It's a twin thing.
That's how identical twins Tracin and Tylan Wallace describe the moment they step onto the football field.
"It's like a connection kind of, during the plays you can kind of expect, we know where he's going to throw the ball, where he's going to put it," said Tylan, who's starting wide receiver.
Tracin is starting quarterback.
Together the two are stand out athletes and second year starters at South Hills High School. There, they've flourished, delivered game-winning results and helped turn around a football program that is becoming competitive once again.
Michael Clayton, the twins' father, said the pair has a competitive tenacity.
He said one evening he stepped between the two as they stood inches apart, shouting at each other.
He said when he asked why they were arguing, they responded in unison:
"He said he's better than me!"
Clayton said he rolled his eyes and said, "Y'all are the exact same. You're twins! You're just as good as one another."
The twins captured the attention of J.J. Resendez South Hills head coach at a middle school track meet five years ago.
He said he saw some of the traits he thinks are responsible for their success.
"They have a drive and initiative of self discipline that they won't be denied," he said.
"I can imagine that when you have two guys that are the same there's going to be an aspiration to be the better one,'" Resendez said.
"It's constant competition," he says.
Competition means Tracin and Tylan have put up big numbers.
In his first season as quarterback, Tracin led South Hills in passing and rushing and scored more than 30 touchdowns. Tylan contributed 587 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
South Hills finished the 2013 season 6-4, the team's first winning record since 2007.
Resendez said the Wallaces helped spur the development of a more robust Scorpion offense.
"We were able to do things we haven't done in the past," Resendez said, adding that the team's passing game has improved with Tracin at quarterback.
"We've been able to achieve a 50-50 balance that makes us harder to defend," he said.
Tracin said the players think of themselves as a family, not just a team.
"Up on the field you're a whole different person you feel more relieved around your family, you know they got your backs," he said.
He and his brother don't want to let them down.
"We want to try and be perfect. You don't want to let your team down. We try and make the best of every play," Tracin said.
'Being great' off the field
Even though they say they're most at home on the football field, Tracin and Tylan don't limit themselves to one sport.
They run track, play baseball and are always up fora pick-up basketball at grandmother's house.
If they can compete, they're game. That goes for the classroom, too.
Their grandmother, Sharon Moore, stresses that "student" comes before "athlete."
"They know that with me, the grades are number one and the education is what's important," she said.
Mandi Moore and Clayton makes sure their sons are on top of their schoolwork and push them to excel in the classroom. Moore said it's important for them to understand that football is not guaranteed.
"Football could go away in a second and they have to be able to take care of themselves in the world," she said.
"You can hurt yourself in one play and your life changes dramatically," Clayton tells his sons. "As far as getting a degree that's something that's going to carry you on all the way past college."
Clayton said he hopes his sons learn the understanding of "being great" — great athletes, great students and great men.
E-mail rescobedo@wfaa.com
