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The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
The Student News Site of McCallum High School

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Mac feasts on Tivy turnovers to win first playoff game since 2013

the MacJournalism Sports Team
November 13, 2016

For the senior varsity football players and the coaching staff, who remembers when those seniors were freshman, the Knights’ 17-14 win over Kerrville Tivy wasn’t just special. It was a return to their roots.

Photo by Dave Winter.
Andre Blakemore eludes two Antler defenders to gain the final five yards of his 62-yard TD run in the first quarter to make the score, 7-0, after Luke Whitfield’s PAT. Photo by Dave Winter.

The last time the Knights won a playoff game was four years ago … when the current seniors were freshmen.

There have been some rough patches between playoff wins, but after Friday’s win–the team’s 10th of the season–under the lights at House Park, there can be no doubt that this is a special team enjoying a spectacular season.

The Knights defeated a tough opponent thanks to key plays in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. Among the key plays were these:

Andre Blakemore’s 62-yard TD run straight down the Tivy sideline that opened the scoring in the first quarter.

Luke Whitefield’s 33-yard field goal in the second quarter that broke a 7-7 tie and ultimately provided the margin of victory.

Prince Tyler’s 70-yard fumble return down in the third quarter that gave the Knights some insurance they would dearly need after Tivy scored their only second-half points to cut the lead to three.

Mason Bryant’s clutch punt from his own end zone with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter that reversed field position and gave the Antlers a long field to start their final drive.

Tyrell Washington’s game-sealing interception of a Karson Valverde pass with two minutes to go that ended the Antlers’ last threat to score.

With the other 25-5A playoff teams all losing their opening round games, the Knights are now the only district team still alive in the chase for the 5-A state title.

The team will travel to Eschenburg Field in Floresville to play the Victoria East Titan in the area playoffs. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

To hear exclusive interviews and see our comprehensive photo gallery of the pregame, game and halftime festivities, please see below. Reporting by J.R. Cardenas. Photos by J.R. Cardenas, Gregory James, Tony Lavorgna, Madison Olsen, Adrian Pena and Dave Winter.

 

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NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates. “One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.” As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game. “Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”
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WISHFUL WINDOW SHOPPING: Senior Mia Plemons observes the displays in the MAC during the 5x7 gallery night. Although not a member herself, Plemons feels a connection to the program through her friends and peers. “I have a lot of friends in art,” Plemons said. “And I’ve seen a lot of their work and it’s all really nice and beautiful, and I really enjoy seeing some of the nice pieces people have made.” Plemons didn’t manage to secure a piece of her own, but left impressed by all the ones she saw. “I didn’t [have a favorite], every piece of art I saw was just absolutely breathtaking,” Plemons said. “I think they should definitely do more things like this in the future. I think it’s definitely great for people in the art program to get their art out there and getting experience with making things that people buy.” Caption by Noah Braun. Photo by Lilah Lavigne.
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SPENDING THANKSGIVING IN NATURE: Junior Elizabeth Falkin feeds deer who wander around her grandfather’s lakehouse on Lake Buchanan during Thanksgiving break. Falkin travels to her lakehouse during long breaks and spent six days there during this break. One thing that makes Falkin’s lakehouse special for her is the ability to feed the deer. “There are a ton of deer up there, and we always keep tins of deer food so that we can feed them and see them more up close,” Falkin said. This trip also allowed Falkin the opportunity to see her cousins, who showed up to her family’s lakehouse on Thanksgiving without her knowing they were coming beforehand. “I never get to see my baby cousins, so I loved going to the beach with them and sitting by the fire at night,” Falkin said. “I love the fire because I feel like I don’t have to worry about anything else like school for just a little while.” Falkin has been going to the house for as long as she can remember and always enjoys the sense of serenity it brings. “It is an amazing, isolated place that allows me to calm down and spend time with the people I care about as well as with nature,” Falkin said. Caption by Maya Tackett. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Falkin.
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AS EASY AS PB&J: At the blindfold sandwich-making station, senior Zane Wiggins and Kai Talebi attempt to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The activity allowed students to experience the mundane task without sight. Wiggins found that the simple activity turned into a challenge in almost every aspect of the process. "It was pretty rough," he said. "My bread wasn’t put together properly, and I put my jelly right next to my plate and not on the plate, it was really difficult. I was expecting it to be easier than it was cause I'd made sandwiches all my life, and I thought 'I can do this from muscle memory,' but it was a lot harder than I thought, and it makes you not take your sight for granted. Access to your sight makes things so much easier." Since students participating are used to having full sight, it was difficult to adapt to the sudden loss of a sense. "I had to kind of guess where things were and the plate was moving a lot," he said. "Every time I would reach for the plate it would be in a different location, so I kind of had to feel around for everything." Along with that, Wiggins had to work together with Talebi to communicate to communicate which ingredient he needed next. "I had to share the peanut butter and the jelly with Kai, so we had to coordinate with each other on who gets what first," he said. "I knew Kai was right next to me, but it was hard to know where her hands were. We had to find each other's arm and make our way up to pass the ingredients." Caption by Lillian Gray.
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Mac feasts on Tivy turnovers to win first playoff game since 2013