By David Boyce (This story was originally published in the Sept. 20 football gameday program)

Seniors Andrew and Blake Sherry are invisible to the majority of the fans who will cheer for Northwest Missouri State today against Central Missouri at Bearcat Stadium.

As athletic training managers, the twins from Maryville will be busy making sure everything is set up so head athletic trainer Kelly Quinlin is able to do her job more efficiently.

When a football player needs water, Blake and Andrew are there. They are two-thirds of the athletic training manager team that help with the set up and tear down of all the practices and games for Northwest athletic teams.

"They help us out every day," said junior defensive lineman Brandon Yost. "They are there for us every day. They make sure everything is working right. We are greatly appreciative of them and what they do for us."

The experience has been so wonderful that Blake has been doing it for four years. Andrew saw how much Blake enjoyed it during their first year in college that he became an athletic training manager a year later.

Sure, the job earns them a paycheck, but the show of appreciation and being part of the Bearcat athletic family means so much more.

"Some people think on sports teams there are a lot of people who are spoiled and don't really respect somebody like us. But our football team and other athletes who come in and see what we do definitely tell us thank you and appreciate what we do for them," Andrew said.

Their story fits perfectly for Family Weekend at Northwest.

A strong sense of family is one of the characteristics that embody the Bearcat football program and the Maryville community.

Andrew and Blake know this as well as anybody. Their dad passed away when they were in eighth grade. Losing your dad is tough regardless of your age. It is particularly difficult when it happens early in your teen-age years.

The summer after it happened, Blake said Joe Quinlin, the strength and conditioning coach at Northwest, was there to help. Blake knew Joe through church.

"Kelly and Joe pretty much took us in. Joe was like another father figure for us," Blake said. "That was a big thing. We are part of their family now. They took care of us. Obviously, we still had our mom and sister, but Joe did so much for us and so did Kelly.

"To leave here after we graduate is just crazy to think about. If we have a problem, all I need is one phone call and I can have somebody there to help me. It doesn't matter what it is. It is hard for me to explain because I never left this town."

Bearcat football is as ingrained in Blake and Andrew as much as any football player who has worn the green and white for Northwest.

They were ball boys for the Bearcats when they were in the seventh and eighth grade. They remember the Northwest version of the Ice Bowl, when the Bearcats took on playoff nemesis Grand Valley on a frigid, icy night on Dec. 8, 2007. Northwest won 34-16.

"We thought it was so cool we could be on ESPN," Blake said. "They were really good back then. We remember players like Kendall Wright talking to us before the game. Some of the players would introduce themselves and talk to you."

During their high school years, Andrew and Blake played basketball at Maryville High School. When it came time to decide on college, they considered Missouri, but always knew they were meant to be at Northwest.

And once on campus, Blake found his way to the athletic program.

"Kelly had an open position," Blake said. "She had two others and she wanted one more. She asked me. I was going to be able to work with athletes, go to all the games and be on the sidelines.

"I still loved being around sports and athletics. That is what I wanted to do. I came to Northwest undecided, thinking I wanted to be a math major and coach. Being around athletics, I could find out what I wanted to do."

It was only natural for Andrew to follow. Twins often think alike.

"Along with Blake comes Andrew, which is awesome," Kelly said. "They are very much their own people, but they are still very close. They are brothers and they are friends. It was even better to have Andrew join the group and be part of everything.

"I am just so proud of them. Everybody has a story. Their story has made them who they are today. We have had talks about that. I lost my dad when I was nine. That is a connection we have with each other. That connection of loss, and yet be able to get through that adversity and stay strong."

Andrew and Blake are on schedule to graduate in May. Blake is majoring in computer science and hopes to be able use that and go into sports technology. Andrew is majoring in geographic information systems.

They both realize their major will probably take them out of Maryville and to a bigger city.

Maryville, though, will always be home for them and the Northwest athletic department will always have special meaning for them. It has given them wonderful memories.

Last December they became the first athletic training managers to travel with the team to the NCAA Division II national championship game in Florence, Ala.
"We were there for four days with them," Blake said. "When we were down there, whatever we could do to help them we did it. If coach wanted us to run back to the hotel and grab something, that's what we did."

Go to any Northwest football practice and you will see Andrew and Blake hard at work, making sure the players, the coaches and Kelly have everything they need.

"These guys are tremendous," Kelly said. "The one thing I would say about them is their kindness and willingness to do whatever is asked of them. Their parents have instilled a work ethic in them. That is something in our area of athletics that is vital and really important. That they are hard workers and that they are all-around good people."

Northwest head football coach Adam Dorrel certainly notices the work of the Sherry brothers.

"They allow my staff and me to focus on our job and not have to worry about that," Dorrel said. "Most institutions our size don't have that luxury. They are quality kids and they are very hard working. They take a lot of pride in their work."

And Andrew and Blake are thankful for all the family and friends who have helped them arrive at the point they are at now.

In all actuality, several hundred people or more at Bearcat Stadium who will notice the work of Andrew and Blake on the sidelines.

"Every step of the way," Andrew said, "we have had people we could always talk to and be willing to help us.