St. Charles North's Mettetal twins savoring the end of their high school careers
Two minutes.
That is what separates the age of twin brothers Tyler and Zach Mettetal, born to parents Dave and Kerri in late December 18 years ago.
Tyler, the older of the two, and his "younger" brother, Zach, have been double trouble for opposing baseball and football teams during their illustrious high school careers at St. Charles North.
Zach, who quarterbacked the football team to back-to-back state playoff berths the past two seasons, is now in his fourth year as the North Stars' starting shortstop.
"Zach is the only kid in my tenure to start on varsity as a freshman," said North Stars baseball coach Todd Genke.
"It's a very difficult thing to do but I felt he had the mental and emotional ability to handle it. I thought about putting him at second (base) but the bottom line is he was the best kid we had (at shortstop)."
Zach took the news in stride.
"I was pretty excited and a little nervous because no one in the program had done it before," he said. "I didn't know what to expect."
Being a 15-year-old surrounded by 18-year-old teammates can be challenging.
"There's such a maturity difference for any freshman playing on varsity," said Dave Mettetal. "The other guys were driving and had jobs and girlfriends. Zach handled it all very well. He was fortunate to have guys like Tyler Madsen and Cory Wright walk him through."
While Zach spent his freshman year as the varsity shortstop, Tyler was a pitcher-first baseman-outfielder on the sophomore team.
"The tricky part was separating them," admitted Genke.
As sophomores, Tyler joined Zach on varsity and helped lead the North Stars to the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title and Class 4A regional championship.
Wright, a senior, and Tyler formed a dynamic 1-2 duo as left-handed pitchers for the North Stars while Zach continued to blossom at shortstop.
The North Stars advanced to the sectional finals before losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to Glenbard North in a game that Tyler pitched.
Last season was one filled with highs and lows for the Mettetal brothers.
While Zach excelled on defense and raised his game offensively, Tyler's season came to a sudden end during a late-April game at Geneva.
He walked off the mound after throwing a 2-1 pitch in the fifth inning and underwent Tommy John surgery (torn elbow ligament) two weeks later.
"I remember it like it was yesterday," said Tyler. "I knew it right away."
The injury had an enormous impact on Zach as well.
"It was brutal," said Zach. "It was a reality check. I tried to use it as extra motivation because I was playing for him."
"Zach was visibly upset," said his dad. "It was hard for both of them but you have to remember they've always batted 2-3, 3-4, 4-5 in the lineup and they've always been there for each other."
Genke moved Zach up to the 3 spot in the batting order - Tyler's slot - and the North Stars took off from there, capturing their first 4A sectional and supersectional titles on the way to a third-place state finish last June.
"We needed Zach to step up even more - and he did," said Genke. "He made some unbelievable plays defensively and was so good and so clutch offensively. He was basically carrying the burden for two people. It was remarkable to watch."
Watching wasn't so easy for Tyler.
"It was very tough," he admitted. "Watching us beat New Trier (in the supersectional), I was really happy and mad at the same time. It was bittersweet."
Tyler is back this season, batting behind Zach for the North Stars, who enter Tuesday's action with an 18-2 record.
"I'm getting back to normal," said Tyler. "Looking back on the injury, it changed my perspective because it can be taken away just like that. I enjoy the smaller parts of the game."
Admittedly, Tyler is the more outgoing twin while Zach is calm and reserved.
The "best friends" share plenty in common - especially their competitive nature.
"They'll stage competitions over just about anything - food, racing to the car, racing out of the car, video games, Ping-Pong," said Dave. "If there are two slices of pizza left, Tyler will measure them and take the bigger piece."
"They don't like to lose at anything," added Genke. "It gives them that edge. Once in a while, they'll get on each other about something. A lot of people don't see that part. But they'll look out for each other, too."
Next year, Tyler and Zach will play collegiately at South Carolina and Memphis, respectively.
While opposing coaches may rejoice in not facing them again, they'll be missed at St. Charles North.
"The whole experience has been so enjoyable for me personally," said Genke. "They're great young men who have helped set the standard for our program."
Craig Brueske can be reached at csb4k@hotmail.com