When you're on a team, many say it's important to have that family bond throughout the season, to treat each other as brothers and sisters. Helping one another when necessary. But what if you already have a blood bond with someone on the team?

Hawk football has become a family tradition for some Buckeye clans, and it helps to have that brotherhood bond. This year’s team features teammates who are either related to someone on the team, or had an older brother or cousin on the team – teammates who have each other’s back on the field and off it.

“The good thing about playing with Deion is that during games I could see what he did wrong, I could tell him at home and go over it, help him get better,” said senior Valente Lopez, cousins with senior Deion Gonzalez.

“I play offense and he plays defense so we challenge each other, I can challenge him at being a (defensive back) and he can challenge me at getting off the defense,” Gonzalez added. “It’ll only helps us get better. It makes sense since Valente is a really good DB and if I run a route that’s hard for him, then it’s going to be really hard for the other teams making us that much better.”

Having a family member on the same team seems to help not only each other but the team as well, challenging each other, trying to push them to their limit and farther. The question is since having a family member on the team and living together, you would only wonder if they bump heads once a while.

“All the time, all the time,” said sophomore Keiontae Bell about his cousin Fred Lundy. “He’ll be talking for no reason. I’m over here concentrating on a play and he’s talking to me about tomorrow. But other than that, he’s just another player on the team. Me helping him and visa versa.”

“The thing that sucks is that if I want to slack (off) that won’t happen cause he won’t let me,” Lundy said. “But that’s a good thing I guess. He’ll always have my back.”

Being on a football team with a brother or cousin, there’s bound to be some sort of competition, with each one trying to show the other up, who’s the best at defense, offensive or special teams.

“There’s always the question of who’s better, that’s the only thing but nothing really too negative,” said sophomore Jamarya Guy of his cousin, Torres Guy. “We push each other cause he’s talking stuff. I’m talking stuff in a positive way you know. It just keeps it interesting and friendly at the same time.”

At the end of the day, no matter the brother bond, a team sticks together even if they’re not on the same team or school. Brothers Carlos and Alex Mendoza got to play on the same team last year, but this year it’s only Alex at BUHS. Still, Carlos has made it a point to come back to his brother’s games and help coach up the Hawks.

“Well he’s playing the same position that I played last year so I tell him what to do, how I did it, give him pointers,” Carlos Mendoza said. “I encourage him to come out and play and do his hardest.

“Of course I miss it. We had our own little special bond. We get to grow up and say that we got to play football together one year.”

For Buckeye’s football families, that’s a tradition many hope to continue as they pass along the blue and gold blood to a new generation of brothers and cousins.