They Know They’ll End Up on Top

Keith and Lawrence Jackson of Inglewood High are inseparable brothers. They confide in, protect and inspire each other.

“Everywhere we go, we go together,” Keith said.

For 12 years, they shared the same bedroom. Keith, the oldest by one year, slept in the top bunk.

“He used to scare me because I was afraid of the dark,” Lawrence said. “When it was lights out, he’d always make ghost noises.”

The bunk bed days ended when Keith had grown so large that the top bed partially collapsed.

Keith is 6 feet 6, 315 pounds. Lawrence is 6-5, 245. They’re two-way starters for Inglewood’s unbeaten football team.

Most importantly, they’re teenagers who’ve been taught to make a difference.

Michael and Toya Jackson didn’t just bring their two boys into the world to mope around the house playing video games.

As Michael puts it, “I’ve always told people I wasn’t raising only black men. I was raising young, black Kennedys. I look at the Kennedy family as a great institution in American history. I’ve always believed someone in my family is going to have a profound impact in this world.”

To the boys, Michael is both father and drill sergeant. When they were growing up, one form of punishment for rule-breaking was standing in the corner at home for several hours while other kids in the neighborhood were outside playing.

“My dad basically said it’s his way or no way at all,” Lawrence said. “He set standards and you either abide by them or face the consequences.”

Said Michael: “I stress academic excellence, honesty and integrity, things kids don’t get enough of today. I’ve raised them to respect God and to respect one another. I’ve raised them to, when you walk through the neighborhood, everyone is Mr. or Mrs. I’m still a child of the ‘60s and trying to raise them the way my mom raised me.”

In the Jackson house, the boys had to take out the trash, do their laundry, clean their room, pull weeds in the backyard and, up until two years ago, take turns washing the dishes.

“You want to start a cat fight in my house, stick those two in the kitchen,” Michael said.

At one point, Lawrence would hide dishes in the oven on Sunday night, forcing Keith to do them when it was his turn on Monday.

Of course, eating at the dinner table is an entertaining sight, especially when mashed potatoes are served.

“It’s enough to feed almost an army,” Keith said.

“It’s quiet, real quiet,” Lawrence said. “Until we get to the point we’re both full, it’s silence.”

Keith is the gentle giant, a senior guard and defensive tackle in only his second year of playing football.

His dream was to play in the NBA. He tried out for football last year, abandoned basketball and has made such dramatic improvement that Washington, UCLA, San Jose State and Oregon are among the schools recruiting him.

Lawrence is the outgoing, flamboyant junior offensive tackle and defensive end with six sacks. He writes poetry and thinks he’s the next John Madden.

“Well, Lawrence Jackson and Keith Jackson are the type of players you like,” he said in his Madden voice. “Offensively, they provide pass protection. Defensively, they provide run support. If you want to go up the middle, boom, they stop you. If you want to run outside, boom, they stop you. When your quarterback drops back to pass, boom, they got your quarterback.”

Coach Kevin Moore must beware of Lawrence lurking nearby on the sideline during a game because he enjoys creating laughter.

“I like to make people laugh because the remedy for pain is laughter,” Lawrence said. “You can make somebody feel good for a minute and bring a smile to their face.”

Moore is convinced both brothers will receive NCAA Division I scholarships and goes a step further with Lawrence, predicting, “You’ll be seeing him play on Sundays, no ifs, ands or buts.”

One dilemma the brothers will soon face is separation when Keith graduates in June.

“Sometimes I think of it as a good thing, to get away and have some time to myself,” Keith said. “Other times, it’s, ‘Man, I wish he’d be here with me to have somebody to talk to.’ I can tell him something and he won’t tell nobody.”

Said Lawrence: “Right now I’m known as Keith’s little brother. I’m looking forward to showing everybody what I can do myself, but as far as communication, I have to find somebody else to talk to because I can confide in him. He’ll explain to me certain things and put me in my place when I’m wrong.”

Michael, who never graduated from college and was mostly on his own from the age of 13, said his sons have made him proud.

“They’ve been two of the best kids anyone could have,” he said. “It’s the happiest point in my life knowing they will get a quality college education.”

The other night, Michael asked his boys if they thought he was too tough on them growing up.

“I told him, ‘I don’t think so because if you weren’t on top of us, we’d probably be out on the streets all night doing drugs or gang banging,”’ Lawrence said.

They don’t play music like the Jackson 5, but these Jackson brothers are going to be heard from in football and beyond.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com