By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The two brothers figured their last football game together would be the 2011 Division 3 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium.
Carlton Williamson was a senior and Cameron Williamson was a sophomore on an Oliver Ames High team that lost to Concord-Carlisle, 42-9, four years ago next month.
Carlton would be heading to Springfield College the next fall and Cameron would have two years still to go in his high school career.
But when the 2014 Bridgewater State University season began, there were the Williamson brothers of Easton reunited on the football field – Carlton as a running back and Cameron as a safety.
Carlton, who is 21, spent one year at Springfield before transferring to BSU.
His younger brother, who is 19, decided to follow him.
Now a senior, Carlton is the Bears' second-leading rusher this season with 761 yards on 143 carries and four touchdowns.
Cameron, a sophomore, has started the past six games and is eighth on the team with 34 tackles, including eight for a loss. He has two interceptions, two pass breakups and a forced fumble.
The duo, in their second season as Bears teammates, will be together again one final time Sunday afternoon when BSU plays Carnegie Mellon in the ECAC Legacy Bowl in New Britain, Conn.
"We always played football together, but this is such a blessing,'' said Carlton Williamson. "He's a big supporter of mine and I'm a big supporter of him. It really boosts my confidence and gives me assurance that we can succeed when we're together.''
Said Cameron Williamson: "It's been amazing. Any time I take the field on defense and they're coming off a really nice play he made on offense leading to a scoring drive, it gives me energy to go out and make a good play to get him the ball back.
"He has been a mentor to me, as always. He lets me know the tricks and keeps me focused in the game or practice, keeps me on track.''
Carlton was on the roster at Springfield as a freshman in 2012 but did not play.
He was used on three kickoff returns as a sophomore at BSU in 2013 and gained 59 yards on ten carries last season.
Cameron was on the BSU team last season but did not play.
After appearing in the first four games this season, he earned a starting spot for the fifth game.
"It's definitely a blessing,'' said Carlton. "It's always been a goal of mine to contribute to this team. I really love football and love this team. I worked really hard over the summer, my brother and I waking up early. Hard work really does pay off. ''
Said Cameron: "Every morning, we'd get up early, go to the field and run and come back home and lift weights. It's paid off for us.''
The Williamson brothers were also teammates on the BSU track and field team last winter and spring. Carlton excels at the 400-meter race and competes in the 200, while Cameron showed much promise in the triple jump, 200 and 4x100 relay.
Football is their first love, however, and the Williamsons have been key contributors for a Bears team that has won five of its past six games.
"They are so similar in a lot of ways, yet so different in others,'' said coach Chuck Denune.
"They are both just great young men. Their parents (Carlton and Karen) ought to write a book on how to raise children because they did a great job.''
Four years after playing for OA in the Super Bowl, the two Williamsons get to take the field as teammates in another postseason game, this time in college.
"I was thinking it was probably going to be the last time we'd both step on the field together,'' said Cameron, thinking back to 2011. "I wasn't sure if I was definitely coming here. I was looking at other schools. When we came here, it was like, 'Wow, we're playing together again.'''
Said Carlton: "He was a sophomore on special teams when we were at Oliver Ames. Now I'm playing on the offense, he's cheering me on. He's playing on the defense and I'm his biggest fan on the sideline cheering him on, supporting him.
"It's really been great playing with him. My father used to tell me, 'Your brothers are your best friends.'''