AUSTIN, Texas — The final score is in: Anderson High School defeated McCallum High School 57-40 in the 23rd annual Taco Shack Bowl, opening the 2024 Central Texas high school football season.
The Thursday night matchup at House Park drew a crowd north of 5,000 people and was the 52nd time the two schools, separated by only six miles, have faced off. Anderson leads the all-time series 31-20 and 12-10 since the game became known as the Taco Shack Bowl.
The concept of the "bowl" came as a way to positively spin the rivalry in the early 2000s, after a number of incidents occurred between the two schools in the 1990s. Taco Shack began sponsoring the matchup in 2002 because both schools are near Taco Shack locations.
Anderson dropped down in classification this year and will now play in UIL Class 5A Division I. Despite the drop, the schooll still has a bigger enrollment than McCallum and suited up more varsity players Thursday night.
