Eric Lokey has spent the last eight years coaching his sons at the high school level.

Ryan’s linebacker coach was head coach at Princeton when his son Derek burst onto the scene as a freshman and now he’s watching his twins – Taylor and Tyler – enjoy successful senior years with the Raiders.

But after eight years and with Derek now with the Texas Longhorns, all that will change when Ryan’s season is over and the twins graduate, leaving Eric and wife Debi with an empty household and no boys to cheer for on Friday nights.

“It’s going to be different around the Lokey house,” Eric said. “I’ve thought about it a lot this year. I’ve just tried to enjoy every week. You go to a Friday night game and one of your sons is having a great game at receiver and the other one is having a great game at linebacker.

“You get up the next morning and go to a UT football game and your son is dominating at UT, it really makes you proud. Some Sundays I just sit back and think ‘Wow, I just went through a weekend of not only Austin football, but being able to coach and be a dad at the same time.’”

The Lokeys are hoping a long playoff run will extend their time together on the field as the Raiders head into their regular season finale at 7:30 p.m. tonight against Denton at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex.

Taylor and Tyler’s graduation will end a long line of Lokeys who excelled in high school football.

Eric, who played at McKinney, went on to play linebacker at Stephen F. Austin as did his younger brother, Kelly. Eric’s older brother, Jason, won a state title with McKinney. Eric’s dad, Caroll, played with Don Meredith at SMU before finishing his career at East Texas State.

Even Debi has gotten in the mix, never missing a game in any of her three sons’ careers -- but even she has her limits. While Eric credits Debi for giving the boys the drive and ambition for athletics, she drew the line at giving the twins football related names.

“When they were born, I wanted to name them Samuel and William, and mom wouldn’t let me because I was going to have a ‘Sam’ linebacker and a ‘Will’ linebacker,” Eric said. “She’s the one that’s whipped them into shape from Day One. She’s as good a football mom as you could be. She was a pretty good soccer player in high school. That’s where they get their speed from and feet from.”

While growing up in a football family has its perks, it also has its drawbacks. Being a coach’s kid can add undue pressure to live up expectations. Ryan head coach Joey Florence knows what that’s like, having been the quarterback for his dad’s high school team.

“It’s difficult thing to be coached by your dad,” Florence said. “The expectations are very high. You’re with each other all the time. You don’t just leave it in the field house. You take it home with you. It’s a challenging thing to be a coach’s kid. There are higher standards of you.”

Taylor and Tyler not only have to deal with that, but also follow in Derek’s shadow. Derek helped lead Ryan to a state title and is likely to be taken in April’s NFL draft. He won a BCS title with Texas two years ago, giving the twins a lot to live up to.

“It’s a little hard being in his shadow,” Tyler said. “It’s a little bit more pressure. It’s not too bad. You’re definitely expected to do more and know more than everybody else. If we were worse than we are and we got special treatment, that would be different.”

“When we first got here, his [Derek’s] younger classmates were our older classmates,” Taylor said. At first I did. You kind of want to impress everyone and show that coach Lokey has some star athletes. As we grew up the pressure kind of simmered down a little bit. It’s tough trying to make your own name -- at the same time people expect you to be good.”

While expectations were high, both Taylor and Tyler have lived up to them. Taylor is one of Ryan’s primary offensive threats, leading the team in receptions with 49 while adding 692 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s orally committed to play receiver at SFA, where his dad and uncle played.

Tyler overcame an early arm injury to turn into one of Ryan’s most ferocious linebackers. Having played receiver last year, Tyler was a quick study at the position and is also a Division I quality deep snapper. Tyler hasn’t decided where he wants to go to college yet, but schools are looking at him at linebacker and bigger schools are looking at him as a deep snapper.

The twins credit their dad for their football savvy.

“He coaches us in life just like he coaches us on the football field,” Taylor said. “It’s pretty much the same tone throughout everything.”

And while the Lokeys’ chapter in high school football is nearing an end, another chapter is beginning. The twins will move on to play college ball and Derek is a potential middle-round draft pick.

“The journey is going to change a little bit from being their high school coach to possibly being a dad who’s got two in college and one in the NFL,” Eric said. “That’s going to be a new chapter in our life.”

As for Eric, he still has goals as a head coach after a brief stint at Princeton. He said he’s leaving his options open for the future, and Florence believes he has a bright one.

“He’s talented,” Florence said of Eric. “He can coach anything. Eric has been doing this long enough. He knows enough football. He’s great with the kids. He’s such an intense competitor. It doesn’t matter. Wherever we are, whatever game it is, Eric brings the same intensity to the sideline.”

JEFF ANDREWS can be reached at 940-566-6873. His e-mail address is jandrews@dentonrc.com.