Brothers ready to battle it out on the gridiron

BRADENTON, Fla. (WWSB) - It’s rivalry week for many local high school football teams. Two of those schools, Manatee High School and Palmetto High School, are a pair of Manatee County heavyweights on the gridiron.

The matchup is for the district championship, but for one family this is much bigger than a game.

Eric Lewis Jr. and Keyvon Riddick play significant roles for their teams, but tonight they’ll be battling the emotions of playing against each other. They’re brothers and they’ve been playing football together since they were young boys.

“We haven’t really been communicating [this week],” Lewis Jr. said. “We dab each other up. If it’s about football, we just go our ways.”

“We’ve been going at it and seeing what we’re going to do to each other in the game,” Reddick said. “It’s all trash talk and just brother love.”

Both Lewis Jr. and Reddick credit their father, Eric Lewis Sr., for introducing them to the game, and he is filled with pride and joy about where his sons are now.

“I’m just proud of both of them,” Lewis Sr. said. “I’m overwhelmed with emotion. I don’t know how to put it [into words]. I wish them both the best.”

This is expected to be final time will share a field together in high school. Reddick is a senior preparing for his next phase of life, but both brothers tell ABC7 that it would be a dream to play college football with each other.

“Hopefully that’s God’s plan,” Lewis Jr. said. “Whatever God has in store for us, hopefully it’s the best.”

“Playing on the big stage, just me and him and making our family proud,” Reddick said. “We want to put on a show for them.”

The matchup begins at Palmetto High School, Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.