On Field Reporting | Varsity Football, McCallum HS v Rouse HS on 11/10/23

FALL OF THE KNIGHTS: The Knights end the season with a 55-27 loss to the Raiders. Mark Sanchez had a Knights touchdown to start the quarter, but they failed a 2-point conversion. Rouse responded with a touchdown of their own and a McCallum fumble gave the Raiders back possession, but the Knights’ defense stopped them from scoring. Luke Dunham scored on McCallum's next drive and after a Rouse fumble, the Knights got the ball back, but were unable to score. The Raiders had a touchdown to end the game.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Ingrid Smith, Francesca Dietz, Alice Scott and Julia Copas.

SECOND HALF STRUGGLES: The Knights end the third quarter down 41-14 to the Raiders. Rouse started the second half with a touchdown and, after McCallum failed to convert, the Raiders scored again. On the Knights' next possession, they scored at the hands of Luke Dunham. The quarter ended with another Rouse touchdown.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Ruby LaWare and Francesca Dietz.

HALFTIME TROUBLES: The first half ended with the Knights down 21-7 to the Raiders. At the beginning of the quarter Rouse intercepted a McCallum pass and went on to score. On the Knights' drive, Mark Sanchez and Luke Dunham both had runs to bring McCallum downfield but had a turnover on downs. Both teams scored on their next possessions with Jaiden Booe scoring for the Knights. The Raiders had another touchdown at the end of the half.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Alice Scott, Ingrid Smith and Ruby LaWare.

KNIGHTS HOLD DOWN THE FORT: The Knights ended the first quarter scoreless, tied 0-0 with the Rouse Raiders. Neither team scored on their first possessions and on McCallum's second drive of the game a downfield touchdown pass was made to Jaiden Booe but was called back do to an illegal shift by the offense on the play. The Knights stopped Rouse's next scoring attempt with a sack by Calvin Cathey and tackle by Edward Bomba, keeping the Raiders to their own 10-yard line.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Francesca Dietz and Alice Scott.

Controversy overshadows historic title | Newspaper Article

After Spain captured the Women’s World Cup, the team’s president faces sexual assault allegations

Callen Romell, Staff Reporter

On Field Reporting | Varsity Football, McCallum HS v Eastside HS on 11/3/23

GOOD NIGHT TO BE A KNIGHT: The Knights get a shutout victory over Eastside with a score of 63-0. In the third quarter the Panthers have a turnover on downs and the Knights convert for a touchdown by Sage Allison. The fourth quarter was scoreless with McCallum coming close to a touchdown but Eastside forcing a fumble. 

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Naomi Di-Capua, Nate Williams, Camilla Vandegrift and Ruby LaWare.

STAYING STRONG: The Knights end the first half with a 56-0 lead over the Panthers. The Knights scored on their first drive of the quarter with a touchdown by Mark Sanchez. On McCallum's next possession, quarterback Jack McGinnis scored a touchdown. Two more touchdowns were scored by the Knights at the hands of Drew Andrews and Tony Andrews.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Naomi Di-Capua, Ruby Laware, Lanie Sepheri, Nate Williams, Camilla Vandegrift, Sofia Manos and Josie Linton.

POUNCING ON THE PANTHERS: The Knights got off to a heated start with a 28-0 lead over the Eastside Panthers at the end of the first quarter. The Knights started off with the ball and Luke Dunham scored the first touchdown. Eastside wasn't able to convert and Mark Sanchez returned their punt for a touchdown. The Panthers had a turnover on downs on their next possession and McCallum capitalized on the turnover with a touchdown caught by Finn Corrigan. On the Knights' next play Sanchez had a 23 yard run and then scored a touchdown.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Morgan Eye, Lillian Gray, Meredith Grotevant and Naomi Di-Capua.

A game of musical chairs | Newspaper Article

 NCAA conference realignments harm player, fan experience

Callen Romell, Staff Reporter

On Field Reporting | Varsity Football, McCallum HS v Travis HS on 10/26/23

BELL STAYS AT MAC: The Knights took the victory over the Rebels 35-24. The Knights scored on their first possession of the quarter via Luke Dunham. Neither team scored on their next drives. Dunham had his fifth touchdown of the night with a 36-yard rush. Travis scored the last points of the game, but it wasn't enough and they fell to the Knights for the 13th straight time.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Nate Williams, Camilla Vandegrift, Fletcher Vandegrift and Josie Linton.

