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GREENSBORO — "Yeah, football is a physical game," John Stadnik is saying from atop the Western Guilford bleachers, "but it's also about being smart. It's very hard, if you don't see something, to correct it. A little step makes a big diff..."

With that, he stops, his eyes fixed on the field. Everyone else in the stadium is following Hornets running back Aaron Jones, who is sprinting down the left sideline for yet another long run. Stadnik's gaze is locked back at the line of scrimmage, at the gaping hole through which Jones saw daylight. It was forged by Western's hulking left tackle and left guard, a pair of sophomores whom Stadnik, a former lineman for the NFL's San Diego Chargers, says are further along than he was at their age.

When the play is over, the two boys, Brock and Clayton, immediately turn like meerkats toward Stadnik, who gives two big thumbs up and applauds. You'd be glowing, too, if your twin sons could move people around like furniture.

"Sorry," Stadnik finally says. "I can't help the grin."

Stadnik is easy to pick out as a football man, a 6-foot-4 mountain with wide shoulders and a wider smile who played four years in the USFL and started at center for the Chargers in 1987. He had two daughters before Brock and Clayton arrived, and although he enjoyed watching Stepheni shine with the Grimsley swim team, Greensboro Swim Association and now Gardner-Webb's swim team, he was happy to have somebody to pass down his love of the gridiron. He can effortlessly point out every nuance of each son's stance, and he's constantly signaling advice to them during games.

"He has helped so much," Brock said. "I wouldn't be half as good today without him."

Brock was the first to get John's size during a pre-teen growth spurt, and he was already a 6-foot-4, 250-pounder when he entered Western last year. But it was his knack for physicality, for always knowing where to be, that convinced Western coach Chris Causey to tab him as the Hornets' starting left tackle, arguably the most important position in their spread offense. He never looked like a freshman.

"He's the best lineman I've had here," Causey said. "Best long snapper, too. He wants to drive his guy into the ground every time."

Clayton spent last season as a sparingly used 165-pound JV journeyman, and although he loved watching Brock play on Friday nights, he wondered when his day might come, too. Causey's running joke at the end of practice was, "Hey Brock, let Clay get to the fridge."

Put it this way: Grocery store employees know Debbie Stadnik by name now. This summer, Clayton grew four inches and 50 pounds, packing in five meals a day and forcing Brock to be more protective of the cupboards.

"I know it's a growth spurt," Brock would say, "but I need dinner."

"You cannot keep enough food in the house for those two," John said. "They are human vacuums."

Now, they're sucking opposing defenders into irrelevance, with Clayton, a bullish 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, providing the perfect complement to his brother. Western (2-3) is averaging 26.6 points per game, and much of that room has been cleared by the Stadniks, who high-five each other after every debilitating block. Jones said he thinks touchdown every time he runs their way.

"I trust him, he trusts me," Brock said of Clayton. "It's the best feeling ever knowing the guy next to you is going to do his job."

They're inseparable off the field, too, with John always willing to watch a game on TV or talk shop with them. Causey said Brock will likely be able to play "wherever he wants" in college, and at this rate, Clayton might not be far behind.

"Clayton is Brock's biggest fan, and Brock is Clayton's biggest fan," the coach said. "There's no rivalry there. They just pull for each other."

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com