in three years. “Taco Shack Bowl is crazy,” senior Terrance Mitchell said. “We get so much exposure from everybody in town. It’s a little bit overwhelming.” Despite the disappointment to start the season, the team rallied under first-year head coach Charles Taylor to defeat Travis and LBJ and qualify for the state playoffs.
Taco Shack Bowl XIV — 2015
Anderson 28, MAC 14 (6-8) — The Knights got off to a rough start in Taco Shack Bowl XIV. Unable to run the ball effectively, the Knights couldn’t keep the Trojan offense off the field. Trailing 13-0 entering the second half, the Knights regrouped to mount a challenge but ultimately fell to a season-opening defeat. Nathan Sauls was stellar in defeat, leading the team in tackles and making an interception. “I was sad, but you couldn’t really change the game once it’s over,” senior Christopher Mundy told The Knight. “You just kind of have to keep going on and move forward to the next game.”
— with reporting by Anna Compton