HOLDING ONTO THE LEAD: The Knights ended the third quarter with a 21-17 lead over Travis. Rebel miscommunication led to the Knights picking up their own onside kick and Dunham scoring his third touchdown of the game. On the Rebels' next drive they turned the ball over on downs, but McCallum wasn't able to convert. Travis then scored on its next possession. McCallum got the ball back to start with possession to start the last quarter.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Nate Williams, Camilla Vandegrift, Fletcher Vandegrift, Estefani Tevalan, Mariana Silva and Josie Linton.

TROUBLE TURNED TO A TOUCHDOWN: The first half ended with the Knights up 14-10 over the Rebels. To start the quarter, the Knights stopped a Rebel drive, which ended with a short field goal to give Travis the lead. Both teams were unsuccessful on their next drives. Travis then intercepted a McCallum pass but wasn't able to score. The Knights were intercepted on their next drive but a sack by Joaquin Reynolds and a fumble recovery from Mark Sanchez in the final minute of the half helped the Knights regain possession, and Luke Dunham converted on their drive and scored a touchdown

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Nate Williams, Camilla Vandegrift, Fletcher Vandegrift, Estefani Tevalan, Josie Linton and Mariana Silva.

BACK TO BATTLE: Off to a rocky start in the Battle of the Bell against Travis, the Knights were tied with the Rebels at 7 the end of the first quarter. The Knights received the opening kickoff, but turned the ball over on a pass interception. The ensuing Rebels' drive was stopped, thanks to a sack by Nathan Barnes. After a Rebel punt, McCallum scored a touchdown on a long drive that culminated with a Luke Dunham touchdown run. Travis then retaliated with a quick-strike touchdown to even the score.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Nate Williams, Camilla Vandegrift, Fletcher Vandegrift, Josie Linton, Estefani Tevalan and Mariana Silva.

On Field Reporting | Varsity Football, McCallum HS v Navarro HS on 10/19/23

VICTORY OVER VIKINGS: The Knights win with a 38-0 shutout over the Vikings. Both teams were scoreless in the third quarter. McCallum had two fumbles in the 2nd half but were able to hold Navarro to a scoreless game. In the fourth quarter Thurston Roberts scored the Knights' final touchdown of the game.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott, Maggie Mass, Sophia Manos, and Lillian Gray

VIKINGS KEPT AT BAY: The Knights kept the Vikings scoreless in the second quarter, leading 31-0 at the half. Dunham had a 47 yard run down field to the Viking 16-yard line and Dash Levy kicked a field goal to bring up their score. Charleston Raab had a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown. On McCallum's next drive they scored a touchdown with a catch by Owen Price.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott, Maggie Mass, Sophia Manos, and Lillian Gray.

KNIGHTS OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT: The Knights take a strong lead over the Navarro Vikings a 14-0 come the end of the first quarter. Both teams were unsuccessful on their first drives of the game, with junior Mark Sanchez intercepting a Viking pass to regain possession. Sanchez then caught a down field pass, thrown by Luke Dunham, and ran it into the end zone for a McCallum touchdown. The Viking were forced to punt from their own 8-yard line, giving the Knights good field position on their next drive. Jaiden Booe caught a pass in the end zone for another Knights touchdown to end the quarter.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott, Maggie Mass, Sophia Manos, and Lillian Gray.

On Field Reporting | Varsity Football, McCallum HS v LASA HS on 10/13/23

RAPTORS GONE EXTINCT: The Knights ended with a 45-21 win over the LASA Raptors. Luke Dunham scored the Knights’ final touchdown of the game to further their lead. The Raptors came back to score a touchdown but still fell short.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Naomi-Di Capua, Alice Scott, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, Francie Wilhelm, and Morgan Eye

THIRD QUARTER THREAT: The Knights end the third quarter with a 38-15 lead over the Raptors. Both teams were unable to convert on their first possessions of the game. After a run down field from Tommy McIntyre and Jorge Aldape running the ball to the red zone, Luke Dunham scored a touchdown. The quarter ended with the Raptors punting to McCallum.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Naomi-Di Capua, Alice Scott, Ingrid Smith, Francie Wilhelm, and Morgan Eye

SECOND QUARTER STEP UP: The first half ended with the Knights up 31-14 against the Raptors. The Knights' Luke Dunham scored the first touchdown of the quarter and the Raptors went on to score as well. Dunham went on to score the next McCallum touchdown and on LASA's next drive Isaiah Paniagua sacked their quarterback, pushing them to 4th and 25. McCallum scored another touchdown at the hands of Dunham. In the last minute of the game Knights kicker, Dash Levy, kicked a field goal to end the half.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Naomi-Di Capua, Alice Scott, Lanie Sepehri, Winnie Roberts, Francie Wilhelm and Morgan Eye.

