I began the 2016 season with a weekend double
header. On Thursday, I saw the Taco
Shack Bowl at House Park played between north Austin rivals McCallum and Anderson. As always, I started my day with
barbecue.
The
Barbecue
Like last year, I headed to Freedmen’s Bar for the
first game of the season. They are
located at 2402 San Gabriel Street, in the bustling West Campus area of
Austin. The building was erected in 1869
and has been used for numerous things over the years: a residence, church,
publishing house, and grocery store. Now
it is a full service bar that serves barbecue. A drunkard’s dream come true. .
.
I ordered a half pound of sliced moist brisket, two
pork ribs, and iced tea. The brisket was
very juicy and tender to the touch.
There was no need for any utensils, the brisket easily pulled apart by
hand and melted in my mouth. The ribs
were big and meaty. The meat easily bit
off the bone and was very tasty. The BBQ was served with slices of homemade
bread, wedges of homemade pickle, homemade pickled onions, jalapenos, and a
sweet (not spicy) sauce that went well with the meat. To top off the meal, I tried the smoked chocolate
mousse and banana pudding for dessert.
All
in all, Freedmen’s is a good place to eat some barbecue with great atmosphere
and friendly service. I’d happily take
friends and family there. Freedmen’s gets my highest rating: two Hook ‘Ems.
The
Game
James Baran returned the opening kick-off to midfield,
but Anderson was unable to pick up a first down. Lined up to punt, the deep snap bounced off
one of the Trojan blocking backs. He
fell on the ball, but McCallum took possession on the Trojan 27. This led to a 26 yard field goal to give the
Knights a 3-0 lead.
 |
| House Park - 2016 Taco Shack Bowl |
On the Trojans next possession, quarterback Trey
Lundquist ran for a first down, but fumbled.
The Knights recovered on the Anderson 30. The Trojan defense held off the Knights and
forced a short punt. After a Trojan punt
to midfield, Andre Blakemore broke loose down the left sideline for a 50 yard
scoring run. The extra point made it
10-0. The Knights would get a 30 yard
field goal to extend their lead to 13-0 with 0:27 left in the first quarter.
Anderson got a good kick-off return to their 41 yard
line. As action moved into the second
quarter, the Trojans mounted a drive into Knights territory. Lundquist found Jacob Graves behind the
McCallum defense for a 29 yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 13-7.
The Knights answered with a 75 yard scoring
drive. Strong runs by Blakemore set up a
34 yard scoring pass from quarterback Max Perez to extend the Knights lead to
20-7. Anderson was unable to move the
chains on their next possession. With a
slight wind behind them, the Trojans punted and the ball rolled dead on the
McCallum 4.
More strong runs by Blakemore and penalties against
the Trojan defense moved the ball into Anderson territory. Perez connected on his second touchdown pass of
the night to put the Knights up 27-7 at the end of the second quarter.
McCallum got the ball to start the third quarter. As in the first half, strong runs by
Blakemore moved the ball into Trojan territory, but they turned the ball over
on downs when Blakemore dropped a fourth down pass in the flat.
The Trojans started from their own 35 and moved into
McCallum territory. After picking up a
critical first down on fourth and 6, a great catch over the middle by Darian
Fisher gave Anderson a first down on the Knights 16. Lundquist hit Graves on a wide receiver
screen. He avoided the Knights defenders
to score, making it 27-14 with 3:40 left in the third quarter. On McCallum’s next possession, Trojan
defensive back picked off a pass from Perez and took it into the end zone. The pick six made it 27-20 with 2:44 left in
the third quarter.
Unfortunately for Anderson, they would get no
closer. After a Trojan punt was downed
on the McCallum 7, the Knights used their strong running game to move the
chains and wind down the clock. They
drove down to the Anderson 20 where they gave the ball over on downs, but
burned over four minutes of clock in the process.
Anderson took possession with 1:06 left to play and 80
yards between them and the end zone.
Lundquist had a receiver open deep on third down, but his pass was over
thrown. On fourth down, Lundquist was
hit as he threw and his pass fell harmlessly to the turf. McCallum took possession and ran out the
clock. McCallum ended their Taco Shack
Bowl losing streak at two games by beating Anderson 27-20.
Andre Blakemore finished the game with 256 yards on 32
carries for McCallum and scored on a 50 yard run. Max Perez threw for two touchdowns, but did
give up a pick six. Trey Lundquist threw
for 147 yards and two touchdown passes, but the Trojans were only able to gain
a paltry 35 yards on the ground.
McCallum out gained Anderson 410 to 182 total yards.
Attached is my video for this adventure. . .
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