A battle of brother against brother

Eric and Joey Sawicki have often played together during their football careers.

But when the high school season opens tonight, the brothers will be squaring off against each other, as Lincoln-Way East plays at Providence in New Lenox.

Senior Eric is a wide receiver at Lincoln-Way East while junior Joey plays the same position at Providence. Both attended Providence until Eric transferred this year.

The brothers grew up playing youth football with the Mokena Burros. That's where Eric picked up many of the friends who he'll finally get to play with at East.

Eric wanted to transfer a year ago, but his father Mark, who played football at Wisconsin and was a member of the USA National Rugby team, said that he missed the deadline to make the move.

Besides being able to finally play against his brother, Eric will be reunited with longtime friends while competing against players that he used to call his teammates.

''I used to play with Joey all of the time back with the Burros,'' Eric Sawicki said. ''So it will be pretty cool to play against my brother this time and see how he performs. Best of luck to him, but we have to win.

''It's been a pretty smooth transition. I used to play with all of the kids at East, so I knew them and have a lot of friends there. I was welcomed back, and a lot of them asked me, 'What took you so long?'

''It's going to be pretty fun to go up against all of the kids that I know, and I'm going to line up against one of my friends at cornerback. But competition is competition, and I'm just going to treat them like any opponent and try to do my best.''

While Joey is excited to be playing against his brother, he's also interested in seeing his team stop East's streak of three straight wins since the series began in 2005.

''It's going to be really weird to play against him, but it will also be good,'' Joey Sawicki said. ''He's improved a lot since we started playing, and he's been running real fast and catching the ball well.

''If Eric was still at Providence, I'd be on one side of the ball and he'd be on the other side of the ball. But going to East was the best choice for him, and it gives him a better opportunity to go to college.

''We both hang out with the same kids from both schools. It's a huge rivalry, and hopefully we can beat them because that would be a great way for us to start the season.''

Besides having his sons playing on opposing teams, Mark has coached many of the players who will be in tonight's game. So while he realizes that there will be a winner and loser, it will be a special night regardless of the outcome.

''For me and my wife and our family and friends, this game won't be about rooting for one team or the other,'' Mark Sawicki said. ''It will be about rooting for Eric and Joey and wishing them the best and hoping that they have great games.

''Having been put in this unique situation, I've gained a lot more respect for both programs. It's fun to hear about the different stories when they come home from practice. In a lot of ways the programs are similar, but it's also different.

''I was a little reluctant about this at first because I really didn't know much about East and its program. But when I really looked into it, it turned out to be a win-win situation for us, since both Eric and Joey are at excellent places.''