Playing football together is nothing new for Bishop McNamara seniors Micah and Malachi Lee.

The twin brothers have grown up doing just that. For a Fightin’ Irish team that went 10-1 last fall, they got to spend their first significant amount of time on a varsity field together.

Most of that time together was spent defensively, where they both excelled at cornerback and will each man opposite sides of the field this fall. Offensively, where Malachi ran for 662 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 52 carries at slot back last fall, Micah ran for 246 yards on 25 carries and was 3 for 5 passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns as the backup quarterback.

In 2026, with Micah moving up the depth chart, the twins can’t wait to show more of their dynamic abilities together.

“It’s a dream come true, honestly,” Malachi said. “It’s not often you see where people can play with their brother in sports. They always either have an older brother or younger brother, so they’re always playing on different levels. But with Micah being my twin, I can play with him and it’s honestly a blessing.”

After transferring from Bradley-Bourbonnais last summer, Malachi said he was able to adapt to his new school, coaching staff, teammates and environment with relative ease. As a quarterback, it took Micah a little more time to get adjusted football-wise.

And after working as a backup quarterback, there was a little frustration for Micah. But as the Irish rattled off nothing but wins until their second-round elimination in the Class 3A playoffs, he knew that rather than complain, he was going to keep grinding until he got what he wanted.

“For me, I was definitely frustrated, but you can’t be that poison to your team,” Micah said. “We’ve got this saying, fake it until you make it. Even if you come in and you’re tired, whatever you’ve got going on, you’ve got to fake it until your body starts telling you you’re in it. Even if you’re frustrated, you fake it until you are [what you aspire to be].”

Irish coach Greg Youngblood said that both the twins have naturally progressed into larger leadership roles now that they’re seniors, but there’s been a noticeable growth in Micah.

“He’s grown a lot,” Youngblood said. “I attribute that to him being a competitive kid, a great player and he believes in himself. It’s a hard thing for anybody and he’s done well moving from that role to where he’s at. I think it’s only going to help him that he had to work through that.”

While Malachi saw most of his production come on the ground via options, jet sweeps and pitches, Youngblood said that with the brotherly connection the twins have, there will be more opportunities for him in the passing game. However it happens, he knows they just have to get Malachi the ball.

“His ability in the open field, that’s what we’ve got to do is find ways to get him the ball in the open field,” Youngblood said. “There’s not many people that can tackle him in a one-on-one situation. He’s very dynamic, and that can be on offense, defense and special teams.”

As they look to defend their Chicagoland Christian Conference title and make a repeat playoff appearance, the goal is for a deeper playoff run. As an individual state long jump champion in track and field last spring, Malachi knows what it feels like to win a state title, a feeling he wants to spread around the locker room.

“It helps me a lot because it helps me encourage my teammates,” Malachi said. “I know what it feels like and I want everybody else to feel the way I felt when I won state in track. It helps me become a better role model and sets the stage a little higher.”