STALEMATE: The Knights ended the first quarter tied 7-7 with the LASA Raptors. The Knights got the ball to start the quarter and were unable to convert, forcing them to punt. The Raptors were also unsuccessful and punted to the Knights, who got the ball at the 45 for good field position. On McCallums next drive Luke Dunham ran the ball into the endzone for a touchdown. LASA responded with a touchdown of their own and kicked back to the Knights, who ended the quarter with possession. 

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott, Lanie Sepehri, Ingrid Smith, Francie Wilhelm, Ruby Laware and Morgan Eye.

Friday Knight Lights | Podcast

 

In the inaugural episode of Friday Knight Lights, the Shield’s latest podcast delving into all things McCallum sports, hosts Julia Copas and Callen Romell recap games and scores from the past week. To find out how the Knights are doing in every sport, from cross country to water polo, listen to the first episode of Friday Knight Lights. Plus, you’ll get a rundown of the games coming up this week, and our predictions of who will exit victorious.

CORRECTION: In the podcast, we reported that David Herring set a new school 5K school record. Since we recorded the episode, we have learned that the course was shorter than 5K, so his time does not qualify for the 5K school record. The Shield regrets the error. 

Listen Now.

‘Sweet Charity’ comes to life on stage | Newspaper Article

 Fall musical premieres as first play of the school year

Callen Romell, staff reporter

D-Day for the Knights is Tonight | Newspaper Article

After showing resilience through adversity in three non-district games, McCallum opens DISTRICT play tonight with a House Park duel against Crockett

Callen Romell, Staff Reporter

On Field Reporting | Varsity Football, McCallum HS v Crockett HS on 9/15/23

BRINGING HOME THE WIN: The Knights continued their third quarter success into the fourth eventual beating the Cougars 37-22. On the Knights first drive of the game they failed to make a field goal and had a turnover on downs. On the Cougars drive they fumbled the ball and it was recovered by McCallum. Mitchell Butler had his fourth touchdown of the game with a Dash Levy kick to add 7 more to the scoreboard. Crockett scored a touchdown on their next drive but failed to make their two-point conversion. To end the game Dunham took a knee with 30 seconds on the clock.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott, Winnie Roberts, Lilian Gray, Julia Copas and Ingrid Smith

THIRD QUARTER TOUCHDOWNS: As senior defensive tackle Calvin Cathey said “it’s a good night to be a Knight.” That was certainly true for the Knights’ third quarter with a 30-16 lead over Crockett. The Cougars had a fumble at the beginning of the quarter that was recovered by McCallum. Mitchell Butler had a rushing touchdown and a good extra point by Dash Levy added to the Knights score. Crockett was then forced to 4th and 4 and punted to the Knights. Butler had a 56 yard run down to the Cougars 9 yard line. He then ran the ball into the endzone and Levy kicked another good extra point. The McCallum defense kept Crockett at bay by forcing them to the half yard line and having to punt. The Knights were unsuccessful on their next drive, but their defense forced a bad snap from the Cougars resulting in a safety. To end the quarter Crockett punted to the Knights.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott, Julia Copas, Winnie Roberts, Ingrid Smith and Lillian Gray.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: The Knights finished the second quarter down 16-14 to the Crockett Cougars. The Cougars scored after getting the ball in the first quarter but had an unsuccessful extra point. The Knights then drove the ball down the field with Mitchell Butler having a 15 yard run into the red zone and finishing the drive by scoring the touchdown. Dash Levy then had a good extra point to decrease the score deficit to two points. McCallum was strong defensively on Crockett's next couple drives, forcing them to 4th and 13 on the Cougars next possession. The Knights, after having an unsuccessful drive, had their punt blocked, but were able to push the Cougars to 4th and 27 to end the first half.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Lillian Gray, Alice Scott, Chloe Lewcock, Julia Copas, Winnie Roberts and Ingrid Smith.

