A’meer and A’maar Allen are identical twins — in more ways than looks.
Neither Allen has a cell phone, although they say they’re both getting one next week.
Boston Market is their favorite food place. “But no matter where we eat, we usually get the same thing, down to the sides and the drinks,” A’meer said.
They might sometimes binge-watch a Netflix series, but only together. If one twin isn’t around for an episode, there is no watching it alone.
If one goes on a date with a girl, he will eventually meet up with the other brother somewhere later that night. The grade-point average of the twins is .05 point apart.
“They are the most unique set of twins you’ll ever see,” said Terry Totten, Central Catholic’s football coach. “You can see the love they have for each other. There’s practically no separating them and I mean that. They’re together all the time.”
Therein lies the problem for opponents of the Central Catholic football team. The Allen twins are together on the field, too.
The Allens, who are seniors, both start on the offensive and defensive lines for the Vikings. A’meer is a 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive tackle and left tackle on offense. A’maar is a 6-3, 260-pound defensive end and right tackle on offense. While their togetherness might be unique, so is their talent combination.
Sure, the WPIAL has seen its share of twin brothers over the years. But the league hasn’t exactly had a plethora of twin brothers who have been on the level of the Allens, or at least have gone on to play major-college football. That’s what the Allens will be doing next year.
Fourteen colleges have offered scholarships to both Allens. Most of the offers come from FBS schools, including Akron, Buffalo, Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green and Connecticut. Cincinnati, Florida International and Marshall have offered A’meer, but not A’maar. The brothers usually tell colleges, if you want one of us, you take both of us.
They’re born together, teammates forever. Til’ college graduation do they part.
“It’s almost 100 percent that we’ll go to the same college,” A’maar said.
Both Totten and Central Catholic defensive coordinator Dave Fleming believe scholarships from Power 5 conference colleges might eventually find their way to the Allens.
“They’ve really turned it on in the last seven months, from their work ethic, to academically, to on the field,” Totten said. “I think the sky is the limit for them. I can’t see them not going to Power 5 schools. I know Pitt and Penn State have been very close to them. You just can’t pass up and forget about people who can run and have their size.”
The Allens have always been big. They were so big when they were 4, their mother (Samerrah Allen) had the twins’ grandfather (James Allen) take them to signups for a midget league football team in Wilkinsburg. The other players were 6 and 7.
Samerrah Allen is a single mother of seven and the entire family lives in McKees Rocks. James Allen has been a rock for A’maar and A’meer ever since the twins started playing. For years, he has often been the one who takes and picks up the twins from practice while their mother is employed as a social worker. Samerrah Allen is now taking night classes to obtain a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
“Their mother decided to have them play when they were 4. I thought that might be a little too early because midget league football in the ‘hood can be a little aggressive at times,” James Allen said with a laugh. “But they were always so big for their age. They were fine. My job was to make sure they didn’t get hurt. I used to never miss a practice. It’s been quite a journey.”
James Allen also can tell plenty about the closeness of the twins.
“When one says he’s not hungry, the other says he’s not hungry,” James Allen said. “When one’s being chastised, the other looks like he’s being chastised.”
Both A’maar and A’meer recount a story from their ninth-grade year at Central Catholic that illustrates their bond, togetherness and penchant for doing the same thing. The two were playing for Central Catholic’s freshman team and the coach ordered a punt block in a game against Mt. Lebanon.
“We ended up meeting together at the punter at the same time,” A’maar said with a laugh. “A’meer blocked it. I picked it up and ran.”
A’meer said, “I remember he almost ran for a touchdown. Got caught at the 1-yard line.”
The two Allens started seeing some varsity time as sophomores. Last year, they were starting on the defensive line. This is the first season they are both starting on offense and defense. They combine with senior A.J. Beatty (University of North Carolina recruit) and junior Elliot Donald (many scholarship offers) to give Central four future major-college players on the defensive line.
“It took a long time to tell them apart,” Fleming said. “I used to call one of them onto the field and have to say to him, ‘Wait, do I have the right one?’
“I think the sky is the limit for both of them. I say that first off because they’re not done growing — and they’re athletic. When you look at major-college players, we’ve been blessed to have a lot of them here [at Central Catholic]. You look at the body types of those guys and add the talent, the sky is the limit and that’s the way it is with these two.”
Totten still has trouble telling the Allens apart. “I just call them No. 50 and 55,” Totten said.
But about the college thing. The Allens’ insistence on going to the same school might hurt them with a few schools. In other words, a college might not want both, so they don’t offer either. That’s OK to the twins. Ask them why they insist on going to the same college and A’meer seems almost offended at the suggestion that they go their separate ways after this year.
“First off, we have been together our whole lives,” A’meer said. “College is a big step. Each of us taking that step individually, I just can’t see that happening. I think we can both play at a Power 5 school. That’s what we’re aiming for. We know we can play there.”
Even their goals after football are similar. A’meer wants to major in communications and wouldn’t mind trying to be a sports announcer. A’maar is thinking about majoring in broadcast journalism.
“I’d like to be an Ian Rapoport [of the NFL Network],” A’maar said. “A’meer can be in front of the camera. I’ll be in the background, the first one to know things.”
But still together.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
STANDINGS: WPIAL | City League
Team Pages | Sortable Statistics
First Published: August 29, 2019, 10:15 a.m.