Northern Star: Caden and Jaxon Edwards

For this week's segment, we feature two Duluth East football players who have been building a strong connection on and off the field since birth.

DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth East senior quarterback Caden Edwards has become the leader the Greyhounds need.

“Caden’s an extremely gifted athlete and at quarterback he has all the tools, he’s big, he’s got a big arm,” Duluth East head coach Joe Hietala said.

Through the first three weeks of the season, Edwards has completed 19 passes for 291 yards and seven touchdowns. One of his main target is wide receiver Jaxon Edwards, also his twin brother.

“Just playing with each other since we started playing football together eight years ago, so we know where we’re going to be,” Caden said.

“We started flag football when were in first grade, second grade and then before that we had a little toy, foam football that we’d toss on the couch and act like we just scored the game–winning touchdown,” Jaxon added.

Since then, they’ve grown as players and realized that they could have a future playing together.

“During freshmen year, that came to the realization that we could be doing that and just saying “”next year that could be us,'” Jaxon said.

“Sophomore year he had a lot of playing time on the offense for varsity, and then after that, junior year, we were both starter,” Caden added.

Now in their senior season, the two have perfected their chemistry.

“If I want him to know what I’m doing, I give him a look or something and he’ll give me a look. Our teammates are like brothers now, we’re like a big family, but I’d say me and Caden are pretty close,” Jaxon said.

“You can tell that they’ve thrown thousands of footballs in the backyard to each other. It’s a great weapon to have two people that are as familiar with each other as those two are,” Hietala added.

And it’s showing on the field, as Caden has thrown four touchdown passes to Jaxon, including two this season, as “Edwards to Edwards touchdown” blares through Ordean Stadium.

“It’s cool. I know my mom’s up there screaming. She always says to Caden ‘throw him the ball so I can hear another one of those'”, Jaxon said.

While they’re finding success together on the field, the Edwards twins know how to push each other and work to make each other better.

“We  know what we can do so both of us pushing each other to be the best. If I drop a ball or something in practice, he yells at me to catch the ball. If he throws a pick, I get on him about it. It’s kind of a big rivalry but it’s fun,” Jaxon said.

With their senior season halfway over, the Edwards twins have led the Greyhounds to a 3–1 record.

And while they’re enjoying their time playing together, they’re focused on the perfect ending: getting to the state tournament.

“It would be very special. It’s something we’ve worked for and this team has worked for for a long time. The results haven’t shown that but we’re ready for that to happen,” Caden said.

“Every week, it’s like oh we’ve got four more weeks. It’s getting to the point where it’s coming to an end but I’m going to enjoy it,” Jaxon added.