Stu Whitney

swhitney@argusleader.com

Saturday's football game between Iowa State and Oklahoma ended as a lopsided 59-14 victory for the visiting Sooners, but the Farniok family was covered either way.

Tom Farniok is a senior center for Iowa State, while brother Derek is a junior offensive tackle at Oklahoma. The Washington High School alums were playing on the same field for the final time after years of competition stretching back to youth football at Riverdale Park in Sioux Falls.

The experience at Jack Trice Stadium was an emotional one for Christine Jones, mother to four football-playing Farnioks (two are still at Washington). She traveled with her husband, Rich Jones, and her two younger sons to Ames, sporting a "half-and-half" jersey with both Sooner and Cyclone colors.

The boys' father, Brad Farniok, also made the trip – as did dozens of friends and former Washington assistant Ryan Folsom – to see what some local media outlets referred to as the "Farniok Bowl."

"It almost takes away from the game when they play each other because there's no one to root against," said Christine, who remarried in 2004. "We just cheer for the offense, and this one was pretty special."

In many ways, it was more of a nod to the future than the end of an era. There is a good possibility that Tom (6-foot-4, 301 pounds) and Derek (6-9, 335) will be joined by 17-year-old Matt (6-5, 312) and 14-year-old Will (6-1, 228) in the major Division I ranks, giving the family four boys playing at the highest level of college football.

Coming from South Dakota, not known as a recruiting hotbed, that's a striking achievement.

Tom didn't want to get too sentimental, especially coming off a loss that dropped the Cyclones to 2-6. But the oldest of the Farniok boys knows something special when he sees it.

"When you think about all of us playing big-time football from an area where that doesn't happen very often, it puts a smile on your face," he said. "It's something not many people can say."

Setting the stage

Brad Farniok, a former left tackle at St. Cloud State in the mid-1980s, moved his family to Sioux Falls from Minneapolis in 1992, when his oldest son was just a baby.

Tom would be followed by three younger brothers, and his physical nature and love for athletics laid the foundation for a formidable football family.

"All of them walked at 10 months, and they were so physical," says Christine, whose brother, Bob Reeves, was a baseball and football standout at South Dakota State. "They wanted to be outside, running, throwing balls, and you just knew they were going to be big boys. They were at the top of the growth chart and just kept on going."

Though Tom is the oldest, he might end up being the smallest. Derek and Matt are mammoth offensive tackles, while Tom and Will fit the mold of more sleek interior linemen.

After engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the hulking Derek a few times, Tom knew he would have to use smarts and technique to set himself apart.

"I had to get every edge and try to be perfect," says Tom, named all-Big 12 honorable mention as a junior last season. "I realized I wasn't going to be a 6-8, 320-pound road grader, so I had to use a lot of movement and do some things really well. I couldn't afford to have bad technique."

That approach helped him become a dynamic center at Washington, where he helped spark a Sioux Falls dynasty by leading the Warriors to three consecutive championship games and two titles, including a perfect season his senior year. That 2009 team rushed for more than 3,000 yards with Tom and Derek leading the charge, but the older brother was clearly in charge.

"Tom is such a natural leader," says Brad Farniok. "If you watch the other boys, they'll follow him anywhere he goes."

Then-Washington coach Brian Hermanson called Tom "the best offensive lineman I've been around," so no one was surprised when the oldest brother accepted a major D-I offer from Iowa State and became a starter as a redshirt freshman.

Just as he did in high school, Farniok has assumed leadership of the Cyclones offense, so much so that the team seemed lost when their center went down with knee injuries the past two seasons.

"It was a helpless feeling," says Farniok of the MCL strain that kept him out for most of a 34-14 home loss to North Dakota State in the season opener. "Just horribly frustrating. You're standing on the sideline wanting to help, and you can't do it."

Saturday was bittersweet for the oldest brother, who sees his time in college football coming to an end. But he also sees a bright future and wants to use his trademark tenacity to find a place in the pro game.

"He's ready to see what's out there next," says Christine. "This is what he's been striving for since he first put a football uniform on, to take it to the next level. It's hard to believe that time has arrived."

Emergence of 'Big D'

There's a photo of Tom and Derek Farniok taken at Riverdale Park in 2001, when the brothers were playing on the same South Dakota Junior Football team.

Standing in front of some bushes, the boys strike a football pose – hands on knees in their blue jerseys, white pants and black cleats.

Derek, who weighed 12 pounds at birth, is already larger than Tom in the photo and has a red stripe on his helmet to signal he's a "ringer," too heavy under association rules to carry the football. Such was the almost frightening emergence of the one they called "Big D."

"Derek was a different kind of big," says Brad, who recalls coaches and referees begging his son not to hurt anyone. For Tom, it took a mental adjustment to be constantly looking up at his younger brother.

"The last time I was taller than Derek was when I was 5 or 6 years old," says Tom. "The biggest part of his development was just growing into his body. A lot of people weren't used to seeing someone as big as him, and they saw him as uncoordinated. Once he got stronger and grew into his body, he became a monster."

As a 15-year-old sophomore in 2008, Derek made the Washington varsity as a backup left tackle, seeing extensive action as part of the "gorilla" package. As a junior and senior, he was a mainstay on the front line as the Warriors went 26-0 and captured a pair of state championships.

More quiet than Tom, people sometimes made the mistake of seeing the docile Derek as a "gentle giant," until he got that look in his eye and ran them over. If you got between the Farniok boys, trouble often ensued.

