It started more than four years ago.

Chantz Perkins had been living in Mineola for only a short time but was attending a local church camp between his seventh and eighth grade year. It’s hard being the new kid in town and he was hesitant to engage the other children that he would soon see every day in the classroom, the hallway and the football field. But Chantz’s life – and that of the Mineola football program – would change the moment Jeremiah Crawford stepped to the line and offered his friendship.

The two young men who began a lifelong friendship that day are now on the cusp of their senior year in high school. Together they have set school records on the field but their off-field chemistry has been the fuel for the rise of the Mineola football team.

Batman and Robin. Sonny and Cher. Crawford and Perkins?

Comparisons aside, the two young athletes have led an offensive explosion for the Yellowjackets that has resulted in back-to-back semifinal appearances and a title game spot two years ago.

The two combined for more than 5,500 yards of offense during the 2015 campaign – a ridiculous amount no matter the level of football. Crawford passed for 1,361 passing yards and 15 TDs while rushing for 2,517 yards and 34 TDs. Perkins added 2,001 rushing yards for 27 TDs and reeled in 193 yards and two touchdowns through the air – mostly on checkdowns and screen-passes.

“We can just read each other’s mind on the field,” Perkins said. “We’re brothers, we’re best friends and we trust one another.”

It’s a sight reminiscent of a 1940s jazz club in New York. Soft drinks and hamburgers replace cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, turf replaces the band stage and the duo on the field is like two musicians improvising and reacting to each other without ever speaking a word.

That is the level of experience Crawford and Perkins have developed during their time together on the football field. It’s a read and react relationship. It has produced great moments intertwined with valleys and peaks that keep the spectators on the edge of their seats but can swing at consistency to allow the crowd a moment of relief.

It’s dangerous but also beautiful at the same time.

“They’re playmakers,” said Mineola Head Coach Joe Drennon. “There are times when you’re not sure what is going to happen on a bad play but somehow those two guys create something that is spectacular.”

This kind of intimacy on the field is not a labor of love forged through extensive workouts and sweltering heat but a revelation of how a friendship builds each individual producing a sum greater than their parts.

Trust. Brotherhood. Family.

“You won’t find two guys who love each other more than we do,” said Perkins. “If you’re looking for one of us you can always call the other and he’ll know where to find him.”

And for at least one more season, everyone will know where to find them Friday.

According to Perkins, expectations for this upcoming season are high but also tempered. The Yellowjackets are keenly aware of what this season can bring but are focused only on playing hard every game of every week and leaving it all on the field.

“No other team in Texas or the country is hungrier than we are,” Perkins said. “We’re tired of being close and are ready to make a statement.”