Peter and Paul Some were born 45 minutes apart some 17 years ago, with Peter making his arrival later, much to the chagrin of their mother. The Some twins were born in Ghana, so there really wasn’t much chance of learning the American game of football before they arrived in the United States.
They were first introduced to flag football when they were attending Academy One Charter School in Jersey City, but their mother wouldn’t allow it.
“It was always a goal for us to play football,” Peter Some said. “We always wanted to play football. Once we got to high school, that’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to play football and run track. We wanted to make a big mark.”
The identical twins played as freshmen and sophomores at Dickinson (Paul attends McNair Academic, but is allowed to play at Dickinson with his brother in their home district). Before their junior years were about to begin, tragedy struck the Some family.
“Our grandfather had passed, so we had to go back to Ghana,” Paul Some said.
“Then, while we were there, our uncle had passed as well,” Peter Some said. “So we had to stay an extra month.”
Dickinson head football coach Sean Fallon had no idea where the Some brothers had gone.
“These were kids we were counting on last year and they just disappeared,” Fallon said. “They were beginning to know the game and playing pretty well. They were probably going to be starters for us, but they never came back. I didn’t hear a word. I tried to call them, but they had no phone service there. I didn’t know where they were. I had to find other kids to play. When you only have 25 kids to begin with, it’s hard to lose two starters like that.”
Eventually, the brothers returned, but by the time they did in late September, they were buried deep on the Rams’ depth chart.
“They were on the team, but they only played on special teams,” Fallon said. “They needed at least a couple of weeks of practice before they could actually play. But they lost their starting spots. We went with the ones we knew.”
The Some brothers aren’t the biggest kids around either. They stand 5-foot-6 and weigh about 140 pounds.
“We use that as motivation,” Paul Some said. “We’ve been hearing that we’re too small for a long time. But I think we’re faster than everyone. Yeah, we may be 5-foot-6, but we do everything at full speed. Our size is not a disadvantage at all.”
As they approached their senior season with the Rams, the Some brothers were determined to return to full-time status with the Rams.
“We knew that we could do it,” Peter Some said. “We just needed to give our best effort. We wanted to make a big mark.”
“Both have a pretty good feel for our offense [the Delaware Wing-T],” Fallon said. “Both are pretty strong for their size and they can run well. They worked hard in the weight room to get stronger.”
The Rams also suffered a handful of injuries during the first two weeks of the season, both of which produced losses. It meant that both Some brothers were ready for their starting debut in the Rams’ backfield, along with workhorse Santos Feliz Perez.
As the Rams were set to face Kearny – a team that had given the Rams fits during the first two years of the varsity program rebirth at Dickinson – the Some brothers were in the starting backfield.
“We really had some bad luck with injuries,” Fallon said. “This brought the twins back into the mix and they were ready. We threw them out there against Kearny.”
Peter Some started both ways at running back and safety. Paul Some was also at running back.
“We really took it like it was just a normal game,” Paul Some said. “But then it hit me. We were both back there. I thought it could be the start of something big.”
What transpired was really Some-thing to watch.
“It was nice to see,” Fallon said. “They really complemented each other well. Kearny was lining up, trying to stop Junior [Feliz Perez], so we were giving the twins the ball. One ran to the right, the other one to the left.”
The brothers were churning up the yardage.
“They were getting 30, 40 yards at a clip,” Fallon said. “And both scored a touchdown.”
“Early in the game, I started thinking that this whole game could be ours,” Peter Some said. “That’s really what it was.”
The results were staggering. Peter Some carried the ball 10 times for 120 yards and a touchdown. Paul Some had eight carries for 108 yards and a touchdown. It’s incredible to think that both twin brothers rushed for over 100 yards and scored.
“I never coached twins before, so it was a first for me,” Fallon said.
It’s probably a first for anyone in Hudson County. In a year where there are twin brothers also playing at St. Peter’s Prep (Justin and Jayson Ademilola) and Secaucus (Tommy and Bobby Schaffer), the Some twins pulled off the unthinkable – both gaining 100 yards and scoring in the same game. By the way, Dickinson won the game, 42-14.
For their efforts, Peter and Paul Some have been selected as the Hudson Reporter Co-Athletes of the Week for the past week.
They are the first twin brothers to receive the honor since the Burkert twins, St. Peter’s Prep wrestlers Connor and Ryan, earned the distinction as Co-Athletes of the Week in March, 2015.
Paul Some had no idea that both brothers had eclipsed the magical 100-yard plateau.
“I was concentrating more on winning the game,” Paul Some said. “But when I found out we both got 100, I was impressed. It’s a bit overwhelming. I still can’t wrap my head around it. I kept saying, ‘No way.’”
“I was happy,” Peter Some said. “I had a feeling we both did it. I am a little surprised, but happy. It’s really wild.”
Both brothers believe that this coming-out party is just the start.
“I’m very confident that if we get the chance, we can do it again,” Peter Some said. “I have faith and confidence in my line and in my brother.”
“As long as we get the ball, we should expect to keep doing it,” Paul Some said.
Fallon says that like most identical twins, it is hard to tell them apart.
“I just call them ‘Twin,’” Fallon said. “They are completely identical. One goes to McNair and the other to Dickinson, so I can tell them apart in school clothes. One wears No. 20 and the other wears No. 22, so that helps on the field.”
And get this? Even though they are high school seniors, they still wear identical clothes as well off the field.
“It’s just something we’ve done since we were babies,” Paul Some said. “It’s just our thing. People know us that way. We’ve developed the same likes. People who talk to us can’t tell who’s who.”
The brothers want to attend college together and maybe play football.
“College has been the main goal,” Paul Some said. “We’re very ambitious about football, but we want to be able to go to college and learn. Education is the main goal.”
“It’s very important for us, even before we started playing football,” Peter Some said. “But we would like to play in college.”
“They’re both good kids, nice kids,” Fallon said. “They’re both good students. I never had a problem with them.”
Just telling them apart, that’s ‘Some’ kind of problem. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com