"We all had our strengths and weaknesses, but we were not afraid of going against anyone," says Derek. "If you come up against us, we'll fight you until the end."

His mother puts it a different way: "Derek has a switch where once it's flipped, it's all over."

He committed to Oklahoma the summer before his senior year after also receiving offers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Louisville and UCLA.

"There are no defensive linemen in South Dakota with the kind of speed that he's going to see playing at Oklahoma," said Tom at the time, and his words were prophetic.

Meaningful minutes have been minimal for Derek, mainly because he's playing behind standout senior tackles Tyrus Thompson and Daryl Williams. But he responded well in his first career start at Oklahoma State last season (when Thompson got hurt), a game the Sooners needed to win to reach the Sugar Bowl, where they knocked off Alabama.

"I'm ready to go if I'm needed," says Derek, who played most of the second half in Saturday's game. "Everyone has a part to play on the team, and you never know when your number is going to get called."

Best of the family?

Christine Jones thought she was done having children after Tom and Derek, but Matt arrived in 1997 as a "sweet surprise." An exceptionally large surprise, in keeping with family tradition.

The Farnioks quickly realized that Matt's body type resembled that of Derek more than Tom, which meant he would be a junior football "ringer," he would play offensive tackle and he would turn the heads of college coaches.

His two older brothers, however, made sure that no sense of entitlement set in. The family formula had always been based on long days in the weight room and a true devotion to the game.

"Tom and Derek told me, 'If you just rely on your size, you're not going to go very far,'" says Matt. "They told me to focus on footwork and technique and try to get better every day."

Of course, size doesn't hurt. Matt was already 6-2, 230 when he reached seventh grade and went on to start at left tackle for Washington's varsity as a sophomore. Though the Warriors have struggled in the post-Hermanson era, Farniok is coming off a solid junior season with BCS-level scouts watching his every move.

"He's a freak of nature," says Tom. "He walks into our locker room (at Iowa State) and he looks like he belongs there. He's by far the best out of all of us. Genetically, we got it pretty good, but he absolutely hit the jackpot."

Matt has scholarship offers from Iowa State, Washington State, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Vanderbilt, with more expected by spring. Last summer, he was named overall MVP of a national scouting showcase in Indianapolis after posting a 26-inch vertical leap and benching 27 repetitions of 155 pounds.

The offer from Nebraska is something that never arrived for Tom or Derek, and the Huskers want him badly.

"He's arguably as coveted of a prospect as any on Nebraska's 2016 board," says recruiting analyst Sean Callahan of HuskerOnline.com. "Nebraska has already been up to South Dakota four times to see him, including hopping a private jet to Rapid City (on Oct. 10) to watch his game. It's very rare for a school to make that many trips this early for a player his age, but that's how much they like him. He's the total package."

Despite all the attention, Matt still leans on his brothers for advice, talking to Tom or Derek before every game. When they are able to watch livestreams of Washington games, they're quick to assess Matt's performance and offer support.

"There was always a competitiveness about them, but it was never, 'I'm better than you,' " says Christine. "They didn't want to try to trump each other. It was more important that they always had a brother by their side."

The final Farniok

After Matt was born, Christine figured he needed a playmate and gave birth to her fourth son, now a freshman at Washington. They call Will the "final Farniok," which comes with a heavy burden.

He is built more like Tom and projects as an interior lineman, though Tom insists that the youngest brother is much bigger and stronger than he was entering high school.

Will also shares the same outgoing personality as his oldest brother, while Derek and Matt are more reserved. He avoided "ringer" status in junior football and got to carry the ball, becoming the only Farniok to ever score a touchdown.

Will played right tackle on Washington's sophomore team this season and was a guard on the junior varsity. As the fourth and final Farniok trying to add to the Division I legacy, he knows the spotlight will be bright.

"There are always high expectations," says Will. "I have to work my hardest, because if (my brothers) catch me slacking, I'm going to get yelled at. I have to make sure I do the right things."

His dream is to carry on the legacy, and he's enjoyed the ride so far. He'll never forget traveling to New Orleans to watch Derek and the Sooners beat Alabama at the Superdome last season, smiling as Crimson Tide fans headed for the exits when things went south.

The family purchased an RV this year to travel around, often leaving right after Washington games to head to Ames or Norman or wherever Tom and Derek suited up. As for Saturday's Farniok Bowl, Will called it "one of the rare times we all get to be together," and that means a lot.

As they posed for pictures on the field after the game, Christine hugged her boys tight and smiled for the camera, firm in the knowledge that the Farniok football legacy was looming just as large as ever.

Argus Leader Media sports editor

Stu Whitney can be reached at swhitney@argusleader.com.

Follow him on Twitter @stuwhitney

MEET THE FARNIOKS

Tom (age 23; 6-foot-4, 301): Senior center at Iowa State is four-year starter for Cyclones and was named All-Big 12 honorable

mention in 2013. Seen as possible NFL prospect.

Derek (age 21; 6-foot-9, 335): Junior tackle at Oklahoma has appeared in every game this season and started one game as a sophomore against Oklahoma State. Was part of Sooners' Sugar Bowl win last season over Alabama.

Matt (age 17; 6-foot-5, 312): Junior tackle at Washington High could be the most heavily recruited of all the Farniok brothers. Among the highest-ranked high school prospects

on Nebraska's recruiting board for class of 2016.

Will (age 14; 6-foot-1, 228): Freshman guard/tackle at Washington has bulked up recently and played on

sophomore and JV squads. Hopes to continue family's Division I football legacy.

– Stu Whitney