Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Saxons’ Yonagos double up on teamwork

Mike Boyle Correspondent

If you were to overhear a conversation about two brothers who are just a year apart and are involved in athletics, what type of words would you hear? Ornery? Ultracompetitive?

Well, when it comes to Ferris High School’s soccer playing Yonago brothers, those words couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I’d say we’re very close,” said younger brother Taylor, a junior. “I know we’re practically like best friends.

“We were in the same crib as babies, and we’ve shared a room ever since. We really work together, encouraging each other.”

“We get along all the time, and we always hang out,” said older brother Kyle, a senior. “At home, we’re always talking and stuff.

“He’s always there. He’s always a friend to me. We’ve always been on a lot of the same teams with each other.

“We’ve had to be teammates, and we’ve had to work together and be together so long, we’ve kind of grown to each other.”

This mutual support has provided not only a lifelong bond between brothers but also helped lift the Saxon soccer team to the top of the Greater Spokane League standings.

“They’ve been huge,” said Ferris head coach Robin Crain. “If one of them doesn’t score, the other one does.

“They have either scored or assisted in every single game with the exception of the first game, when we got beat by East Valley 1-0 in overtime. Every game we’ve scored in, they’ve been in the scoring column.”

The Yonagos made the difference in last week’s 2-1 win over Central Valley that lifted Ferris to a first-place tie in the GSL. Kyle tallied the game winner, while Taylor had an assist in the game.

Even though the brothers are a year apart, they almost behave like identical twins on the field.

“There’s kind of a connection between the two on the field,” Crain said. “They understand each other, and they understand where each other is moving on the field.

“It’s almost like there is a lot of mutual respect for each other, which is kind of weird with brothers. It doesn’t seem like a normal brother relationship, although it seems like how a brother relationship should be.”

Kyle and Taylor have been teammates not just in soccer but in wrestling as well. Kyle finished second at 140 pounds in the state 4A tournament this season, while Taylor was fifth at 125 pounds.

In soccer, they’ve been playing together since their U-12 team, when Kyle was 11 and Taylor 10 years old.

“We pretty much know what we’re supposed to do since we’ve played together so long,” said Kyle, who moved to forward this season after playing defense and midfield his first three seasons at Ferris. “We basically know each other’s abilities and where to play the ball to each other.

“It goes pretty well. Most of the time we usually have that extra kind of click more than other teammates do.”

“I always know when Kyle is going to make a run, so I know how to play it,” said Taylor, who joins Kyle at a forward spot. “I don’t know what it is. I see how hard he’s working all the time; it makes me want to work hard too.”

The Saxons’ success can also be traced to their opponents’ focusing their defensive efforts on the Ferris dynamic duo.

“They anticipate very well, and they work really hard,” Crain said. “The other thing is that there are good players that are around them.

“If you have a team that tries to shut down Kyle and Taylor, there’s Eric Burke, who’s very difficult to defend. There’s Cody Taff and Avery Washington, who are very good players.

“Then there are other supportive players who are very good at filling roles. You can shut down those two players, but someone else is going to pick up the slack for them.

“I think that’s a big part of it, and the fact they work so hard and they have a knack for being in the right place at the right time.”

The two brothers are also good at sharing off the field, as well as on it.

“We’re almost the same size, so we can share stuff like clothes and shoes,” said Kyle. “That works out well.

“He borrows a little more of my stuff because he’s a little smaller. I’ve got the unique taste, and he’s the one who likes to wear my stuff,” he said with a laugh.

“At first, it was mostly me, but now he does it too, wearing my shoes all the time,” countered Taylor. “It’s getting pretty even now that I’m almost as big as him.”

This will be the last season the two will be teammates, as Kyle will head to Western Washington University next season, and it’s a prospect neither is looking forward to.

“I haven’t really thought about it, but it’s probably going to kick in sooner or later that it’s the last time we’re going to play together,” Kyle said.

“It will probably be a lot harder to play now by myself on the teams – wrestling and soccer,” added Taylor. “It will be a lot different without him because I’ve played just about every sport with him.”