It all started with a simple catch in the backyard, but not with a dad or a big brother. Twin brothers Isaac and Isaiah Pate would go out and throw the football with their grandmother, Stephanie King.
“Every time we went over to her house, we would always beg her to go outside and throw the football with us,” Isaiah said.
Isaac said the catches started when they were 4-years-old and noted: “She had a wonderful arm. I feel like that got me into football.”
The main beneficiary of those backyard tosses has been Steinert’s football team, which got major contributions from both juniors in going 5-6, reaching the state playoffs and winning the Joe Logue Trophy by beating Hamilton and Nottingham by a combined score of 72-0 this fall.
The Pates’ fingerprints were all over the Thanksgiving win over West, which was no surprise to coach Thaddeus Richards. Despite the fact Isaac is 5-foot-5, 135 pounds and Isaiah is 5-7, 145, every inch and every pound is sheer power.
“They’re tough as nails and phenomenal human beings,” Richards said. “They’re two dynamic athletes who found their niche with us. They really believe in the whole ‘team first’ mentality that our program is built around.
“You talk about playing above their size, playing out of their weight class… on tape when you see us play, it’s easy to tell they’re two of the toughest kids in our program. They really play the game the right way, intensity and purpose-wise.”
In the Hamilton victory, Isaac won the Rich Fornaro Trophy as Steinert’s MVP by rushing for 227 yards and two touchdowns. In two Turkey Day wins, he has rushed for 343 yards and three TDs. Isaiah played his usual shutdown game at cornerback and also caught a touchdown pass, which pleased his mom, Nicole.
“I’m so happy that he got a touchdown,” Nicole said. “I don’t want Isaac just to get all the shine. Before the game I say to him, ‘You’re gonna intercept the ball.’”
Isaac was just as happy, quickly running over to his brother and body bumping him as the two leaped in the air.
Watching it all in a pouring rain was Nicole, who couldn’t stop smiling. And she had every right, for as a single mom, she made countless sacrifices to make sure they were raised the right way and got the chance to play the sport they love. After working in corrections at the Trenton psychiatric ward, Nicole became a licensed practical nurse and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
In the midst of all that, her sons were still the focus.
When they started playing in the Hamilton Flag Football League before moving on to play Pop Warner, Nicole and Stephanie did all they could to get them where they had to be.
“I just made sure they were at every practice, every game and that we would be at anything they had going on,” said Nicole, who also has a 27-year-old daughter. “I’d always have my mom by my side. She would buy a pair of cleats for one and I’d buy a pair of cleats for the other.
“It’s just been me and my mom. But when I lived (in Bromley) a neighbor used to go out there and throw the ball with them.”
Nicole’s dedication is not lost on the twins.
“My mom has been my number one supporter,” Isaac said. “I wouldn’t be here without her. She’s a strong woman and sacrificed a lot for me and my brother.”
Isaiah was in full agreement.
“She plays a big role in this,” he said. “We wouldn’t be where we’re at if it wasn’t for her. Our away games at Pop Warner she had to drive an hour or more. If she didn’t do that we wouldn’t even be playing high school football right now.”
Obviously, Richards is thankful for mom’s efforts. Nicole not only helped them in football, but raised them to be polite, kind and courteous. Mention their names to a Steinert faculty member and the immediate response is, “What great kids they are.”
“She deserves a lot of credit for everything she does for them,” Richards said. “She stays on top of them academically. She wears a lot of hats in the household. It shows through the type of people they are. Anytime you talk to them, they’re always smiling. They’re just so happy and feel so fortunate and just want to be the best type of people. That’s a testament to the type of mom she is.”
Nicole, whose dad Bobby Pate played MLB for the Montreal Expos in the early 1980s, was born in Denver before moving to Hamilton. Although the twins were born in New Jersey, they adopted mom’s hometown and adorned their room with Denver Broncos posters.
“They’re off of that now,” Nicole said. “We just like whoever is doing good. Except for the Chiefs, they’re winning too much.”
Since their grandfather was a pro, the twins attempted baseball, but were bored hitting off of a tee. Thus they tried the gridiron. After flag football, Nicole was worried about their size when it came to Pop Warner, but it quickly became a non-issue.
“They weren’t just good football players, but good young men off the field,” Hamilton Revolution coach George Kloutis said.
Nicole needed a little work learning the game, however.
