PEORIA — Brotherly love has a bit of a different meaning for Benjamin and Brady Mullens.
Benjamin, the Peoria Notre Dame senior quarterback, and Brady, the junior center, have unbelievable chemistry on the football field. These two have put in so many reps that no one would be able to tell this is the first year playing their respective positions.
“We just got a ton of experience playing together,” Benjamin said following Friday’s 65-14 road win over Big 12 Conference rival Richwoods. “… I’m just used to it. It’s easy and when the center and quarterback exchange is easy, everything else is easier. Everything else is free to flow.”
No one, however, admires his older brother quite like Brady.
“His will to work 120 percent of the time,” the 6-foot-2, 270-pound “littler” Mullens said. “Out (on the field) you don’t even see 99 percent of the work. … He’s hardest worker on this team by far.
“(Playing together is) kind of like a sixth sense. It’s just something we’re together on everything. We go home, eat together. … We’ve been playing so long (together). Every kind of movement that we go is just kind of in sync like that.”
And, of course, it’s only natural that sibling rivalry can often emerge. The Mullens brothers are no exception to that Just ask their coach, Pat Armstrong.
“Sometimes I worry about them going home together, right?” he joked. “There’s some practices where the ball’s on the ground and the snaps and exchanges don’t go well. I offer to let one of them come live with me for the next six or seven weeks.
“Brothers get testy.”
Week 4 IHSA football: Peoria-area scores | Peoria highlights | Top performers
Added Benjamin, “You spend enough time around a person, they’re bound to have something that drives you crazy, but when you get out on the field, it just feels like none of it really matters. You’re both focused on winning. You got the other one’s back. They got yours. That’s football.”
The elder Mullens was explosive in the backfield in Friday’s victory, rushing for 79 yards on five carries. His highlight worthy 44-yard scoring run came when he called his own number and weaved in and out of Richwoods defenders into the end zone.
If that wasn’t enough, Benjamin, who also passed for 41 yards, added a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown just 2:39 into the second half.
“I was sitting in my coverage,” the 6-foot, 205-pounder said. “I saw the (Richwoods) No. 3 receiver run a slant, and saw the quarterback hands break. I just broke on the ball and the ball was right there. I just picked it, and I just ran.”
Mullens wasn’t the only one in the backfield earning yards.
Senior running back Jack Hanley rushed behind left tackle Lucas Langan, left guard Sie Couri, Brady Mullens, right guard Mitch Sager and right tackle Noah Tockes for 227 yards on 12 carries. Hanley, the three-year starter, also scored three touchdowns from 16, 53 and 61 yards.
Armstrong says moving Mullens from tackle to center shored up any potential holes in the offensive line.
“I would say probably a weakness we’ve had for a couple, two, three years was the center position,” Armstrong said. “Once we started moving bigger guys in there, it kind of solidified that for us. Brady is one of those guys.”
PND (2-2, 2-2) ran for 391 yards with 10 backs getting carries, while limiting the Richwoods ground game to 40 yards on 18 carries. Alwan, Benjamin Hafner, Jamarahe Marizetts and Dallas Harder all added rushing touchdowns.
Richwoods (1-3, 1-3) QB Bryce Hopkins threw for 187 yards and a 70-yard scoring strike to Ayce Hawks, who caught five balls for 150 yards.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA football scores: Brothers help Notre Dame defeat rival Richwoods
