With a friendship built on three common interests– food, sports, and girls– seniors DaMarcus Wimbush, Cori Wade, Josh Wilson, and TeAun Carter have accomplished a nearly impossible task–they’ve been friends since middle school. Maturing through high school, you wouldn’t expect four teenage boys to be able to keep a bond strong enough to last several years, but they have.

Wilson and Carter met in elementary school, while Wimbush joined the group in sixth grade. Wade and Carter are cousins and have known each other forever, but Jones didn’t move to Danville until last year. “We’re brothers. We argue like brothers, but we’re family,” said Wimbush.

Although all four boys looked forward to being on the Trojan football team, they fought through several obstacles and injuries to be together on the field. “It all came together when we played George Washington because we actually had everybody’s back,” Wimbush said, remembering the first game they finally got to play together.

“When we all weren’t playing together football wasn’t fun,” commented Wilson. “We communicate better through sports.”

While their days on the football field together are over, their friendships are not. “Since we’re all going to be close, I just want you to know I’m going to tell my kids these are their uncles,” said Wimbush. “We’re more like brother’s than people think.”

Wilson and Wimbush plan on attending Bluefield College in the fall to play football together, while Carter is still undecided, but considering Bluefield as well. Wade has decided to enlist in the military, and intends to use the GI Bill to pay for Bluefield in a few years. By the time they finish their first two years of college, their goal is to end up at the same four-year university. However, Wilson doesn’t seem to be stressed, “I’m not going to lie and I think I speak for all of us when I say this… The plan is we’re not even worried about this college stuff. We’re gonna be rich and successful.”

“People always ask us how we get good grades even though we joke around a lot,” commented Wimbush, who’s been preparing for college for the past four years. “[Our haters] hate it, they do not like it. They see our report cards and we got honor roll.”

“We do have haters out there,” agreed Wilson, “but we’re gonna rise above them, we’re gonna wrestle them up like John Cena.”

Although the past couple of years have had some rough patches, all four boys will spend their summer celebrating together. Wilson and Wimbush also plan on preparing for their upcoming football season at college. “I’m going to miss my high school days. You know I had fun, playing on top up there on Friday nights,” commented Wimbush.

“I ain’t gonna lie, it’s gonna be bittersweet. I might say I hate these people but I’m gone miss everybody,” said Carter. Everything will fall together for the four boys in red cap and gowns, when Wimbush is the last to walk across the stage at graduation.