Varsity football is often considered “one big family”, and when this group is a literal “brotherhood”, success on the field is imminent.
Those were terms senior Jackson O’Hare and his twin brother Samuel used to describe this group of varsity Pumas. The O’Hare’s have been playing tackle football together since the age of nine, and as Sam put it, “it’s always cool, because we always see each other during the game, we always are encouraging each other to perform better,” and, as brother Jack agreed, “it’s especially more fun now that we are both on offense”, referring to his days as a linebacker, Sam having stayed at his current position on the offensive line. “We have a lot of trust with each other, everyone to our left and right is going to do their job, we don’t have to worry.”
With six sets of brothers on this season’s varsity football squad, (Cutter and Case Hatch, Nate and D’Shayne James, Sam and Jack O’Hare, Bryce and Austin Fallas, Vincent and Robert Corral, and Tate and Bryce Speaker) Head Coach Preston Jones didn’t realize that there were this many family ties on his team. “I think, if anything, it helps [our team] bring that family atmosphere” to his squad this year.
Brothers Case and Cutter Hatch have brought the flair and finesse to mesh with the hard work of the O’Hare’s. Case is a consistent presence on the state tackles leaderboard., He is the proverbial “rock that makes the defense go,” as Coach Jones proudly stated. Case likes playing with his younger brother, and enjoys the bond that having family on the team forms, boldly stating “it’s great, me being on defense and to make a stop, and [Cutter] on offense to make a play”. Cutter thinks “it’s awesome, we have those little family competitions in practice, I get to congratulate him and he gets to congratulate me”.
Case continued his march up the state tackles leaderboard, and is optimistic, looking forward to his senior night against Val Vista rival Basha. “I’ve never beaten them, I just want to take them down.”
Jack O’Hare is also looking forward to his senior night, “it’s home, it’s the last game of the season, it’s senior night, it’s just super exciting”.
This exciting season continues tomorrow at Highland High, a game where everyone involved is surely optimistic for a successful outing and to improve on a stellar 4-1 record.