'Nobody likes the move:' Anderson and McCallum fans wish their rivalry game was Week 1
There’s not a complete agreement, but the consensus seems to be Anderson and McCallum fans prefer their high school football rivalry game to start the season.
And if it were put to a vote, a probable landslide margin would move the contest, now known as the “Shoal Creek Showdown,” back to where it spent the last two decades as the kickoff to the Central Texas high school football campaign in late August.
The schools played Thursday at House Park – Anderson won 21-9 – after February’s UIL realignment put them in District 13-5A Division I, marking the first time since 2003 they didn’t play the Thursday of Week 1. (Districts determine their own schedules, and playing a district game to open the season is almost unheard of.)
Though one couldn’t tell a difference in atmosphere as fans packed nearby bars and restaurants beforehand, people were still waiting in line to get in well after kickoff and the stadium was at its capacity of 6,000, most of those the American-Statesman talked to favored the earlier date.
“Nobody likes the move,” said Buddy Overstreet, co-president of the McCallum booster club who was helping run a stand selling Knights T-shirts before the game. “But at the end of the day, it’s about the football game. If it wasn’t a district game, it would still be the first game of the year.”
Overstreet did add that the game having playoff implications makes the contest itself more exciting, but his preference is still “100% August.”
Walking under the Anderson stands minutes before kickoff, Trojans fan Christian Foster said it was his understanding McCallum didn’t want to play Week 1, which he found disappointing. But he’s just glad the game is still happening.
“I love this tradition,” he said. “It’s better to do it now than never, but it’d be better to do it at the start of the season.”
A lack of attention?
While waiting in line for the men’s restroom, Grant Williams, whose daughter is an Anderson cheerleader and who has another daughter who was on the dance team when she was in high school, said he thinks the game doesn’t get as much recognition.
“It was neat to be on the media,” said Williams, referencing the game receiving lots of buildup and exposure from Austin outlets, including KXAN broadcasting the game, which it didn’t do Thursday after choosing a different matchup. “And it was kind of history and tradition to begin the season. It’s a fun rivalry to juice things up.”
The game did seem to have less media attention. The Statesman appeared to be one of only two traditional local outlets in attendance, something Hatcher noticed, stating, “KXAN picked the wrong game to air.”
McCallum parent James Fairleigh said he was willing to give the mid-season timing a chance.
“This is the first one, and it seems nice so far,” said Williams, who quipped it was enjoyable not to be sweating like he usually would be in late August. “I do think we lost some of the support for it, but that might have been monetary and not seasonal.”
After the game, neither Hatcher nor McCallum coach Thomas Gammerdinger changed his opinion from before the season. Hatcher said he’d “rather it be earlier,” while Gammerdinger enjoyed the extra preparation time.
“It’s such a crapshoot that first game,” Gammerdinger said. “It was nice to have a little bit of film and be able to actually develop a real game plan and not just take a guess off of what you’re seeing on a scrimmage.”
The game will be in October at least one more year. And fans will have to wait for the next realignment in February 2028 to see if they get their wish of a return to August.
“I think there’s a lot more energy with it being the first game,” Overstreet said. “It loses a little energy being mid-season.”
This article originally published at ‘Nobody likes the move:’ Anderson and McCallum fans wish their rivalry game was Week 1.
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