There’s No Mistaking Twins’ Gifts

When you’re an identical twin and play the same position as your brother in football, the opportunity to engage in mischievous behavior is tempting, if only to make your coach feel silly.

Ed Croson, coach of City Section champion Lake Balboa Birmingham, is still trying to figure out the Jackson twins, Malik and Marquis, 15-year-old sophomore starters at defensive end.

“They are really good if something goes wrong, ‘It was my brother,’ ” Croson said. “They play off each other.”

Students, teachers and coaches continue to search for clues to identify the Jacksons. Marquis smiles more and has slightly longer hair. Malik is larger, at 6 feet 3 and 188 pounds, compared with Marquis, who is 6-2 and 182. That doesn’t help much when both are wearing helmets.

“What’s unique about twins is if one walks by, you don’t know which one,” defensive coordinator Jim Rose said.

Their father, Jodie, has no trouble figuring out which one is which.

“I cut the [umbilical] cord and have been able to tell ever since,” he said. “I know exactly who I am screaming at.”

Twins are popular among coaches because if one develops into a top player, the other shouldn’t be far behind. They usually motivate each other to excel.

“If he does something, it means I have to do it,” Marquis said. “If he gets a sack, I have to get two.”

There are other sets of twins playing football this season. The Elmores at Simi Valley Grace Brethren -- linebacker Rick and lineman Cory -- are seniors with NCAA Division I-A potential.

The Stevens twins at Hemet -- lineman Hamani and linebacker Samiu -- are sophomores but figure to be varsity standouts.

Orange Lutheran starts one of the sophomore Pemasa twins, Ricky, at running back. The other, Alex, is a backup fullback.

“Having my brother on the field raises my comfort level and protects me when I’m running,” Ricky said.

La Canada is twin central, with two sets of juniors starting on the varsity, the Schmidts -- Brian and Kevin are receivers and defensive backs -- and the Bledsoes -- Andrew is a tight end, Brandon is a receiver and both are linebackers.

The Southland’s most famous duos were the Collins twins and the Bryan twins.

Jason and Jarron Collins led North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake to consecutive state championships in boys’ basketball and are playing in the NBA. Mike and Bob Bryan were tennis standouts at Camarillo and have become one of the world’s top doubles teams, winning the U.S. Open this year.

The Jackson twins have the talent and work ethic to become top football players.

“They’re athletic, fast and aggressive,” Croson said.

They’re far from being polished players, having been thrust into the starting lineup and asked to make varsity plays before they’re probably ready.

“Once they learn how to play football more, they’re going to be great,” Rose said. “But we’re feeding them to the fire.”

The Jacksons have shared the same bedroom since birth. They wear size-14 shoes and borrow each other’s clothes. They’ve played together on the same youth football teams since they were 7 and thrive on motivating each other.

Even their father noticed recently during a game how much they rely on one another.

“Marquis got hurt, and I could see it really bothered Malik that his brother wasn’t out there,” Jodie said. “They really need each other.”

But the teenage years have also let them know that separation could be near if they end up at different colleges.

“We’re not going to be together all our lives, so we better break up sooner than later,” Malik said.

The power and advantage of twins is, simply, in numbers.

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