The connection between Mark and Steven Chambers goes beyond genes, their last name and stint as Mineola Chiefs standouts. The duo combined for one of the more memorable tandems in recent memory for the New Hyde Park Gladiators’ first playoff appearance since 2011. Evident on the field and off, the Chambers brothers are one mind, one mission.
“I can trust that wherever I throw it, Steven will catch it,” Mark, an All-County quarterback and graduating senior, said. “It will be weird not throwing to him again.”
With the Gladiators falling to the Carey Seahawks 41-14 in the Nassau County Conference II Quarterfinals, New Hyde Park is looking to build off its first playoff bid in four years. Steven aims to be part of the leadership that guides the team in 2016.
“I have to take charge next year,” Steven said. “It was a great [playoff run]. We had a great fanbase that helped us get there and it was a great experience.”
The chemistry between a quarterback and wide receiver can be second nature; even with athletes cut from a different cloth. While smooth-sailing at home may vary day to day, between the sidelines means business to the Chambers brothers.
“There’s a great connection,” Steven said. “We fight at home a lot as brothers. It’s natural. But on the field, we feed off each other’s competitiveness. It’s all business. It helps the team.”
The brothers were quick to point out how their link, both genetically and in the game, helped the Gladiators on the gridiron. It was week 6 during a low-scoring road game against Westbury last month and the Gladiators faced a 94-yard drive to get the victory in 1 minute, 12 seconds.
“On that drive, we ran a run play on a fourth down and Mark is supposed to read the play, meaning he can [run] if he wants to. He had never kept the ball all season long,” Gladiators head coach Kevin Dolan said. “In the most critical moment of the season, he keeps the ball and runs for a 26-yard gain.”
Down 12-6 with 10 seconds to play, Mark completed a fourth-down pass to Steven for 12 yards. The throw was designed as a post route, but improvisation between the brothers led to a hitch to the sideline where Steven made the catch.
Mark scored a touchdown on a two-yard run a few plays later with six seconds remaining. It was a high-point in a season that saw Mark complete 97 passes, with 11 touchdowns (four rushing). He concluded his season with a 15-for-19 outing and a passing touchdown in the Carey playoff game.
“Mark’s got the “it” factor,” Dolan said. “He has an unassuming swagger on the field. It’s a special kind of confidence and leadership that brings people towards him.”
Their mother, Michele, admitted the competition between her two sons is intense, but to watch Mark throw passes to Steven levels things out at a familial level.
“I’m the proudest mother, but it’s so sad it’s the last year [they’ll play together],” she said. “They’ll do baseball and track together, but in football it’s different.”
As a former track coach, Michele always had Mark and Steven on the field, running and exercising.
“I had them on the field as soon as they could walk,” she said. “I knew it would help them in the long run.”
Jimmy, the duo’s father, was a driving force behind them playing football for the Chiefs when they were just 5 and 6 years old. You’ll find the proud dad at every game with a video camera in tow.
“It’s hard to describe,” Jimmy said. “ It’s a great feeling. They’re both great at their positions and they’ve truly grown up. Coach Dolan really has all the kids on the same page.”
The early work paid off for Mark, as he plays the toughest position in football. He plans to attend either LIU Post, Molloy, SUNY Mercy or Hofstra University to study business. Focus is critical, he says.
“It’s a lot of pressure because the ball is always in your hands,” Mark said. “I have to always be on point.”
With Mark graduating, Steven will need to grow with a new field general in 2016. But his link to next year’s potential signal-caller isn’t too far away in Nick Pellegrino. He and Steven have been friends and neighbors for the bulk of their young lives.
“Somewhere in this country, Steven is going to make an outstanding college football player if that’s what he wants,” Dolan said. “The way he approaches things, it’s a combination of athleticism and the use of his smarts. There’s no chance in his mind that he can’t figure it out.”
Steven set the school record with 31 catches this season and garnered more than 500 yards receiving with three touchdowns. He plays on both sides of the ball, alternating between safety and wide receiver.
The All-Conference wide receiver plans to do the same in his senior 2016 campaign before choosing between looking at Division-II schools with football programs, namely LIU Post or Pace University.
“It helps because as a wideout, I know what can happen and how the receivers are going to run,” he said. “With Mark playing safety also, he helped me out too.”
While the brothers will eventually separate from the field of play, the bond they strengthened in 2015 will endure.
“As the season went on, mentally, they were on the same page,” Dolan said. “This is one of those special moments that you can’t reproduce.”