RAINY START: After an hour-long delay, the game between the McCallum Knights and Crockett Cougars kicked off, with rain still pouring for half the quarter, ending down 10-7. The Knights unfortunately fumbled on the first play of their drive and the Cougars went on to score a field goal. The Knights were sacked on their following possession and tried for a field goal but it was no good. Crockett wasn't successful on their next drive and punted to the Knights. Mitchell Butler then had a 44 yard catch to bring the Knights downfield, with a good extra point by Dash Levy. The Cougars answered the Knights' points with a touchdown of their own. To end the quarter l both teams punted on their next possessions, with Crockett starting with the ball in the second quarter.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Chloe Lewcock, Julia Copas, Alice Scott, Naomi Di-Capua, Ingrid Smith and Winnie Roberts.

On Field Reporting | Varsity Football, McCallum HS @ Connally HS on 9/8/23

ON THE CLOCK: The Knights lost 56-42 to the Cougars in a tough battle. Connally scored a touchdown on their opening drive and recovered an onside kick to score again. On the Knights first possession of the quarter they had a successful drive and Butler ran the ball into the end zone on a 2 yard carry. Both teams scored in their next drives with Dunham running the ball in from the 2. Kicker Dash Levy made both of his extra points to help close the Cougars lead over the Knights. McCallum then punted an onside kick recovered by Karon Lewis. After the Knights brought the ball down to their redzone, with three seconds left on the clock, Luke Dunham scored a touchdown and with a good extra point, they ended the game.

Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott, and Ingrid Smith.

 

THIRD QUARTER TDS: The Knights maintained stable in the 3rd quarter, down 35-21 at the end of it. The Knights received the ball to open the half and with a 16 yard gain into the red zone by Mark Sanchez and touchdown by Mitchell Butler as well as a good extra point by Dash Levy to close their deficit. However, the Cougars were able to come back and score halfway through the quarter to keep their lead. The Knights then scored another touchdown with Jaiden Booe catching the ball in the endzone and Dash Levy kicking a good extra point. The Knights punt to the Cougars as the last play of the quarter.
Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott, and Ingrid Smith.

 

SECOND QUARTER HOPE. The Knights started with a stronger 2nd quarter, despite being down 28-7 to the Cougars at the end of the half. The Knights took their opening drive all the way to the endzone with quarterback Luke Dunham scoring a 1 yard touchdown, and then followed it up with an extra point from kicker Dash Levy. The Cougars responded to McCallum scoring a touchdown on their next possession. McCallum, after having an unsuccessful drive, faked a punt but their pass was incomplete, and the Knights turned over their downs. On Connallys last play of the half, their quarterback was sacked by Tony Andrew's, pushing them back to 3rd and 19. The ball was then intercepted in the end zone by Mark Sanchez, with the half ending with the Knights in possession.
Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott, and Ingrid Smith.

 

FIRST QUARTER FRUSTRATION: The Knights got off to an unsuccessful start against the Connally Cougars, ending the first quarter down 21-0. The Knights won the toss and deferred to receive to the second quarter. The Knight were able to stop the Cougars and the got the ball on Connally’s 42 yard line. McCallum was unable to convert and were turned over on downs. The Cougars scored on their next drive, 4 minutes into the game. McCallum, not scoring on their next possession, punted to Connally, resulting in another Cougar touchdown but a missed extra point. The Knights had another unsuccessful drive and punt to the Cougars, resulting in another Connally touchdown, who scored a 2-point conversion. To end the quarter McCallum received the ball, giving them possession to start the 2nd.
Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Ingrid Smith, Alice Scott, Naomi Di-Capua and Julia Copas

Posted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macjournalism/

Pfluegerville____ Stadium 

On-field Reporting | Varsity Football McCallum HS v Lehman HS on 9/1/23

ADDING TO THEIR LEAD. The Knights had a positive third quarter bringing their lead to 17-0 over Lehman. They had a successful play involving Luke Dunham, Mitchell Butler, and Mark Sanchez bringing the ball down to the red zone which Dunham and Sanchez were able to convert to a touchdown. The Knights went for a 2-point conversion and Camden Willis caught the ball in the end zone helping their lead. At the end of the quarter, quarterback Luke Dunham had another 40 yard run down the field giving the Knights good field position for the next quarter.
Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Naomi Di-Capua, Alice Scott and Ingrid Smith

 

KNIGHTS AHEAD. The Knights finished the half with a 9-0 lead over the Lobos. After keeping Lehman scoreless on their possession, Knights quarterback, Luke Dunham, threw a 40 yard pass to Mitchell Butler, sending them downfield. While they were unable to make it into the end zone, kicker Dash Levy scored a field goal which added 3 points to the Knights lead. The rest of the quarter remained scoreless, but an interception was made by Finn Corrigan to keep the Lobos from scoring.
Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Alice Scott, Ingrid Smith and Naomi Di-Capua.

