Sean and Aaron Borgerding not only play for opposing teams, but on opposite sides of the ball, for UW-Stout and UW-River Falls. Photos by Noah Albricht for UW-Stout, Sam Silver for UW-River Falls

By Brian Lester
D3sports.com

Sean and Aaron Borgerding grew up in Wisconsin as competitive as two brothers can be.

Football. Basketball. Baseball. A game of cards. It didn’t matter. Let’s just say winning mattered more than words can describe.

“We never wanted to lose to each other,” said Sean, UW-Stout’s starting senior quarterback. “Even in simple things like playing cards. It drove us. We formed a bond and it  was fun having someone to constantly compete with and push you.”

Aaron, a starting sophomore safety at UW-River Falls, agrees.

“It was just the two of us growing up,” Aaron said. “We played one on one in pretty much any sport you can think of. It really helped give me a competitive edge. He pushed me to my limits every time we played against each other.”

The two will play against each other one final time this Saturday when Stout travels to River Falls for what should be an intense and competitive season finale.

And while the sibling rivalry will be taken to another level, there is also one more interesting twist to this game. Sean’s uncle, Mark Thomas, who spent 31 years as the head women’s basketball coach at Stout, now coaches the outside linebackers at the school.

This the second time he’ll be a part of a Stout-River Falls rivalry that involves his nephews on opposite sidelines. And also the final time. He’s enjoyed the chance to see them compete, both in high school and college, and spoke to what makes the two athletes special.

“What I’m most proud of about each of them isn’t their talent they bring to the field, but rather the great leaders, teammates, competitors, coachability and sportsmanship they give their respective teams every day,” Thomas said. “They are both gifted, hard-working and dedicated athletes. No doubt about it. I love watching them play and I’m proud of both of them for doing it the right way.”

Sean is in his final year as the quarterback of the Blue Devils. He’s been a four-year starter and has been one of the best signal callers in the WIAC throughout his career, throwing for 2,000-plus yards each season and accumulating nearly 10,000 yards overall (9,534). He’s also thrown 84 career touchdown passes.

He came into college hoping to play a little defense as well as quarterback.

“I thought maybe I’d play some defense, too, but ended up as just a quarterback and I haven’t looked back” Sean said.

He wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

“It’s like being the captain of the boat. You control everything, run everything and make sure everyone is lined up,” Sean said. “I love having the chance to make plays. It’s a lot of responsibility, but I enjoy it.”

His head coach, Clayt Birmingham, points to some of the reasons Sean has been so successful.

“He has a great work ethic and great leadership, and does a lot of the extra things in practice,” Birmingham said. “He’s always wanting to learn more. That helped him be a four-year starter for us.”

While Sean came to college thinking maybe he’d see some time on defense, Aaron had hoped to play quarterback. He was his brother’s backup for the one season they played varsity football together in high school.

“It was cool to watch him and watch his leadership skills and the way he handled everything. I learned a lot from him,” Aaron said.

With a need for depth at safety, Aaron ended up on defense at River Falls.

“It helps him on defense that he has an offensive background,” River Falls head coach Matt Walker said. “He was a very good quarterback. He’s very athletic and runs well. We knew we had to get him on the field somewhere.”

It’s worked out. Aaron leads the Falcons in tackles with 79.

Sean is happy for his younger brother. The two nearly played together in college as well. Still, he looks back on that one year in high school together on the same team as something special.

“We enjoyed it. It was a great experience,” Sean said. “We had a full year of playing sports together and had a lot of fun. It was pretty cool. A lot of memories were made.”

Facing his brother on the field hits differently. But this game is one he’s been looking forward to for a long time.

“Once the schedule came out, I had my eyes on it. I’ve been looking forward to it since last year,” Sean said. “It’s exciting because we’ll have a lot of family and friends here. It’s great that we’ll have so many here supporting us, and there will be some bragging rights on the line.”

Aaron is looking forward to the game as well. Both teams come in with 5-4 records.

“It’s going to be a special moment, and it’s kind of like him going out and passing the torch on to me,” Aaron said. “It’s going to be cool to have this memory and it would be great to come out on top so I can always let him know I beat him in his last game.”

The two stay in touch throughout the season, but this week, the talk is a little different than usual.

“We’re talking trash a little this week, but it’s all in good fun,” Aaron said.

Normally the brothers talk about common opponents they’ve faced and about the game coming up. Sean agrees with his younger brother that there’s been some added heat to the conversation this week.

“There’s a little smack talk,” Sean said. “We’ll point out different things we see on film about each other, but it’s all friendly banter.”

The family is doing its best to support both players, according to Sean.

“They are a little torn, but they hope we both play well,” Sean said. “Last year they had shirts made with our pictures on it and both flags will be on the pole for tailgating. It’s hard for them, but they hope it’s a close game.”

The seasons for Stout and River Falls have been similar in some ways. Both have lost close games to nationally ranked opponents. Stout lost 19-14 to Oshkosh and 16-7 to Whitewater. River Falls fell by three to Saint John’s (37-34) and Whitewater (30-27) and by seven to La Crosse (24-17).

“We could have walked out of all three of those games with wins,” Walker said. “This group could have folded up after those losses, but they are a gritty group. They play hard and they keep fighting.”

Birmingham has similar thoughts about his team.

“Either of us could be 7-2 instead of 5-4,” Birmingham said. “We’ve lost some close games. This conference is not friendly. It’s tough. But our guys keep competing and they are passionate.”

That passion for the game is something Sean and Aaron have both displayed. And while Aaron still has football left to play in his career, the road is coming to an end for Sean.

“It’s been awesome to play football in college. These have been some of the best times of my life, and facing my brother adds to this last game. It makes it a little more special and memorable.”