PLOT THICKENS FOR MAFFEO BROTHERS
Twin quarterbacks will face each other
Tomorrow morning, Zach and Jake Maffeo will wake up and prepare for their final football game of the fall. They will share breakfast, race out of the house, put on their pads one last time this season, and warm up for kickoff.
For the first time in their high school careers, they will play in the O’BryantLatin Academy Thanksgiving Day game. But when the twin brothers walk out onto the field, they will be donning two different uniforms.
“It’s really weird to think about,” Zach Maffeo said. “I am going to be playing against the person I am with just about 24/7. It’s going to be a crazy, fun experience.”
Zach and Jake grew up in Dorchester doing everything together. From throwing the football in the yard to playing hockey in the winter and enjoying time on the baseball diamond in the spring, the two were inseparable.
That all changed as they entered their teenage years. The brothers applied to Boston’s three exam schools, and as fate would have it, Zach was admitted to Latin Academy. Jake went to O’Bryant.
“They took the test for the exam schools, and they got into where they got into,” Michelle, the boys’ mother, said. “I think I was initially nervous, but they are where they are supposed to be. Both schools are amazing.”
The two looked at their separation as an opportunity. Not only would they be able to grow personally, making their own new group of friends at their respective schools, but they both had a chance to fulfill their dream of being a varsity starting quarterback.
A unique twist to the brothers’ athletic future was added before their freshman year when Michelle was informed by the O’Bryant coaching staff that the Tigers had picked up a new Thanksgiving opponent. It was Latin Academy. “When we started the tradition, I knew hopefully one day I would be going against my brother,” Jake said. “Zach’s usually on my team, but now I get to play against him. It’s a cool new experience.”
Last year, Jake earned the starting job as a freshman, but Zach received only a handful of varsity snaps as a long snapper. The brotherly rivalry was put on hold.
But this fall, Zach was named the Dragons’ starting quarterback. Right away, the family knew what that meant for Thanksgiving.
“At first I said to myself, ‘That’s going to be crazy,’” Zach said. “My teammates joke around about it a lot. It’s like, ‘Oh, guess who you’re playing?’ Then I remember.”
The two have used their experience at different schools to their benefit. Regularly, they come home to share stories about school or practice with one another. They bounce ideas off each other on how they can improve, try to one-up the other on the field, and most importantly, support one another from the sidelines.
“They are very competitive. They have been
throughout their sporting careers,” Michelle said. “But if I am at one game, and they finish up early, we’ll both go to the next one. As competitive as they are, they support one another.”
Thanksgiving will not be the day in their high school years when Zach and Jake play on opposing teams. They likely will go head-tohead both on the ice in the winter and during baseball in the spring.
Tomorrow, however, will be their first taste, and it will all play out in front their biggest fans. They are expecting plenty of extended family to be in attendance, pulling for whichever twin has the ball.
“Latin Academy is my best fit, and for Luke, O’Bryant is his best fit,” Zach said. “We both push each other to reach our goals, not only when it comes to who we are players, but as people.”
After the game is finished, and the first winner in the Maffeo twin series is determined, the two will head back to their grandmother’s house to enjoy dinner together. They will share memories of the day’s events, talk about what it was like to be on opposite sidelines, and do what they do best: be brothers.
“I’m going to have this day circled every year,” Jake said. “I just can’t wait.”