Tanner Tortorella is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Campo Verde High School for AZPreps365.com.

Brothers always have an interesting dynamic. Typically a person you would die for is also the same person you want to kill for annoying you 24/7 — a life of endless fights and endless bickering that flourishes to a close, cherished friend for life.

Before that type of relationship happens, though, full-on brawls will commence. Parents try to find an outlet for their children to bond or exert that aggressive behavior, not on each other. The most common solution is sports. Most of the time, one or both flare out from the sport, but sometimes that solution used as an excuse to not fight becomes a thing that bonds brothers forever.

That is the case for Campo Verde senior quarterback Reilly Garcia and junior wide receiver Alston Garcia. The Garcia brothers are both varsity starters, as Alston was given the opportunity midway through this season because of injuries. The duo once again teammates with each other, a connection that began at the age of ten.

"It started early," Reilly said. "We've been playing together since fourth [or] fifth grade."

Alston jumped in to clarify that Reilly started first and later joined him on the field to join his big brother. However, their relationship was not the same on and off the turf that it is now. The QB-to-WR connection started as a QB to offensive lineman connection.

"[Alston] was a lineman," Reilly chuckled. "Then he thinned out." 

The little brother protecting the big brother on the field is a role reversal of how it usually is off it. Alston did have hints about his future career at wide receiver as their coach would have him run at tight end, where he showed that being a lineman was a temporary choice.

While Alston was a protector of Reilly on the field early on, off the field, the feelings couldn't have been further from that. 

"Me and [Reilly] used to not be as close or just fight all the time," Alston said. "Then, once high school hit, I matured more, and we just grew closer as brothers."

Campo Verde preaches a family atmosphere, as they even have the word "family" painted on one of the endzones. So, entering that environment of uplifting your brothers on the field helps Alston do it off the field with Reilly. The willingness to become better and mature was to make varsity and be with his brother.

"A lot of it was maturing, but being on varsity with all of them is a whole different vibe from JV and freshman year," Alston said. "I didn't really have [Reilly] with me on freshman and JV, but now that we're on varsity, we have each other together every day."

The loneliness of being out on the field without your brother entering high school was a challenge for Alston, but also a motivator to catch his brother on varsity. Head coach Ryan Freeman makes it a point of emphasis for his players to know that they are a family.

"The responsibility falls on me as a coach to live that statement," Freeman said. "I always tell the kids that I'm never going to put them in jeopardy because as a family, you're not going to put someone in danger."

Freeman has made the tough choice of taking players' helmets away to look out for their safety off the field no matter their production on it. That type of leadership runs throughout the varsity team and echoes the maturity that Alston talked about that made him and his brother as close as they are.

While realizing their goal of making varsity, it was not the end of the grind for the Garcia brothers. Alston talked about how that typical brother bickering was not there because they have high standards for one another to be better. Reilly was quick to jump in.

"No, I'll be getting on him more than other people because he's my brother, and I can," Reilly said.

The big brother always has to make sure to keep the younger in his place. Whether it's grinding in the offseason or during the final season the two will ever play as teammates. The two highlighted how important this last year together is, with Reilly moving on to the collegiate level next year.

"I've just been looking forward to this time," Alston said. "I knew we would really only have one year together, and I've been just trying to make the most of it."

A relationship that started on elementary playgrounds now concludes on a high school varsity field. The only similarity between the two is Reilly and Alston's brotherhood. The two of them will eventually take off their football jerseys one last time.

But they know that the jersey doesn't bond them as brothers. They do.