There are a lot of similarities between Jarel and Jarey Elder. The two brothers starred during their senior years on two different District 11 Class 4A champion Parkland Trojans football teams, with Jarel graduating two years before younger brother Jarey.

They also both chose to attend the same university to continue their careers on the gridiron and in the classroom at West Chester University.

They both also had to endure sitting out a year as redshirt freshmen. It can be tough on any athlete to sit on the sidelines and watch after being an important part of their high school team for years, and it wasn’t any different for these two.

“It was really hard because I’ve always been competitive, and to have to sit and watch was tough,” said Jarey Elder. “I wasn’t used to that, but I know that Jarel went through the same thing and it seemed to help him get better, so I used this summer to train hard on my speed, and work on getting a grasp on the defense.”

Heading into his second year with the Golden Rams, Jarey looks to crack the starting lineup in the secondary.

Jarel Elder is now a junior and one of the elder statesmen on a loaded West Chester offense that was picked in the preseason polls to finish on top of the league in 2016. Jarel was given the starting role heading into fall camp, which began last Wednesday.

Last year he rushed for 561 yards and was tied for the team lead with five TD runs. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry and 56.1 yards per game. He also happened to be the team’s top kickoff return man, returning 25 kicks for 588 yards (23.5 yards per return). In 2014, ranked second in all-purpose yards with 1,072, posting 585 yards and three touchdowns.

“He is really strong,” head coach Bill Zwaan said. “Jarel can stay tackle-to-tackle and find those seams. When he gets through the hole, he has the ability for big-play yardage. He makes adjustments and is a tough kid when it comes to blocking.”

Even with praise from the old ball coach, Elder knows he can always do better.

“Both of my previous years on the field I thought I fell short of some expectations I had for myself,” Jarel Elder said. “I worked hard this offseason to improve on that, and help the team win.”

Elder talked about the desire to help get his team over the championship struggle it had last year, dropping the PSAC final to Slippery Rock 61-12. It left a sour taste in the team’s mouth.

“Ever since I’ve been here, we’ve been a winning team,” said Jarel Elder. “Last year we had a good year, but came up short in the big game. We don’t want that to happen again this year. Guys are stepping up as leaders when we need them to. We have a lot of experienced guys coming back that are hungry to win.”

Jarel and Jarey both worked out at Saint Luke’s this summer with their strength and conditioning coach, along with other Parkland football graduates like Gabe Clark and Ricky Williams. They also followed a dietary plan to improve their bodies.

Blood runs thicker than water, and these two still look out for each other. During the 2015 season, even though he did not play in a game, Jarey practiced with the team and suit up for home games. He also had the ears of Jarel in case he needed advice on anything, since Jarel was in his shoes just a few years earlier.

“I never really had to say much to him,” said Jarel. “He knew what to expect, that it would be tough. But he didn’t complain. He just worked hard and wanted to be successful however he possibly could.”

But they wouldn’t be brothers if they didn’t like the friendly competition between each other.

During one of the drills at practice this week, defensive back/linebacker Jarey was lined up across from running back Jarel. One player was going to get the better of the other.

“We’ve had a lot of physical practices lately,” Jarey said. “You knew everyone was excited to put the pads on and hit and get it going. There’s a lot of experience on this team. I think the defense can be better than it was last year. It’s exciting.”

In the classroom, Jarel is a molecular/cellular biology major, and Jarey is majoring in exercise science with a minor in education.

Parkland graduate Michael Unger is also on the Rams roster this year. The 6-3, 295-pound red-shirt junior has been a starter in each of the last two seasons. This season he is battling to keep his starting job at right tackle as the season nears.

Unger has played in 23 games during his college career, 12 of them as a started. He started all 11 games last season and missed just one game the season before while earning letters both of his two seasons of action.

West Chester open up the season on the road at Bentley University on September 3.