Football: Brothers help Kinnick pull away from Yokota

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan – Ryo and Kou Nishiyama, a pair of Far East champion soccer players, are also finding the gridiron to be a comfort zone.

The Nile C. Kinnick sophomore twin defensive backs combined for 12 tackles and four interceptions, one of which Kou returned 46 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring, and the Red Devils pulled away in the second half Friday for a 42-8 win over Yokota.

“They’re really good players,” coach Dan Joley said of his defensive back tandem. “They’re leaders on the team. I love their work ethic. They keep their nose to the grindstone all the time on the field.”

It’s not as though the Nishiyamas are new to the helmeted and padded variety of football; they played a season ago for the Far East Division I champion Red Devils, both in football and in soccer; Ryo scored nine goals as a midfielder and Kou played defense for the Red Devils’ strikers.

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