Brothers connect to aid team

The 2010 calendar year is one that has been eyeballed in the Williams household for a long time.

With a pair of sons two-and-a-half years apart, Houma natives Paula and Michael Williams Sr. knew their sons Michael and Justin would have just one chance to play football together at Terrebonne High School.

“My mom and dad used to always drill me growing up, telling me, ‘You have to pass, you have to pass, you have to pass! You can’t fail, because we want you and your brother to play together when he’s a senior,'” Justin said. “They’ve been waiting for this year for a long time – for as long as I can remember.”

So far, their parents’ dream has been every other Tri-parish team’s nightmare, as the duo has Terrebonne off to a great start in their quest to win the district championship.

In their first varsity game together, Mike completed 10-of-11 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns – one of which was a 47-yarder to Justin. The Tigers won that game 70-0.

“You see a little bit of teammates in those guys, but you definitely see a little bit of brothers, as well,” Terrebonne football coach Gary Hill said. “They are both doing a great job for us, and they’ve both matured greatly just from last year alone. They’ve both taken the same process. I think they’re going to do some good things for us.”

Growing up, Mike and Justin say they weren’t always allies on the athletic landscape.

As the older brother, Mike said he remembers a time as a child when he’d come home and draw up ways to keep his little brother in the loss column.

“At first, when we’d play together, I’d try to crush him,” Mike said with a smirk only a big brother could shine. “Anything we’d play, I’d try to get the upper hand.”

But as the boys grew older and the younger Justin began to show more athletic promise, the divided Williams’ became united.

“One day I realized that it would probably be better if I started to be on his team more,” Mike said. “Because he’s a great athlete.”

After all, becoming a great athlete was practically a must for Justin, who said he was always expected to live up to his older brother’s benchmarks.

“Everyone at home would set my standards to Mike’s standards, because he was doing everything first,” Justin said. “And if I didn’t meet them, then I’d get drilled for them. It was hard sometimes, but that’s made me stronger, without a doubt.”

But Justin said he was also able to get along fine because he had Mike to serve as a crutch when things got tough.

“I try to be a role model, big-brother type to him,” Mike said. “I try and give him advice when he’s struggling or tell him that he’s doing good when he’s doing things right.”

With the sibling rivalry over and the now older and more mature Williamses on the same page, they said they made a pact to set out to compliment one another in everything they would do in the remainder of their athletic careers.

In football, Mike is the quarterback, Justin is his receiver.

In baseball, Mike is the shortstop, Justin is just to his right at third base.

And while both brothers tout that playing together is nice, Justin and Hill both say the little brother sometimes has to endure some extra brother-to-brother coaching.

“When Justin makes a mistake, I think Mike expects a little bit more out of him,” Hill said. “Sometimes we have to go behind Mike and sort of re-coach Justin because when Justin hears it from Mike, it’s not the same as when he hears it from one of us.”

Justin agreed with Hill and said he doesn’t receive any special treatment in the huddle.

“He’s my brother, but I know if I don’t run my routes right, I’m not getting the ball,” he said. “There’s definitely no favoritism.”

But even with the “rookie” learning on the fly, Mike believes the learning curve will be short.

“Hopefully, on Friday nights, you see a lot of Williams to Williams touchdowns,” Mike said.

Justin said he’s on the same page as his brother. Because after all, making his brother shine to potential college recruiters is just a part of the pact they made to stay together and help one another until both of their playing days are complete.

“I’m going to work harder because this is Mike’s senior year, so I want to get him noticed,” Justin said. “I don’t want him to make a good throw, and then have me drop it, because that might have scouts and stuff iffy about whether it was a good pass or not. My mom always told me that you never know who’s watching, so I’m going to work hard no matter what to make sure Mike gets an opportunity to go out on top.”

Mike Williams (left) poses with his younger brother Justin outside the Terrebonne High School football field. The brothers have been a force this season – their first year playing football together in high school. CASEY GISCLAIR