 

FIRST QUARTER FUN. The McCallum Knights had a successful first quarter against the Lehman Lobos, ending the first up 6-0. The Lobos won the toss and deferred to receive the ball first, leading to the Knights taking the first drive. They failed to convert their drive and were forced to punt to Lehman. McCallum was successful in stopping the Lobos, with Henry Snyder getting a sack pushing Lehman to 3rd and 18. Both teams didn't manage to get points in their next possessions but on McCallum’s final drive of the quarter they were able to take it all the way down to the end zone with Mitchell Butler running the ball in for a touchdown. Kicker, Dash Levy was unable to score the extra point, concluding the first quarter.
Caption by Callen Romell. Photos by Julia Copas, Ingrid Smith, Alice Scott and Naomi Di-Capua.

Posted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macjournalism/

House Park Stadium 

On Field Reporting | Varsity Football, McCallum HS v Anderson HS on 8/24

TROJANS 42, KNIGHTS 0: While the final margin of the 2023 Taco Shack Bowl is a discouraging way to open the season, the Knights in the second half did show some encouraging potential to build upon in future games. They put together several long drives including one punctuated by a long run from quarterback Luke Dunham. The Knights got to the doorstop of the end zone then turned the ball over on downs after failing to score on fourth down and goal. On defense, the Knights stopped several Trojan drives. While the Trojans managed to get a touchdown in the third, the Knights kept them scoreless in the final quarter.

The Knights hope to reverse their fortunes next week when they host Lehman back at House Park on Friday Sept. 1.

Reporting by Callen Romell. Photos by Naomi Di-Capua, Meredith Grotevant and Alice Scott.

 

STRONG STOPS. The Knights continued to struggle in the second quarter, remaining scoreless and allowing Anderson two more touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was set up by a McCallum fumble. The scoreboard may not show it, but McCallum’s defense put up solid resistance in the quarter, including a string of plays pushing the Trojans to a third and 25.
Reporting by Callen Romell. Graphic by Alice Scott. Photos by Naomi Di-Capua.

 

FRUSTRATING FIRST. The Knights got off to a slow start in the first quarter of the 22nd Taco Shack Bowl, ending the quarter in a 21-0 deficit. The Trojans, after winning the toss and choosing to receive the ball first, scored on their opening drive. McCallum wasn't able to answer. Thanks in part to a bad snap on a Mac punt, Anderson managed to score on their next two possessions, while the Knights didn't manage to get into the end zone. Turning the ball over via fumble and on downs in the quarter, the Knights have their work cut out for the rest of the game.
Reporting by Callen Romell. Graphic by Alice Scott. Photos by Meredith Grotevant and Dave Winter.

Posted on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/macjournalism/

House Park Stadium 

Fighting on Two Fronts | Newspaper Article

A man who has people depending on him in all aspects of his life.

A man that teaches high school geography.

A man that is a master sergeant in the Army National Guard.

Michael Sanabria is known to most people at McCallum High School as a geography teacher that occasionally will disappear for chunks at a time. He is the teacher that has a class full of students still using their computers for their lessons when he is gone, and watch videos or do online assignments while he’s away.

The slightly lesser-known part of Sanabria’s life and the reason for his spans of absence are due to the other and equally important part of his life. He is also in the military part-time and is the top officer on his special forces team. He’s been a soldier since he graduated high school.

He knew that going to college wasn’t what he wanted to do as soon as he graduated and that he could wait to pursue an education and teaching career till later. He joined the Army straight out of high school and switched to being in the National Guard when he started teaching

Being both a teacher and a soldier means that he is responsible for the education of the country’s youth but at the same time responsible for the safety and well-being of the country itself. He has both kids and peers looking to him for advice and relying on him to not let them down.

The most important part of him being a teacher and a soldier is the and.

He’s both.

He isn’t one all of the time and the other only sometimes. He shows that he can and is both at the same time, all the time.

6/8/23  |  Newspaper Article 

Originally Posted:  https://macshieldonline.com/53854/blogs/fighting-on-two-fronts/