Brothers-in-law set to square off in Lowell | News

LOWELL, Mich. (WZZM) - It's no secret that the deeper high school football teams get into November, the tougher the opponents get.

What about if your opponent, in the biggest game of your season, also happens to be a close family member?

That's what one West Michigan coach will face Saturday afternoon.

Post-season play is nothing new for Noel Dean and his Lowell football program. The Red Arrows have been to the last two state championship games and have won three state championships in the last seven years.

Fenton's football program had never won a playoff game in school history until last year. Now the Tigers own back-to-back district titles.

This Saturday, the two programs will meet in a District 2 regional title game.

The most interesting part of the story may be what unfolds along the sidelines rather than on the field.

"There's a lot of interesting twists and side notes to this game," said Noel Dean, head football coach at Lowell.

"I think this is something both of us thought would happen at some point," added Jeff Setzke, who is in his sixth season as Fenton's head coach.

This game will be more than the Red Arrows against the Tigers.

"My wife is Jeff's little sister," said Dean with a smile on his face. "I was the best man in Jeff's wedding,"

It will pit brothers-in-law against each other.

Sixteen years ago Noel Dean and Jeff Setzke started coaching together on the staff at Bendle High School.

"He was the head coach and he was the one that got me into the game," said Setzke. "That happened just about the same time he proposed to my sister."

Noel Dean and Jeff Setzke coached together for five years at Bendle. Their coaching careers went in different directions after that, but when Setzke landed the Fenton job six years ago, the two brothers-in-law knew they'd eventually face off.

"They [Fenton] were a game away from playing us last year," Dean remembers.

What about Setzke's sister, Jill, who is Noel Dean's wife. Where will her loyalties lie on Saturday?

"I've been teasing her for a couple of years now saying that blood's thicker than marriage," joked Jeff Setzke. "I told her that I expect her to be on our sidelines wearing orange and black, but she chuckled at me and said, 'that's not happening.'"

Noel Dean has a more serious outlook as this emotional game approaches.

"I'm not in this to beat my brother-in-law," said Dean. "That isn't the bottom line for me. I don't feel good about that piece and I don't feel good about losing to anybody, and I know he feels the same way."

So how will Saturday's battle of the brothers-in-law change the Dean-Setzke family dynamic?

"I'm sure by February we'll talk," Setzke said jokingly.

"We care about each other very much," added Dean. "We love each other very much."

The two coaches won't be the only family connection Saturday. The ball boys for each team are cousins.

Lowell and Fenton will put their "family affair" on display at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lowell's Red Arrow Stadium.