Though they are 11 years removed from their days as student-athletes at St. Helena High, their contributions on the field along with their character on and away from it still resonate.
To this day, I still cannot tell identical twins Luke and Eddie McMullen apart. My success rate is about 2-for-10. I might as well call them by their dad’s name, Craig. Their coaches (Ian MacMillan, football; Tom Hoppe, basketball; Joe Densberger, baseball) had similar challenges.
Though the community of St. Helena is rural by population (6,000), it has an urban vibe that most small communities do not have thanks to the growth of the wine industry within the past 50 or so years.
The McMullen brothers, however, had the second-to-none work ethic that would have fit the pre-technology era. The common narrative with today’s youngsters is that technology has made them lazier. Luke and Eddie McMullen skipped that class. Their work ethic was not limited to athletics, it carried into the classroom as well as their Future Farmers of America duties.
On the surface, their statistical impact is solid on some fronts and pedestrian on others:
Luke McMullen
2004-2005
Football
38 completions, 92 attempts, 7 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 756 yards
75 carries, 582 yards, 7 touchdowns
Basketball
2.6 points, 3.6 rebounds
Baseball
.208 batting average, 7 RBI, 0 errors, 1 passed ball
2005-2006
Football
54 completions, 113 attempts, 4 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 873 yards
85 carries, 632 yards, 6 touchdowns
34 tackles, 4 interceptions
Basketball
2.7 points, 4.4 rebounds
Baseball
.309 batting average, 9 RBI, .385 on-base percentage
Eddie McMullen
2004-2005
Football
6 receptions, 130 yards, 3 touchdowns
2 carries, 66 yards, 1 touchdown
45 total tackles, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery
Basketball
1.9 points, 3.5 rebounds
Baseball
.320 batting average, 7 RBI, 14 runs scored, .485 on base percentage, 7 stolen bases
2-2, 2.95 ERA, 4 starts
2005-2006
Football
149 carries, 1,253 yards, 15 touchdowns
115 total tackles, 1 interception, 3 fumble recoveries
Basketball
5.5 points, 5.7 rebounds
Baseball
.340 batting average, 14 RBI, 15 runs, .477 on base percentage, 14 stolen bases, 1 error
2-5, 3.45 ERA, 9 starts
I have covered high school student-athletes that were more talented and put up more gaudy statistics but if I were a high school coach starting a team, sure I want impact players that will get recruited. However, the McMullen brothers would be also be top priority. These guys were rocks in good times and bad. By no means were they talent deprived, make no mistake, they had talent but their MO (aka Modus Operandi) were their intangibles. These guys never cheated themselves, their teammates, their coaches or their family when it came to effort. Those qualities go a long way.
I arrived on the Upvalley beat in January 2004 when they were sophomores. I remember catching glimpses of them as JV student-athletes. It did not take me long to figure out how integral they would be in helping the Saints make history in both football and basketball in 2004-2005.
Suffice it to say, entering both seasons, Saints football and baseball were a hot mess. The 2003 football team was talented but disappointed with a 4-6 record that led to head coach Bryan Powell’s resignation in May 2004. St. Helena plucked Ian MacMillan from Justin-Siena after five years as the Braves head coach. The McMullen brothers were juniors on a senior-driven Saints team that went 9-2 with signature wins over Salesian and Middletown, 48-26 and 21-18 respectively.
The 2005 Saints baseball team entered the season seeking its first winning campaign since 1982. The 2004 version, also with Powell as head coach, was an industrial strength hot mess, going 2-18. Joe Densberger, who has coached basketball in some capacity at St. Helena High every year since 2002, stepped in as the baseball coach. The Saints went 10-8 to record their first winning season in 23 years.
The next season in football and baseball, the McMullens were seniors on a junior heavy team that experienced ups and downs, going 5-5 in football and 8-11 in baseball. I have no doubt that without them, St. Helena struggles mightily.
In basketball, neither had raw talent but they had enough instincts and desire to be a welcome sight for head coach/athletic director Tom Hoppe.
I would be remiss not to mention their volunteerism after their days as student-athletes. They are like their parents (Craig and Kay) in that regard. They have been involved as assistants for current head coach Brandon Farrell. Even if their work schedule gets in the way, they are involved as chain gang members for home games.
The McMullen family wrote the book on selflessness.
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