TURNER — Once a common experience in rural, working-class Maine, brothers starting together on the same varsity basketball team is decidedly rare in the tri-county region these days.

Isaiah and Eli Calder of Leavitt are one of only two such combinations this winter. Austin and Andrew Darling of neighboring Spruce Mountain are the other.

There have been a handful of other examples in recent years. The Barnies twins of Edward Little, Troy and Travis, come to mind, and Travis and Tyler Frost shared in a state championship at Dirigo. But with families having either fewer children or choosing to space them farther apart, it’s an exception rather than a rule.

The Calders, two years separated but identical in their self-awareness and their respect for the game and the community, have been wise enough to appreciate and seize the opportunity.

“It’s something my family has been looking forward to forever,” Isaiah, a senior, said. “They’ve always been talking about it, so we’re trying to live it up.”

“It’s a crazy experience,” Eli, a sophomore, echoed.

One that almost didn’t happen. Because sometimes when the age difference doesn’t get you, the injury bug takes its dastardly bite.

Isaiah was playing in a summer basketball game between his sophomore and junior years when his right knee buckled.

Full recovery required multiple surgeries and cost the older brother his entire junior season of sports. As fate would have it, Isaiah’s injury likely provided Eli’s opportunity. He moved into Leavitt’s lineup as a freshman.

“I started all year,” Eli said. “He’s a great player, no doubt about it. I just had to pick it up after he got injured, start making shots.”

“There were a lot of inexperienced players last year,” Isaiah added. “Just to be able to come out as a freshman and get a chance and prove you can do it at a young age is big.”

Most multi-sport athletes have a No. 1 sport, and basketball is that bottom line for Isaiah. The timing of his comeback, however, meant his knee had to stand up to the rigors of a 12-game football season before he could return to the court.

There were no problems. He made significant contributions as a slot receiver for the Hornets, who won their fifth regional football title in six years.

“It’s taken me until now to get all my (basketball) moves back,” Isaiah said Friday after Leavitt’s 63-55 win over Nokomis. “Some of the moves I did tonight I didn’t have in the first game.”

For a team on which Eli Calder was the only healthy returning starter coming into an abbreviated training camp, Leavitt has progressed nicely on the hardwood.

The Hornets won three of their first four games and are 7-7 with hopes of making a Class B West playoff push.

When they win, Isaiah Calder is usually a driving force. He poured in 23 against Nokomis, 21 and 22 in victories over Waterville, 15 in an early-season upset of Spruce Mountain, and a career-high 26 versus Mt. View.

“We didn’t even know who was going to be on the team until like one practice before the first game,” Isaiah said. “We’ve faced adversity both (football and basketball) seasons. As long as we go out there and be aggressive and play our game and just fight, I always tell the guys, intensity and confidence, that goes a long way in basketball.”

Eli scored 11 of his 13 points in a fourth-quarter comeback Friday.

Having his brother on the court as a night-in, night-out scorer has allowed the younger Calder to expand his own game, with rebound, assist and steal totals among the team leaders in addition to his double-digit production.

Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway sees the requisite highs and lows of what is a typical brother relationship in games and practices.

“It depends on the day. It really does,” Hathaway said. “Ike and Eli and Korey (Caito) and Gabe (Seeley), those four have played a lot of basketball together. They’ve played a lot of AAU together in the spring. They hang out together. I wouldn’t say it’s just the two of them. Those four really have a good connection.”

Sibling rivalry? Of course there’s a sibling rivalry.

When the things you’ve done together for entertainment your entire lives involve keeping score, it’s bound to happen.

“We’ve been playing one-on-one since we could walk,” Isaiah said. “We’re both aggressive. We’re both scorers. We kind of butted heads a little bit, but we’re coming together more now, which we should have done earlier.”

The Calders would love to add a tournament run to their family album.

Leavitt faces both a Heal Point deficit and a rugged schedule that could help make up the difference. With likely playoff teams Spruce Mountain, Maine Central Institute, Maranacook and Winslow lined up down the stretch, the Hornets likely have to win at least three out of four to make the cut.

“We’ve faced difficulty since day one,” Eli said. “Now it’s just time to come together as a team and start getting wins.”

Playoffs or not, Isaiah will never forget this one winter together that almost wasn’t.

“Even though there’s been adversity and hard times and tough practices,” he said, “I’m just glad to be able to come out here and play ball with my best friends and my brother.”

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