Brothers on the field
On a sunny morning toward the beginning of August, 48 high school football players and their twelve coaches gathered inside of Herrington Stadium to take pictures for Media Day.
Reporters and a few parents gathered around as each of the boys had their head shots taken for their upcoming season. High hopes for the season and goofy smiles from each of the coaches set the tone for the morning.
In the wave of Guard athletes, one smaller guy was running around making friends, and the older guys referred to him as “Khalan’s little brother.”
Kameron “JB” Griffin is a eighth grader and plays quarterback for the middle school team. His older brother, Khalan, also holds the same position for the varsity team.
“Whenever people are like, ‘Oh you’re Khalan’s little brother?’ No. Khalan’s my big brother,” Kameron Griffin said. “And I don’t like people noticing me as just his little brother.”
There are three boys in the Griffin family. Khalan and Kameron’s older brother was also a QB in his day. The younger two have started out as a running back or lineman and then switched over to quarterback in order to follow in their older brother’s footsteps.
Kameron started playing quarterback in fifth grade, and Khalan made his debut in eighth. This is their first year at Brook Hill together, and they both get to follow each other around on campus and also on the sidelines Thursday and Friday nights.
They are easy to spot at each other’s games because they are the loudest ones in the stadium. When Khalanis running the ball, Kameron is running parallel to him down the sidelines.
“Seeing him going down the sideline is like…I’ll have the ball in my hand, and whenever he has a long run, I’ll be running right beside him yelling, ‘That’s my brother!’ and then whenever he gets off the sideline, he’ll slap my hand really hard because he’s got all the adrenaline,” Kameron Griffin said. “It hurts my hand, but you know, whenever he scores it’s really nice to watch.”
“It makes me feel amazing,” Khalan Griffin said. “It’s more about how he feels. How he sees me going down the sideline and how whenever he’s a sophomore or a junior or senior he’ll be doing the same thing on the same field that I did and maybe the exact same play. He’s probably the first person that I always go celebrate with cause that’s my little brother, and I want to celebrate all these moments with him because I love him.”
These brothers have a special relationship in the hallways, on the field and even in the study hall that they have at the same time. Although they are four years apart, them and their sister are all close and the boys even have their own touchdown celebration handshake.
“It actually was his idea this time for the first time ever,” Kameron Griffin said. “I’m usually the creative one, but this time he came up with an idea that was actually really good and that’s the handshake. I actually really like it now.”
Their practice together for their seasons started in their backyard this summer. Khalan’s goal was to help Kameron strengthen his arm and get used to what Friday nights will be like.
“If you prepare him for Friday nights, then on Thursday nights it should be kind of easy to him,” Khalan Griffin said. “We just get in the backyard and throw all the time. I honestly think that he will be a lot better than me when he gets older because he’ll probably be taller than me, and he’ll be able to throw. He can throw already, he just needs to get a little bit faster.”
They both love the mutual position they get to play. From the persona they have on campus to the control they have under those lights, they carry their position well and lead and encourage their teammates.
“I love the game,” Kameron Griffin said. “I’ve been loving the game my whole life. I’ve been playing it my whole life. I love everything about football. I’m very appreciative actually because I look at it like let’s say I had a little brother and I had to teach him all those things I know, I’d know how much he values me for teaching him all that, so I value Khalan a lot.”
“He’s the ball boy and he’s always there,” Khalan Griffin said. ”I love that little man.”