Teammates are often called brothers. Jacob Holcomb understands that better than most.
He’s the starting quarterback for the Puyallup Vikings. His brother, Luke Holcomb, is his backup.
“He does a great job,” said Luke. “He’s a great leader, and I’m proud of him.”
Growing up together, the Holcombs were no stranger to competition.
“Definitely a lot of fights, a lot of playtime,” laughed Jacob.
“He always wins in the family competitions,” grinned Luke. “It’s kind of annoying.”
But they take the field every week with the same goal.
“As long as I’m succeeding, I’m going to make sure he’s succeeding,” said Jacob. “I’m going to teach him how to take the reins and lead his team to success.”
Their dad is no strangers to the Puyallup stands. Their older brother Nathaniel played quarterback for the Vikings before heading to the College of Idaho.
“As a parent, does it get any better?” he said. “No, it doesn’t. It’s awesome.”
All started around young, playing for the Puyallup Roughriders. He recalled when Jacob played for the Vikings at the same time as Nathaniel.
“He got the opportunity to play with his older brother, and got to watch and learn and enjoy the relationship,” he said. “I remember when we lost against Woodinville when Nathan was a senior. Jacob came out of the locker room crying, saying he was going to miss playing with his older brother. It was a great moment. A great family moment.”
But this is not the first trio of brothers to lead the Vikings. In the trophy case – you’ll find a purple “Huard” jersey. Before making it to the Seahawks, Brock Huard played there with brothers Damon and Luke.
“They got pretty competitive,” laughed Jim Clifton, who coached them in basketball.
“They’re awesome. Awesome kids,” he said. “They just loved to play”
There the trios are similar, said Chris Johnston, who has known the Holcombs for years. He’s seen them benefit from playing together.
“They all learn from each other,” he said. “That’s the great thing about it, they’re humble.”
But Jacob respectfully shrugged off the Huard comparison.
“For us personally, we’re not trying to build on any of that,” he said. “We’re just trying to do our own thing, create something … and bring back Puyallup football. Bring back a state championship to where it belongs.”
“This whole team is our family,” said Luke.
Puyallup topped Eastmont Friday 45-10, and will face Mt. Si next week.
