They played quarterback at schools similar in size and in the same conference.

Each was recruited by similar Division I colleges after stellar high school careers as two of the top quarterbacks in the WPIAL last season.

Both threw exactly 14 touchdown passes this past season, one that was capped with both being named to the PG East Fabulous 22 team.

Last week in Altoona, they were teammates.

When looking at all that Kiski Area's Josh Vick and Plum's Kyle Simmons have in common, it's little wonder the coaching staff for the West team at the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association East-West All-Star Classic had trouble picking between the two.

"At practice Friday, [West coach Terry Smith] said, 'I don't know how to pick who to start,'" Vick said. "So we flipped a coin."

"I was lucky enough to win," Simmons said. "Josh was awesome in practice all week and will be awesome at the next level, so it wasn't as if I outplayed him in a competition or anything."

It likely was the final time among a string of about a decade of competitions between Simmons, who stands 6 feet, 175 pounds, and Vick, who is 6-3, 202 pounds. Simmons will play at Lafayette University and Vick the University of New Hampshire.

"I've been playing against him since midgets," Vick said. "I played for Lower Burrell and he was at Plum, then all the way through junior high football and basketball and then varsity. We've been competing against each other a long time, and we've respected each other the whole time. I know I respect him."

It's a respect that led to a friendship that figures to last. They attended some of the same camps in recent years and went on visits to some of the same schools that were recruiting them (often Mid-American Conference or Division I-AA colleges). The two were assigned to the same host family in Altoona last week, becoming even closer.

"We talk here and there about when we played against each other and about all the stuff we've been through," Simmons said. "And when we found out about the [East-West] game and that we'd be playing together, I texted him and we talked about how it was cool to play together in a state all-star game."

Boasting both West quarterbacks in the East-West game was another show of the WPIAL's traditional strength at the position -- a showing all the more impressive when it is considered that Terrelle Pryor of Jeannette and Central Catholic's Tino Sunseri were not even there (Pryor played in a national all-star game and Sunseri two weeks ago at the Big 33 for Pennsylvania against Ohio).

Simmons and Vick even competed in the same WPIAL Class AAAA conference, the Big East.

"Both have tremendous upside," said Smith, the coach of another school in that conference, Gateway. "I'm looking forward to seeing good things from them in the future"

"They're two totally different quarterbacks -- one with more of a running style [Simmons] and one more of a sit-in-the-pocket guy [Vick]," said West coach Lou Cerro, who coaches at Montour High School. "The WPAL was well-represented at the quarterback spot, no doubt."

It is with those differences that the convergent paths of Vick and Simmons begin to separate. The taller, stronger-armed Vick is slated to be a quarterback in college, while the fleet-footed Simmons was told by Lafayette coaches he will be a safety.

"[Simmons] is a great quarterback. I'm surprised there were not more schools who wanted him as one," Vick said. "I guess the height thing scared them, but he makes up for that with his heart and determination and his running, athleticism and intelligence."

Simmons, who was also offered a scholarship by New Hampshire, said he chose Lafayette partially because of its academic reputation. He reports the first week of August.

Vick, who completed 58 percent of his passes last season while passing for 2,110 yards, joins a team that has him sharing the depth chart with two other young quarterbacks. He will be on campus by July 13 and said he wants to learn the playbook quickly.

"I plan on just being a sponge around the older guys, taking whatever advice I can," Vick said.