After building a 14-0 halftime lead, McCallum led by only a touchdown with less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and those pesky Akins Eagles were driving for what would be the tying touchdown when quarterback Nick Cagle lofted a pass into the outstretched hands of receiver Sergio Madrigal.
It looked for a moment that the Eagles had landed in the end zone to tie the score.
Senior quarterback Brandon Wooley had other ideas.
Before Madrigal could bring the ball under control, Wooley ripped it from his grasp. The dislodged ball hung in the air behind Wooley’s back as he faced the back of the end zone. Somehow, he reached for the ball behind his back and cradled it for a tide-changing, game-deciding, 4-and-0-season-preserving interception.
The catch would have been on SportCenter had ESPN been there to record it. In their absence, Tony Lavorgna’s still MacJournalism photos of the play will have to do.
After the game, Wooley expressed self-deprecating humor, telling reporters that it was the first time in his football career that he caught the football during the game. Even in practice, he joked, he can’t catch the ball.
But Wooley caught the ball when his team needed him to catch it, and because he did, the Knights are 4-0 for the first time since 1966.
The team rides a hot defense and a scorching running back in Andre Blakemore (who added 195 yards an a touchdown to his amazing four-game tally of 646 yards and eight touchdowns) into Friday’s Homecoming game. The Knights open district play with a bang as they face a showdown with perennial arch-rival LBJ.
GAME NOTES: Shout out to senior Luke Whitefield who achieved a rare trifecta in the game, kicking a field goal and an on-side kick that he also recovered, leading to the Knights’ second touchdown (scored by Alex Julian).
Reporting by Joseph Cardenas. Photos by Diego Gutierrez, Persophone Harris, Greg James, Tony Lavorgna, Mia Orrick, Adrian Peña and Ramona Sever. Video by Mia Orrick.
![WORKING TOGETHER: McCallum Dance Company performs the student-choreographed “Dancing with Death” during last Tuesday’s dress rehearsal before the spring dance show. Sophomore Pia Sosa performed in five different numbers during the show and thought that everything went well even despite a few challenges.
“I was getting a little worried closer to the end because there were still a lot of changes happening and people getting shuffled around into places,” Sosa said. “But by the tech week and by the shows, it really felt like we all worked together and came together.”
Sosa’s favorite part was performing “Come Play,” which was choreographed by junior Maya Tien. Sosa loved being able to work with Tien because of her level of preparation and being able to perform hip hop, since the dance company does not perform that style as much.
“It’s the first number I do in the show, and I always just felt like it gave me so much energy,” Sosa said. “It felt really good because we rarely do hip hop, so it just felt like such a great opportunity to do something that I don’t get to do all the time.”
Sosa explained that there were some challenges due to sudden changes in several pieces, however Sosa said she was proud of how the company responded as a whole.
“Everybody put their best foot forward and pushed through any challenges that they were having,” Sosa said. “I’m really proud of how the company handled it all.”
Overall, Sosa said she is grateful for all the work put in by the dance directors and the student choreographers for producing the show.
“We couldn’t have put the show together without [them],” Sosa said. “Mac dance is amazing and I can’t wait to choreograph next year.”
Caption by Riley Pita. Photo by Harper Maxwell.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/54471134934_215f07dcfb_o_54485123147_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
