Darrell Davis
Regina Leader-Post
In their second season playing junior football together with the junior Regina Thunder, twin brothers Carter and Jackson Ashman are starting to get noticed.
Not simply because they’re brothers — the PFC team’s roster has five sets of siblings, three of whom are twins. And certainly not because they’re loud or boastful.
“They have grown so much since last season,” said team manager Sheila Solvason. “We were wondering what was gonna happen because they were very timid when they first got here. They have really matured a lot on and off the field.”
While the 19-year-old brothers were being quizzed outside their locker room at Livingstone Field before a recent practice, members of the Thunder staff wisecracked about the “quietest interview” with the “fewest words ever.” Indeed, their low-key humility was evident as they spoke about working their way onto the roster, Carter as a running back and Jackson as a defensive back, as the reigning conference champions prepare for their final regular-season game.
“We have to play like it’s just another game, another game we have to get through,” said Jackson. “We can’t take them lightly and we can’t overhype them.”
Regina plays host to the Edmonton Wildcats on Sunday, 1 p.m., at Leibel Field. Because the 6-1 Thunder defeated the second-place, 5-2 Saskatoon Hilltops 24-21 in their previous game, a victory over 2-5 Edmonton clinches first place for Regina. A first-round playoff game is slated for Oct. 19 at Leibel Field, although the opponent won’t be known until after this weekend’s games.
“Our resilience helped (against Saskatoon),” said Jackson. “We were down 7-0 early and nobody hung their heads. We persevered.”
While vying for starting roles, Carter and Jackson have also been called upon to return punts and kickoffs. Carter has contributed 501 all-purpose yards while Jackson has 297 return yards, plus 12 tackles and two interceptions.
Before playing at Miller High School, where Carter was sidelined for his final season because of a broken leg that required several surgical repairs, the brothers played Regina Minor Football, basketball and team handball.
They were introduced to football by their father Chris Ashman, who played receiver for the junior Regina Rams and moved to U Sports when the team partnered with the University of Regina in 1999. Chris is the Thunder’s receivers coach. His sons are nearly identical, with similar demeanours and hairstyles, plus they’re each 5-foot-9. Carter weighs 175 pounds, 15 more than Jackson. Running backs usually weigh more than DBs.
“I tried bulking up,” said Carter. “I ate a lot more.”
“They still get us mixed up,” said Jackson. “Sometimes (teammates and coaches) will call us by the wrong name.”
It’s easier to identify them when they’re playing or practising, with Jackson wearing a No. 20 jersey while backpedalling on defence and Carter, adorned in No. 1, charging forward on offence. Jackson professes to be faster and insists he could win a boxing match against Carter, who claims he would win a wrestling contest.
They’re enrolled in different faculties at the U of R for their second-year classes — Carter in kinesiology and Jackson in business administration — so before heading into working careers they might eventually play college football. They see numerous similarities in their athletic styles, believing they could ultimately switch positions and, with coaching, look exactly like their brother.
While they support each other on the field, at home they watch video together and freely critique each other’s performances.
That likely happens also inside the homes of fellow Thunder twins Chase and Matthew MacAulay, both linebackers and 19-year-old sons of head coach Scott MacAulay, and 20-year-olds Kaiden and Kohl Thomson, a linebacker and defensive lineman respectively.
The other brother combinations are 22-year old Kenton Effa and 20-year-old Owen Effa, both linebackers, and 21-year-old Luka Tkatchuk and 19-year-old Marko Tkatchuk, both linemen.
