(KTLA) – Lamar Willis and Josiah Willis both play football for the Compton College Coyotes. Lamar is a wide receiver and Josiah is a defensive back. In scrimmages, the two might line up against each other on opposite sides of the ball.
The two have likely been going one-on-one their entire lives, or, at least Josiah’s life.
Because Lamar, you see, is Josiah’s father. He’s also a 45-year-old junior college athlete.
It’s actually the second time Lamar has suited up for Compton College. He was on the team in 2009 as a spry 30-year-old, but was sidelined due to injury and ultimately stepped away from the team and the school. In the years that followed, he took up coaching and community organizing and even ran for mayor of Compton in 2021.
But when Josiah enrolled and joined the Coyotes, Lamar was inspired to return to finish business in the classroom and on the field.
At the age of 45, Lamar appeared in two games for the Coyotes. He didn’t record any stats, but getting on the field more than 15 years after last lacing up the cleats is an accomplishment in itself.
Josiah, meanwhile, fared a bit better. He appeared in six games and recorded three tackles.
The Compton College football team has seen better days. Playing in the Southern California Football Association, they’ve lost 35 games in a row, including 0-10 on the season, and were forced to forfeit the final two games of the 2025 season. Their margin of defeat was 12 to 480 on the season.
But the college gave the father-son duo the opportunity to live out a childhood fantasy and raise the team’s profile in the process. Their story was covered in Bleacher Report, the Daily Mail and other sports-focused publications.
With Lamar listed as a sophomore and Josiah listed as a freshman, this might not be the last time we see this family unit on a Compton College football field, hopefully with results as inspiring as their story.
Josiah wrote in a post on his Instagram page: “It was dope playing a year with my OG … like father like son.”
If the Willis’ family story doesn’t move you, there’s another unlikely member of the Coyotes roster.
Orson Villalobos is a defensive end/linebacker who is pursuing a degree in kinesiology with an interest in coaching.
Villalobos hasn’t played college football in 30 years. Yep, he’s 50.
School officials said he joined the team because his son wanted to see him play.