Colt Connections

Arlington High offensive lineman Luke Joeckel takes pride in protecting the quarterback. The junior sometimes acts as his signal-caller's bodyguard off the field, too.
"I have to protect him sometimes when we're out," Luke Joeckel said. "He's got a bit of a mouth."
Besides, who wouldn't stick up for family?
Luke Joeckel's twin brother Matt Joeckel is the Colts' starting quarterback. But the Joeckels are just one part of Arlington's relative success. Senior linebacker Bradley Onyegbule is the older brother of sophomore receiver Miles Onyegbule. And junior defensive tackle Ryan Harkness is the son of defensive coordinator Keith Harkness.
So when players say Arlington has a family atmosphere, they really mean it. The Harknesses, Onyegbules and Joeckels all played key roles this fall in turning the Colts into one of the top teams in the football-rich Arlington area. After dropping its first two games, Arlington High hit its stride in District 4-5A play, finishing with a 6-4 record - 4-2 in district - and earning a playoff berth.
Aside from the various family ties, Arlington is also like a family in that the team is a led by a tightly knit group of juniors and seniors who bonded last year during a difficult season in which the team fell short of the playoffs, Keith Harkness said.
"This junior group is especially close," the elder Harkness said. "Most of them started [in 2007] as sophomores. The old cliché is that every sophomore you start is a loss. That experience is really helping this year."
Added Bradley Onyegbule: "We have good team chemistry. The juniors and seniors get along pretty well."
Sometimes being family members on the same team can be difficult. Ryan Harkness as a sophomore played on the Colts' junior varsity, manning the offensive and defensive lines. To his father's relief, Ryan began his first season on varsity as an offensive lineman.
"I really didn't want him to be on my side of the ball because I figured I'd be tougher on him than everybody else," Keith Harkness said.
He ended up on defense anyway. After missing a few games with an injury early in the season, Ryan Harkness began practicing as a defensive tackle. The defensive coordinator found that his son's speed was a useful asset to the defensive line. The switch has become permanent, and the father, it turns out, couldn't be more pleased.
"As a coach, you spend more time with other people's kids than you would your own," Keith Harkness said. "I'm glad he's with me now. ... Truthfully, it's probably tougher on the kid than anybody else. They have to be better than everyone else or they're just playing because they're the coach's son."
The only hard part about being coached by your father, Ryan Harkness said, is figuring out when to call him coach and when to say dad. When his father points out something his son is doing wrong in practice, the son said he tries not to take it personally.
"He's gets onto me, but that's what a dad's supposed to do," the younger Harkness said. "It's been great. I like it. Once you get up there and you're with him, it's not as bad as you think it's going to be."
The Onyegbule brothers only took the field at the same time on special teams. But when Bradley Onyegbule was on defense, he said he liked that his younger brother was on the sideline watching.
"I think it's pretty tight," he said.
Even though his older brother played on the other side of the ball, Miles Onyegbule said he learned a lot from Bradley's style of play. "He sets a good example to play more aggressively," Miles Onyegbule said.
When they were younger, the Onyegbules played basketball and street football against their older brother, Maxwell Onyegbule, a defensive end at Kansas.
"We never won," Miles Onyegbule said.
As Colts teammates, they finally won together. This season was Bradley Onyegbule's first time to reach the playoffs. Miles Onyegbule, on the other hand, hopes to make postseason trips an annual occurrence.
"I'm going to be spoiled," the younger Onyegbule said.
As an o-lineman, Luke Joeckel is fine with not receiving the kind of attention and praise that skill position players such as his brother receive.
"It's fine. I've always been the offensive lineman and he's always been the pretty boy quarterback," Luke Joeckel said.
The arrangement works out well for Matt Joeckel, too. When you're a broad-shouldered 6-4, 215-pound passer, it's nice to have your even larger brother - Luke is a towering 6-6, 275 - keeping defenders at bay.
"I don't have to worry about the guy blocking for me. I know he's got my back," Matt Joeckel said.
Matt Joeckel joked that he gets sick of his twin at times, but that doesn't stop the pair from hanging out at the same places with the same group of friends. About the only thing they don't do together is date.
"We don't share the same girlfriend," Matt Joeckel said. "That would be weird."
Indeed, the Joeckels seem to make fun of each other constantly, but the horseplay doesn't extend to the huddle. "When it comes down to game time, we don't talk to each other very much," Matt said.
They don't need to. When you're part of a football family like the Arlington Colts, you can trust your fellow members to play their parts.
"We know everyone out there can make plays," Matt Joeckel said.
And they know they always have each other's backs. -