Michael Arace commentary: Youngest Boren may one-up his brothers yet
There was a din on the other end of the telephone line. Of course. This was Thursday night, and the Boren family was having the weekly captain?s dinner for the Pickerington Central football team. It was the Borens? turn.
These captain?s dinners are fairly common for high-school teams, especially for fall sports. The end of the season is nigh. Everything is finished but football, which wraps up this weekend.
Three state championship games were played in Massillon and Canton yesterday. Three more will be played today. The postseason culminates tonight with the Division I final, pitting Pickerington Central against mighty Cleveland St. Ignatius at Fawcett Stadium in Canton.
Pickerington Central started the season 0-2, and the Tigers had to win out to extend their season. They won 11 in a row, including four playoff games ? which meant another month of Thursday-night captain?s dinners.
The last one was held at the Borens? place. The boys ate, beat up one another on the PlayStation3 and finished the evening in the driveway, playing basketball. Probably, a couple of jumpers were stuck in their face by Kallie Boren, a 12-year-old left-hander.
?It?s probably a little more peaceful than usual, to be honest,? said Hope Boren, the matriarch of the place.
Hope and Mike Boren have three boys. The oldest, Justin, is a former Ohio State offensive lineman who is on the Baltimore Ravens? practice squad. The next is Zach, a junior fullback at Ohio State. The youngest son, Jacoby, is a two-way lineman at Pickerington Central who has committed to play at Ohio State next year.
When the Boren boys are together, the furniture is under threat. Justin is 6 feet 3 and 315 pounds, Zach is 6 feet, 252, and Jacoby goes 6-3, 285, still growing. A minor disagreement maybe turns physical, and there goes the coffee table.
?Jacoby still thinks he can kick his older brothers? butt,? Mike said. ?I have to get between them sometimes. Jacoby fears nothing, which is good and bad, I guess.?
To which Jacoby said, ?Zach and I are pretty even. Justin and I haven?t had a big fight in a long while. It?s probably been a good year and a half, so I don?t know. Mike ? he?s beyond middle age, isn?t he??
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