“One time we got a touchdown and she yelled out ‘Interception!’’ Isaac said.
“Over time she learned the rules,” assured Isaiah.
Upon entering Steinert, both played on the Spartans freshman team, but Isaac broke his collarbone in the third game and missed the remainder of the season.
“It was very frustrating,” he said. “I wanted to play so bad. I tried to go in the last game but the doctors wouldn’t let me.”
As sophomores, both made varsity, which could have opened Richards up to a lot of second-guessing for playing two sophomores so small in physical stature.
“When you know what they’re going to be up against, there is definitely some risk,” the coach said. “But the moment you have a conversation or you see them put pads on — in the first three practices we noted they were two of our most physical players in the varsity program at around 130 pounds.
“I know it’s something they take pride in. That undersized, underdog feeling is something that resonates with him. It showed after the first practice. After we saw them in pads it didn’t take much to alleviate any doubt regarding their ability to play at the varsity level as far as physicality goes.”
In 10th grade, Isaac led the team in rushing with 501 yards and five touchdowns. Both alternated time at cornerback and combined for 33-½ tackles.
This past season, Isaac exploded with 1,138 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. He had TD runs of 80 yards against Nottingham and 68 yards against West. Pate also manned a corner spot and had 33 tackles.
“My whole life I’ve been fast,” he said. “Once I dont see anyone in front of me I’m gone. I just feel once I accelerate it’s gonna be hard for someone to take me down. And our offensive line did a wonderful job. If they didn’t open up the gaps I wouldn’t have gotten my 1,000 yards.”
Isaac is not only fast, he is tough to bring down despite his size.
“He’s one of the more special ball carriers that I’ve seen in my time coaching,” Richards said. “He runs very violently too. Sometimes people see his size and look at his weight and they’re thinking about his speed. He tried to run through people countless times this year, he’s put people on their back who kind of underestimated him based on his size. And he has a level of explosion that I haven’t really seen too many times at the high school level.”
Isaiah became a fulltime starter at corner this year and became one of the top outside defenders in Mercer County. He made 40 tackles, had two interceptions, and caused quarterbacks to look elsewhere for a receiver.
Pate loves the pressure of being on an island and credits Richards and defensive coordinator Joe Washington for getting the defensive backs ready.
“I’m always trying to stay at his hip,” Isaiah said. “I always have to keep him in front of me, don’t let him get behind me. If he gets behind me then something bad can happen. This year I thought I did a very good job keeping them in front of me.
“I like how I’m the only one on the outside so I play a big role on the defense. If I don’t break up a pass then it’s a touchdown. I feel like certain people can only be a corner, you have to have the right mindset.”
Isaiah has it, according to his coach.
“Isaiah is cool, calm and collected at all times,” Richards said. ‘He plays the game cerebral in terms of understanding his assignment and understanding what the offense is going to present to us defensively. He’s really honed in on his ability to do that. He’s not as twitchy as Isaac but he’s a smooth rangy type of athlete that guys have a lot of struggles getting separation from.
“Isaiah doesn’t get a lot of credit for his ability to tackle in space. You talk to any opposing coach and they’ll talk about the way Isaiah is able to tackle in space. We had games where he set the edge for us pretty consistently as the year went on.”
The twins were so impressive on Thanksgiving that Cleve Christie, known mostly for coaching basketball at Solebury Prep in Pennsylvania and running hoop showcases, touched base with Nicole after the game and is now sponsoring training sessions for them in Ewing during the off-season.
It’s not surprising, as the brothers make an impression on everyone they meet. And of course, they are impressed by each other.
“We have a great relationship; we’re always together,” Isaiah said. “We help each other with football a lot. Even outside of practices we always threw the ball together.”
Isaac added: “I’m gonna put it this way — if he gets hurt, I feel the pain.”
If either of them gets hurt, Nicole feels the pain. But after their two years on varsity, she feels nothing but pride.
“I’m just happy for them,” she said. “They were so determined, I just knew they were gonna be good. I just worried about their height. But I’m just very blessed to have good sons with good manners.”
They feel just as blessed to have a strong mother and grandmother to help raise them that way.
Steinert brothers Isaac (left) and Isaiah Pate leap in celebration for Isaiah’s touchdown catch in the annual Thanksgiving game against Hamilton. (Photo by Amanda Ruch.),
