The Anderson High School 2025-2026 academic year has only been in session for 10 days but, in truth, feels much longer. Our parking lot strains to fit all of the students and staff each day amidst a busy construction schedule and new state-wide mandates have begun to change the culture in our classrooms.
Yes, change has been a constant reality to students and faculty alike this August, even in the face of our traditional rivalry game, Shoal Creek Showdown, formerly known as Taco Shack Bowl. This year’s Anderson v. McCallum game was sponsored by Legacy Turf and Greens, a locally owned and operated landscaping business. The owner, Eddie Joseph, is an Anderson alumnus, who has made his support clear by attending pep rallies and showing his excitement for the future of the game under his sponsorship.
Football has long been a foundation of community pride at Anderson, but has weathered many developments over the years. Recently, I had the privilege of talking to my dad, Corby Brooks, class of ‘91, about his experience playing football as a Trojan at Anderson Highschool.
“It’s a really neat combination of physicality and mental chess. It’s hard,” he said, recounting the many practices under the unforgiving Texas sun. “It requires a lot of teamwork, and it requires a lot of character.”
“And it’s one of the last places that you can knock the oblivion out of somebody and not get in any trouble!”
Corby played in 1989, a time before Taco Shack, before Anderson even had a traditional rivalry game with McCallum. Yet when asked about his experience, he recalls how the school would come together before each game, and the electricity that charged every pep rally.
L.C. Anderson has worn many faces in the fifty-two years it has been established. And while it’s easy to hyperfixate on the changes, or what has been lost to time, the essence of what matters most is unshakable.
At the end of the day, change is inevitable. It follows life relentlessly– mirrored through campuses that are torn down and rebuilt, through the altering of our beloved traditions, and reflected in the faces of our seniors every year as they walk down the stage. But what Anderson stands for has remained a constant narrative from its founding to present day.
Continuing the 4-year streak, the Trojans won the new Shoal Creek Showdown, the final score being 37-2. It wasn’t much of a fight, however, with Anderson scoring the 37 points before halftime.
As our dominating victory Thursday night has shown, while traditions can grow different with time, the community and camaraderie behind them are what makes them memorable.
The spirit never truly leaves the sport, and though we are painting a different name on banners, what we are yelling for has never really changed.
