GRANITE QUARRY — Much to the chagrin of opposing
players, Chris and Henry Faavesi save their shy, embarrassed smiles for each other while
discussing something dreadful.Themselves.
Brothers, after all, aren’t supposed to talk
about things like that. Especially when they have a ferocious reputation to live up to on
the football field.
Four years of work at East Rowan helped establish
Henry Faavesi’s reputation as a big, hard-hitting lineman. In the case of younger
brother Chris, one glorious Friday night showed signs of great things to come as he
follows in his brother’s footsteps.
For Henry, a senior at East, and Chris, a
sophomore, the time in the spotlight is now. Although they’ve played football since
the fourth grade, one year in area youth football leagues was the only time they got to
play together on the same field, at the same time.
That changed Friday night when the Mustangs opened
the 1999 season against South Rowan. East struggled to a 14-7 halftime lead in that game
with a stagnant offense and suspect defense.
Enter Chris Faavesi at fullback, who carried 11
times in the second half for 65 yards and scored from six and 18 yards out. Enter Henry
Faavesi, who dominated play on the defensive line, forced three fumbles and recovered one.
Add those numbers up and you come away with a 28-7 final.
“They’ve both got a lot of talent,” East head coach Jeff Safrit said. “Chris is going to
be a big back for us, there’s no doubt about it. “Probably a lot of people
don’t know about Chris — or they didn’t know about him (before Friday
night’s performance).”
That’s because preseason acclaim for a
Faavesi went to Henry, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound offensive and defensive lineman.
“Henry’s one of our captains, he’s
taken on a leadership role,” Safrit said. “He’s been in the background the
past few years.”
Henry’s rise to the defensive forefront came
slowly. He made the varsity squad as a freshman but moved down to junior varsity halfway
through the year to see more playing time.
As his size and strength increased, he got more
playing time, and the work paid off.
“Starting out was rough. Freshman year every
day I lifted weights, trying to make it, doing all the things the coaches told us to
do,” Henry said. “Now it’s about over and I want to make it the best it can
be and keep doing it.”
Chris enjoyed a more meteoric rise to greatness.
His freshman year on the JV team brought immediate attention from the coaching staff.
“Chris was real good for us on junior varsity
and we were counting on him to play somewhere for us this year,” Safrit said. “He’s probably the quickest fullback
we’ve had since I’ve been here, he’s big and he runs hard.
“For Chris, the main thing is to get
stronger. There’s no doubt he’ll get bigger,” Safrit added. “There’s no telling how strong a
fullback he can be.”
Somewhat reluctantly, Chris reveals the tale of
the tape — he’s 6-foot-2, 200 pounds.
“I want to be as strong as he is,” Chris said with a point to Henry’s 250-pound bulk.
Then the older brother speaks up: “I tried to
get him here (to the weight room) in the summer,” Henry said. “He’s too lazy.”
But Henry’s words do more than brow-beat.
“I told him it was a big step for me (to
varsity),” Henry said. “It was more
challenging, there’s gonna be some tough people to go against.”
“He encourages me to get better every
game,” Chris said.
Through the euphoria of their first triumph
together, Henry and Chris know the last game of the season will be the end of the line
together.
There’s always the chance they could find
their way to the same college team — “I can play against him and run all over
him,” said a laughing Chris of another
possibility — but for now, they’re content with their Friday night’s
together.
“To get to be out there and watch him score a
touchdown, that makes me feel good,” Henry said. “That’s not something you
get to see every day. Playing with your brother, that’s a special kind of thing to
get to do.” |
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