Pietrefesa Boys Make You See Double -- Even Before They Tackle You

While identical twins often dress alike and have common interests, the Pietrefesa boys are among the exceptions.

Joe Pietrefesa wears number 57 and plays on the right side of the South Brunswick High School football team's defensive line. Jake Pietrefesa, on the other hand, wears number 45 and plays all the way over on the left side of the defensive line.

"Jake has a tiny birthmark on his left ear," Patti Pietrefesa added to the differences between her two sons.

Wow. It's like the two never even met.

"When they are together, even the immediate family can have a hard time telling them apart," Mrs. Pietrefesa laughed. "I can probably tell them apart 98 percent of the time. The only time it's a problem is when they get their hair cut the same."

It was even harder to tell the two apart when they were younger.

When the two were in first grade, they were involved in a fight out on the playground and had to go to the nurse. After treating one of the boys and being assured by him that it was his brother who started the fight, the nurse asked for him to send his brother in to see her. The same boy stepped out of the office and came back in a few minutes later.

"They have always been true rough boys," Mrs. Pietrefesa laughed. "The nurse called me and was laughing because they got her. She finally asked for both of them to come in at the same time. They pointed at each other and said 'he did it.'"

According to Jake, the two tried switching classes in sixth grade, but their fellow students caught on quickly and started laughing.

Added Joe, "Everything is the same. We watch the same shows. We like the same music. We like the same girls. Sometimes, we even fight over them (laughs)."

Over the years, Mrs. Pietrefesa has picked up a few tricks to try and tell her babies apart. After Joe was born, she painted his toenails. If not, Joe could be Jake and Jake could be Joe. They wouldn't even know. Seeing the birthmark helped separate them afterwards. 

"I did dress them alike as babies," Mrs. Pietrefesa noted. "I would always put Joe on the left because he was first born. That's how I could tell them apart. That's how we know which one is which in old photos."

Of course, the South Brunswick football team would have to go and ruin the strategy by putting Joe on the right side and Jake on the left.

According to the Pietrefesa twins, either side works. Just as long as they are on defense somewhere.

"Defense is the best part of football," Jake noted. "My favorite part is sacking the quarterback. No better feeling than that."

Jake had four sacks this year and finished the season with 30.5 tackles. Joe Pietrefesa had two sacks and 50.4 tackles for South Brunswick's 10-1 team. South Brunswick's defense had two shutouts and held the opposition to an average of 11.5 points per game.

The core of the team grew up together, playing in the local Pop Warner leagues. The Pietrefesa twins have been on the line since they were 6.

"We all knew this was going to be the year," Joe said. "We knew we had a good team."

It turned out to be the only football team in South Brunswick history to win 10 games.

The Pietrefesa boys were certainly a big part of that success. Heck, they are a big part of everything.

Joe is 6' and 190 lbs. Jake measures in at 6' and 197 lbs. The father, Joe Sr., is 6' 2" and 225 lbs.

"We're still growing," Joe Jr. noted. "We try and eat eight meals a day."

No, that is not a typo. Eight meals a day.

"I can't keep food in the house," Mrs. Pietrefesa noted. "There is not a roast big enough for them. I have to make two of everything. We go through two gallons of milk a day. Even though they buy lunches, I make each of them three sandwiches a day."

The Pietrefesa twins need the food for energy. As big as they are, they are almost always lined up against bigger players.

"We're smaller than the other guys, but we're tough," Joe said.

They also come as a matching set. As the two seniors look at colleges now, they consider themselves a package deal.

They just need to find a school with a lot of food and two of everything. Mrs. Pietrefesa will then just have to worry about cooking for her husband and younger brother Anthony, a 6' 1", 185 pound freshman. Jessica, the oldest, is already away at college.

While the food budget will go down, Mrs. Pietrefesa will certainly miss her big boys when they go away for school. They are her babies. Even when they come back from school -- and she hasn't seen them in a while to notice the subtle differences -- she's confident she'll know which one is which.

"Obviously, I can grab them by the face and see who is who," Mrs. Pietrefesa said. "They're my rough boys. They're awesome."