Before the Knights’ area playoff game against Victoria East began and after the game ended, the players huddled together and chanted one word: family.

The Knights (10-2) demonstrated both during and after the game that family was the perfect word to describe this team and its historic season, a season that came to a sudden end in the second round of the playoffs Nov. 18 at Eschenburg Field in Floresville.

During the game, McCallum rose to the challenge of playing well in the crucible of the area playoffs. Players in all three phases (offense, defense and special teams) made plays that allowed the Knights build a double-digit first-half lead. A resurgent Knight passing attack produced the game’s first touchdown when Mason Bryant caught a Max Perez throw in stride and streaked 62 yards down the McCallum sideline to the end zone. Sandwiched between two Luke Whitefield field goals, the TD reception helped the Knights build a 13-0 first-quarter advantage.

The Titans got back into the game in the second quarter with a touchdown and last-minute field goal to make the score 13-10 at halftime. After a third Luke Whitefield field goal on the opening drive of the third quarter, the Titans scored again to take their first lead of the game at 17-16. McCallum responded with two third-quarter touchdowns to make the score 30-17.

Perez hit Joe Weathersby with a pass over the middle, and Weathersby rambled 33 yards for a score, breaking free from the grasp of three Titan defenders in order to travel the final 10 yards. After the Titans muffed a punt deep in their end zone on their next possession, Perez completed a short Knight scoring drive with a seven-yard TD run to make the score Knights 30, Titans 17.

After the Titans again rallied to score two touchdowns to take a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Knights refused to surrender. The game appeared to be over after the Titans faked a punt on fourth and eight and converted a first down into Knight territory with under three minutes to play. But instead of folding, the Knight defense kept the team’s hopes alive. After the Titans completed a pass inside the Knight 10-yard line, Nathan Sauls and Tyrell Washington forced a fumble that Washington scooped up and returned to the Knights’ 35-yard line with 1:55 left to play.

The final Knight drive came up short, however, as a Perez-to-Andre Blakemore pass on fourth an 11 fell incomplete with 90 seconds left to play. As he had all season long, Blakemore came up big in his final high school game. He rushed for 119 yards on 22 carries. Blakemore finished the season with 1,633 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. His running mate Deron Gage added 62 yards, many of them out of the wildcat formation, which proved effective all game long.

Perez accounted for more than 200 yards of offense, with 51 rushing yards and a score to go along with 165 passing yards and two TD passes. Bryant led Knight receivers with 88 yards on four receptions, all of them crucial in keeping drives alive. Weathersby caught five passes for 65 yards and a score.

The emergence of the passing game allowed the Knights to enjoy their most balanced offensive effort of the season. The team gained 397 yards of total offense, 232 on the ground and 165 through the air. The defense also played well, creating a fumble in each half that led to a turnover that extinguished a Titan scoring threat. Whitefield converted three field goals and three extra points to account for 12 of the Knights’ 30 points.

When the game ended, the sudden realization that the season was over was brutal on the Knights. Head coach Charles Taylor praised his players for their effort in the game and throughout the season and urged them not to point fingers at each other. The scene after the game confirmed that they wouldn’t. After Taylor’s post-game speech, the team huddled, raised their helmets to the sky and chanted the same word they shouted before the game: family.

After the difficult defeat, they appeared more like a family than ever. Wherever there were tears, they were surrounded by embraces and the team left the field unbowed by defeat and as united by their valiant effort in this hard-fought game and heroic season.

The 2016 season began with a four-game win streak and also included a six-game win streak following the team’s only regular-season loss. The team defeated rivals Anderson, Austin, Travis and Reagan en route to 10 wins against only two losses.  The team also outlasted all of it district foes in the 5-A playoffs as the team won the bi-district title for the first time since 2013.

Photos by J.R. Cardenas, Madison Olsen, Diana Rangel, Stephany Serna and Dave Winter.