Twin brothers Anthony and Joey Ninni, under watchful eye of their father, carve out starting roles for Geneva
It’s probably safe to say that seniors Anthony and Joey Ninni bleed blue for Geneva.
The twin brothers, who were named all-conference at nose guard and center, respectively, probably couldn’t help it. They have a longstanding connection to the football program.
“We started being ball boys around third grade and did it all the way up to eighth grade,” Joey Ninni said. “It was always fun being around all the guys I wanted to be like in the future.
“We definitely have been repping Geneva forever, basically.”
They were in grade school when their, dad, Joe, ended a stint of 11 years coaching and leading the Tri-Cities Chargers youth program that serves Geneva to take an assistant’s job on the staff of head coach Rob Wicinski at Geneva, where his oldest son Michael was playing.
It’s a role Joe Ninni, who owns Old Town Pizza Co. in Naperville, has continued under current Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen.
“They were like the comedy show at halftime,” Joe recalled of the twins. “They would play full tackle football against each other and literally would have the fans cheering. It was hilarious.”
The fans still cheer for Ninni brothers, who did their jobs Saturday for the host Vikings in a 49-30 win over Carmel in a Class 6A first-round game at Burgess Field.
Anthony and Joey were at their regular posts, although Joey added a twist for the third week in a row by also starting at defensive end and seeing action alongside his brother once again.
“My freshman and sophomore year, I started at center and Joey played left guard alongside me,” said Anthony Ninni, who has 18 solo tackles and 33 assists for 51 total tackles this season.
Anthony moved to nose guard last fall, finishing with 32 tackles, while Joey moved from guard to center.
“They have much the same versatility in what they do,” Thorgesen said. “It’s funny how things work out. Last year, nose guard was something we were looking to find after our starter graduated. Anthony fits the mold pretty well as a scrappy, low to the ground, eat-up some blocks type of guy.
“Even though he’s not the biggest, it shows that size doesn’t matter as much. It’s pad level, it’s get off and it’s physicality — the types of things Anthony does have.”
Anthony is the smaller of the two brothers at 5-foot-8 and 210 pounds. Joey checks in at 5-10 and 245.
“It’s really special,” Anthony said of Joey’s increase in playing time on defense. “It’s cool that I can get to play with him, especially next to him again. The chemistry is there.
“It’s fun because we’ve been playing together since we were really young.”
It is funny how things work out.
Older brother Michael, a linebacker and safety for Geneva, played two years in college at Augustana and finished his teaching degree. He coached on Thorgesen’s staff for the team that made it to the state championship game in 2024 when the twins were sophomores.
He has since taken a teaching job at DuKane Conference rival Wheaton Warrenville South and started coaching there.
“Obviously, there were a lot of bragging rights for that one,” Joey said.
Similar to this past summer, when the sibling rivals often went head to head in practice.
“There were some clashes and a little extracurricular stuff,” Joey said. “It’s always fun going against him because he’s really good.”
Even if he is undersized for the position.
“It might sound crazy, but the thing that helps me the most is my size,” Anthony said. “I’ve got like natural leverage on people and I’m physical.”
Geneva defensive coordinator Tim Wolf appreciates that effort for the Vikings, who will play host at 6:30 p.m. Friday to conference rival Wheaton North (7-3), which lost 42-14 to Geneva during the regular season.
“Nobody can get underneath Anthony,” Wolff said. “We preach that there’s not glory in the position. It takes a special person to play it.”