And yet, the brothers said that if any collision were to take place, it would be a big one.

“We know we’re brothers,” Thomas said, “but we don’t play like it.”

Said Dad Dante, “If Thomas was blocking Dante, he’d block him as hard as possible, and if Dante was tackling Thomas, he’d tackle him as hard as possible.”

That is, after all, the Balestracci way and has been for years. Their competitiveness in backyard games as children was a big reason each became a three-sport star at New Bedford High School.

Of the three, Dante was the biggest, Mark the fastest and Thomas the ’tweener, bigger than Mark though not as fleet of foot. They were good at all their sports—Dante, a two-time USA Today Honorable Mention All-American in basketball, and Mark, a New England champ in track—but football was the house favorite.

Now, the Balestracci household claims three of four current Division I players to graduate from New Bedford High. The fourth, Lafayette tight end Tim Walsh, is Dante’s best friend.

“I asked Dante and Judy, ‘Do we have any other Balestraccis coming up?’” said New Bedford athletic director Michael Correia, who attended Saturday’s game with his son. “Unfortunately it doesn’t sound like there are.

“They’re the cream of the crop. They don’t get any better than that. These three kids raised the bar for our program. The Balestracci name is alive and well, even though they’re gone. There’s a certain legacy behind them, and kids try to emulate all three of them.”

The Humble Hero

The Balestraccis are truly an All-American bunch. They set up a tailgate south of the Stadium that is open after the game to Harvard players, friends, and seemingly anyone else who wants a Cape Cod Delite hot dog, made by family friend Jimmy Davidson.

Among the clan on Saturday was Dante’s cousin, Sarah Hehn, the former Boston College basketball star, and Dante’s girlfriend—his high school sweetheart, Kelley—who attends every game she can.

And everyone, not just the Section 33 rowdies, loves Dante. After he walked to the tailgate from Dillon Field House—one of the last ones out after the game, as usual—he was swarmed by family and friends, all congratulating him. About the only people who weren’t there were Mark and Thomas.

“They’ve come to a lot of my games, even back through high school,” Dante said, looking at the crowd. “The support is great. It’s great to come out here after the games, especially if we win.”

Stories about Dante flow easily, like about the time he hit a home run at Fenway Park—yes, over the Monster—in the 1998 Division I state championship game, or the 2000 game against Dartmouth in which he set a school record with two interception returns for touchdowns.

“His legend,” said Correia, “just keeps getting bigger.”