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."