OSWEGO – Tyson LeBlanc says that it took him about two years to be able to tell the Polubinski triplets apart.

He sure is happy to have the three of a kind on his Oswego East team.

The Polubinski triplets – Zach, Mike and Josh, separated at birth by a minute, Zach being the oldest – have been inseparable on the baseball diamond and football field going back to kindergarten. They were staples to the Wolves’ varsity baseball team last spring.

Baseball is their future, a sport they may continue to play together at the same school in college. For now, though, all three are integral parts of the Oswego East football team that kicks off Friday against Waubonsie Valley.

“They’re the type of kids that if you had 22 of them, you’d probably win all your football games,” said LeBlanc, Oswego East’s football coach. “They are great kids in the classroom, great leadership skills. Between being multi-sport athletes they still find the time to be in the weight room every day. They’re workmanlike kids, nothing fancy. They come in, do what they’re supposed to do and get results.”

The Polubinskis first got started in football at six years old, when they were in kindergarten. Their dad was their first coach in Oswego Youth Tackle Football. Brother Jake, older by two years, was the center when Josh was the quarterback.

“Our dad would definitely hold us more accountable, teach us the right things,” Josh said. “It was good having him on the sidelines.”

“We’ve always done the same stuff, always together,” Mike added.

Looking back at all the years playing together as brothers, Zach said that “winning sticks out the most, to be honest.” He recalls their seventh-grade team when Josh was the quarterback, Mike was the running back and Zach played fullback.

“It was cool to be able to block for Mike,” Zach said. “We established at a young age, all playing different positions. We all couldn’t play quarterback so we adapted. I never had interest in being a quarterback. I was a lineman and a linebacker. I liked hitting people.”

With similar builds but diverse skill sets, the Polubinskis fit into different spots on the football field.

Josh continued on as a quarterback at Oswego East until last summer. When Tre Jones transferred back to his home district, Josh made the switch from quarterback to receiver his junior year.

“Josh, being as selfless as he was, making the move when we asked him to make the move, there was a little bit of a learning curve for him,” LeBlanc said. “He kept improving throughout the season and when he came back this year he was a bonafide receiver. From an athletic standpoint he could always do it, but he’s a bonafide No. 1 receiver now.”

He’ll be Oswego East’s X receiver, kick returner, placeholder for kicks and play some tight end this season.

“Honestly, since I played quarterback I know every route, it’s a lot easier to be a receiver to be honest,” Josh said. “I know what should be open and the reads the quarterback is going through so I can help them a little bit with the coverages. It’s been an easy transition.”

Mike will be a strong side safety in Oswego East’s three-safety set, and will also return punts. Anyone that has watched him play baseball would realize that safety is a natural fit. Last spring, Polubinski made one of the most spectacular diving catches of the season in center field.

“He’s a phenomenal center fielder and you see it on the football field,” LeBlanc said. “He became more physical last year, which allowed us to use him in a bunch of different ways.”

Zach, perhaps the most physical of the triplets, is a smart, instinctual player that had the opportunity to play a few different positions last year but will focus on weakside linebacker, or the “Wolf,” this fall.

“We’ve seen great growth in him,” LeBlanc said.

Having stars on a team with recruiting pedigree and high Division I futures is great, and LeBlanc has coached his share. But workmanlike, coachable kids with talent like the Polubinskis make for a positive, winning program culture.

“When you have guys like that that play the way they do, it’s three positions on the field that you don’t have to worry about,” LeBlanc said. “They’re going to do what they’re supposed to do, they’re going to take coaching and they’re going to do what’s best for the team and that’s not necessarily just what’s best for them as individuals.”

Mike said he doesn’t really think too much about playing with two brothers on the football field, where he considers every teammate a brother. But he recognizes a difference.

“We understand each other I’d say more than others because we do everything together,” Mike said. “At the same time if you see them do things better than you, you think I want to do it better, you take it personally. It’s good competition.”

With the potential of it being their last school year playing together, and certainly their last season on the football field, the Polubinskis to a man want to make the most of it.

“Honestly, just leave it all out there,” Zach said. “Don’t regret anything, because you’re going to miss it. Soak it all in, enjoy the moment.”