Football players to go from one battle to another

GRESHAM, Ore. -  When sports announcers talk about football we often use military sayings like 'they threw a bomb' or 'it was a battle out there.' But for Gresham High School teammates Jesse Ivie and Kaleb Anderson, those terms hit closer to home.

Both of the boys have brothers who are in the Marines and readying for deployment.

"He'll eventually probably go to Afghanistan," said Ivie, a junior.

Ivie said that when things got tough for him on the football field he thinks about his brother Jeff and what he was dealing with at boot camp.

"He's doing way harder stuff then we are," Ivie said.

Instead of going on to play college football or intending to go pro, both boys said they will be following in their brothers' footsteps. Both plan to also enlist in the Marines after high school graduation. They are both now in their junior year.

"I'm going to be right there in his footsteps," said Anderson of his brother Ian.

But before they end up in a Marines uniform, they hope to be able to tell their brothers about some wins in Gophers football uniforms.

"It's going to be awesome," said Anderson, who hopes to take down Gresham's Barlow High School players in this week's High School Blitz game. "I just have to make him proud."