Twins hope to bring family atmosphere
By Joi Palmore
MDJ Sports Writer
Walker interim football coach
Tom Evangelista will coach his
two sons, incoming freshmen Ty
and Nick Evangelista.
The incoming freshmen plan to
bring a camaraderie to the Wolverines.
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The twins have been playing
football for five years and
have high hopes for this upcoming
season.
Ty Evangelista plays linebacker
and running back. He also plays
lacrosse and wrestles. He will
play the season with two plates
that have been inserted in his arm
after suffering an inj ury during
wrestling season. Before breaking
his arm, he was 6 -0 on the mat.
Now, he’s ready to get back on
the field.
“I’m looking forward to this
season because we have a high
chance of winning across the board,
but I j ust also want to see all my
friends and everyone around me
grow,” he said.
Nick Evangelista plays safety
and slotback. He also plays golf
and swims, and said he is planning
to compete at both in high school.
Like his brother, he is ready to do
what he can to make the Walker
football season a good one.
“I’ve always loved the sport and
I want to see my team do the best
that it can, win a championship, and
I j ust want to have fun at the end
of the day,” Nick Evangelista said.
The brothers are well aware of
the position that the Wolverines
are in this upcoming season. A
lack of numbers on the roster
have forced the program to play
a non-region schedule this season.
At presstime, Walker had 24
players on its roster. It’s not conducive
to playing a region schedule
against teams that have 6 0
and 70 players on the roster. By
playing a non-region schedule for
the next two years, the team will
have an opportunity to increase
its numbers while also being able
to teach the current players the
fundamentals of the game.
Despite the adversity of having
a small and young team, the twins
plan to present a sense of brotherhood
that inspires everyone.
“We go into this as a family
and team that cares about each
other and has each other’s back.
We call it a den because we’re the
Wolverines,” Ty Evangelista said.
The brothers said they firmly
believe having a good connection
and functioning as a family will
better the overall performance of
the team.
“I believe we will bring a good
connection of brotherhood and
camaraderie, j ust being able to
understand your fellow guys out
there and create deep bonds that
help you overcome things on and
off the field,” Nick Evangelista said.
The roster includes three seniors,
11 j uniors, two sophomores,
and eight freshmen. It presents
an opportunity to grow into the
players the program will need going
forward.
“This season is almost like a
hype up for the rest of the people
in our school to realize the Walker
football team is pretty good and
that they should join,” Ty Evangelista
said. “The people that stayed
and preserved through this hard
time will figure out the sport is
for them and will stick to it. So
we’ll gain and maintain people.”
Nick Evangelista said he trusts
the non-region schedule will offer
more wins for the Wolverines.
“I hope by playing non-region
we can create new rivalries and
win, that will definitely boost the
morale of the team,” he said.
The brothers said they are looking
forward to having the chance
to play for their father, but said
they believe having him as coach
will be harder than with a coach
unrelated to them.
“I think it’ll be harder because
he expects more from us and the
entire team as well, it will be good
overall because we can grow as a
team with his leadership,” Nick
Evangelista said.
In addition to the Evangelista
twins, the Wolverines have another
set of twins playing next year.
Tom Evangelista said he believes
DJ and Tae Washington will also
help solidify the fact that the Wolverines
function as a family. The
twins are the sons of assistant
coach Dontae Washington.
DJ Washington is a running
back, linebacker, and possible
quarterback. Tae Washington is
a linebacker and running back.
“Hopefully that brotherhood between
them carries on and really
becomes contagious because I think
that is going to be key for us to be
successful,” Tom Evangelista said.
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