Tokarz Family Tree Branches Out at Worcester State

August 26, 2009

By Tom Flanagan, Correspondent

Worcester, MA --- From the time they were able to tie their own cleats, Andrew and Tony Tokarz had been on the same football team.

Last fall, the sibling duo from Wachusett Regional High had a case of separation anxiety when they played for different college teams and something seemed just a little off.

The Tokarz brothers have reunited this fall, and both will be major factors for Worcester State College.

"It was really, really hard on us last year," said Tony, who spent his freshman season as the starting quarterback for Mount Ida before relocating this fall to Chandler Street. "Not only just on us, but it was tough for our parents, who kind of had to split games every Saturday."

That won't be the case this year, and the family cell phone bill will be reduced in the process.

"We talked all the time last year," said Andrew, who returns to the Lancers this season and will start at safety. "On Saturdays, when I got back from my game, I'd call (Tony) right away and see how he did. He'd always tell me about the touchdown passes he threw, but if I wanted to get the complete details about interceptions and sacks, I'd have to go online and look at the stats."

The subtle and not-so-subtle digs and insults between the brothers are in good fun, whether at their family home in Holden or at practice, where Tony's offensive team has gone helmet-to-helmet with Andrew's defensive unit on a daily basis all summer.

"Brothers don't have to respect the red jersey," Andrew said jokingly in reference to the wearable stop sign that coaches put on quarterbacks to prevent them from taking unnecessary hits in practice.

"Every once in a while, I'd give him a little love tap in a scrimmage or in drills."

Andrew always pushed his 205-pound younger brother when the two were climbing the ranks from Pop Warner to high school stardom for the Mountaineers. Tony is grateful that he did.

"There's no doubt that I wouldn't have had as much success if it wasn't for having a brother close enough in age that he was always a teammate and a mentor," said Tony, who threw 14 touchdown passes last season at Mount Ida. "He got me into working out and studying the game at an early age and it's something that I think has helped me."

While it's often difficult for an older brother to admit to his younger sibling that he needs help or someone to talk to, Andrew reached out to Tony during a tough part of last season.

"I was getting really frustrated and I wasn't playing well, so I just gave him a call to talk football and, at the same time, talk about things other than football," Andrew said.

That phone call took place a couple of days before Mount Ida's bye week. Instead of staying far away from football that Saturday afternoon, Tony made the drive to Worcester to watch the Lancers.

"It was really strange because after we talked, I sort of knew (Andrew) was going to have a great game," Tony said. "I ended up being a couple minutes late to the game and I soon as I walked through the gate, the first play I saw was my brother picking off a pass along the sideline."

When Tony decided to join Andrew at Worcester State, order was restored in the Tokarz household.

"It's great to be on the same team again and do what we've been doing together since we were 6 years old," Tony said. "The night before a game, we'd always relax together and talk about what needed to get done the next day in order for us to win, and now we'll get to do that again on Friday nights, and we're both very excited about it."

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