Reagan Roof has been a head football coach for almost 20 years.

He’s done a lot and seen a lot in those nearly two decades, whether coaching the Bethany Bronchos, Weatherford Eagles or the Kingfisher Yellowjackets.

But when he stands on his home sideline this Friday night and peers across the field, he’s going to see something - nay, someone he’s never seen before in an opposing head coach.

His own brother. Tanner Roof, nearly five years the junior of Reagan, is the head coach of Oklahoma Christian School.

The two programs square off at 7 p.m. in a pivotal District 3A-1 matchup.

It’s not the first time the two schools have met.

It’s not even the first time the two brothers have been on opposite sidelines.

But it is the first time when both were head coaches.

It’s been touted, unofficially, as the “Brother Bowl.”

To everyone not named Roof, the game has a ton of extra allure.

For those boasting that surname?

Tanner exhibited much the same emotion.

He just had a different way of stating it.

“For everyone else, it’s kind of exciting,” he said.

“But it sucks for us.”

•••

Reagan is the first of three children born to Robin and Marcy Roof.

Tanner was the baby of the family with sister Leslie situated between them.

“They were pretty much different and still are,” said their mother. “Reagan was the first born and was more serious all the time. Tanner was the baby of the family and all that goes with that.

“Reagan would probably tell you Tanner was the favorite and still is because of that.”

Both boys grew up around sports as Robin himself was a football coach.

He was a head coach for more than two decades, first at Mangum, then at Guthrie and finally at Minco.

During his nine-year stint at Guthrie, Reagan, who graduated in 1997, was one of his quarterbacks.

Before Tanner hit high school, the family moved to Minco where he, too, was the signal caller.

“It’s hard to compare them because of where they played,” Robin said. “They were similar in a lot of ways. Maybe Tanner could run it a little better, but maybe Reagan could see the field a little better.”

Tanner, a 2002 graduate, noticed things along a similar line.

“We were different,” he said, repeating both of his parents. “He was more of a pocket passer and I was more of a runner.

“In basketball, he could shoot the 3 and I was more of a slasher trying to get to the goal.”

Reagan had a different way of putting it.

“He was faster and more of a bull in a China closet,” he said. “I guess you could say I played a little smoother than that.”

Added their mother: “Tanner was pretty laid back and that kind of got to Reagan sometimes. Reagan wanted him to be more serious than he was.

“Tanner was a mess. He was pretty ornery.”

There was one area the brothers didn’t differ.

“Both are very competitive,” said both Robin and Marcy in separate conversations.

It didn’t matter if it was backyard games of football or basketball or baseball or any other aspect, both Roofs wanted to be the best.

“Everything was a competition growing up,” Tanner said.

Did it ever get out of hand?

“We were not immune to taking it too far,” Reagan said. “There’s been a lot of times when the competition got the best of us, but it’s never gotten to the point we were so mad at each other that we wouldn’t talk to each other.”

“There were times it would definitely go over the top,” added the younger sibling. “We’d fight it out, but once it was over, in 30 minutes we’d be back to normal.”

The competition is still there, just in different sports as the brothers have aged.

“I’m definitely better at golf and that’s all that matters right now,” Reagan said.

Tanner couldn’t disagree. “I beat him one time last year and that’s the only time,” he said. “He definitely has me in golf.”

Reagan said that wasn’t the only thing.

“I’m also a lot better at water volleyball,” he said.

•••

Tanner had one advantage over Reagan in his high school playing days.

That was…Reagan. When Reagan was attending Southwestern Oklahoma State University and working on his degree, he also served as a student-assistant on his dad’s staff at Minco.

Reagan served as the quarterback coach and took his brother under his wing.

“One thing he was really good at…if I threw an interception and took a pretty good chewing from my dad, he’d grab me, pat me on the back and get me ready for the next possession,” Tanner said. “It was a good cop-bad cop thing they did.

“For the most part, it was really nice having him.”

Robin tried to steer his sons away from the profession.

“I tried to talk them out of it,” he said “But neither would listen to me.”

Reagan finished his bachelor’s degree and eventually landed on the staff at Bethany.

Soon, he was the offensive coordinator.

He made a call to Tanner, who was a student at the University of Central Oklahoma, and asked him to be a student-assistant on the Broncho staff.

They had that relationship for three years.

“I learned a ton,” Tanner said. “I was blessed to have that where he could guide me and teach me. I learned more in those three years than I have in my whole coaching career.”

Reagan went on to be the head coach at Bethany for nine successful seasons and racked up a 67-33 record.

He then spent seven years at Weatherford where he had a 49-28 record and guided the Eagles to the 2019 Class 4A state championship.

Reagan was selected to take over at KHS prior to the 2024 season.

Tanner’s route saw him coach at Chickasha for four seasons before he spent one year - 2011 - as an assistant at Bridge Creek.

That was the lone time the Roofs have squared off.

Reagan’s Bethany squad downed Bridge Creek 42-6 in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.

After that, Tanner was named the offensive coordinator at Edmond Memorial.

He held that role for five years until being named the head coach at Edmond North.

After six seasons there, he made the move across I-35 to OCS where he’s now in his fourth year.

Last year the Saints were 11-2 and advanced to the Class 2A-I semifinals. His team’s only losses were to Jones and Washington, the two teams that ultimately played for the title.

OCS bumped up to Class 3A this year and the football gods - or, better yet, a committee of coaches - landed the Saints and KHS in the same district.

•••

Competitive or not, fighting or not, the Roof brothers were always - and remain to this day - tight-knit.

“We’re still really close and always have been,” said Reagan. “There’s a good mixture of us being competitive with each other, but really rooting for each other at the same time.”

The closeness extends beyond their professional careers and beyond just those two.

Reagan’s wife, Lindsay, and Tanner’s wife, Ashley, were childhood best friends and college roommates.

“In fact,” added Reagan. “Tanner met her at our wedding.”

Reagan’s oldest, Reese, and Tanner’s oldest, Rylee, were born just 13 days apart.

They’re now freshman roommates at Oklahoma State University.

Then there’s the relationship between Tanner and Reagan’s son, River.

“They have strikingly similar personalities,” Reagan said.

They’ll turn up the trash talk on the golf course or play online video games against one another until the early hours of the morning (on non-school nights, of course).

“They’re really close,” Reagan said “They do a really good job of competing against each other. We’re just a competitive family across the board and it doesn’t take much to get them going.”

•••

OCS is 2-1 on the season and opened district play last week with a 61-3 throttling of McLoud.

The Jackets are 4-0 for the first time since 2013. They overcame four turnovers last week to beat North Rock Creek 19-18 in their 3A-1 debut.

“They’re similar as coaches and both their teams can do a little bit of everything,” Robin said. “There’s not a lot of differences in them. Maybe Reagan’s team is a little better up front, but Tanner’s team can throw it around really well.”

The implications are huge.

Not only does the victor get to move to 2-0 and continue with a leg up in a brutal slate of district games, but there are multiple scenarios in which the loser could potentially miss out on the playoffs.

“If we win - and obviously I want to - I hate that it would be at his expense,” said Reagan.

Added Tanner: “Just look at the magnitude of this game. Yeah, I’m playing my brother, but it’s a huge game with playoff scenarios.”

•••

Marcy Roof already has her attire picked out for the game.

In fact, she’s worn it before.

She had a t-shirt made with a large heart in the middle.

On one side, it has the Yellowjacket logo with the navy and gold colors.

The other half of the heart is the Saints logo with red, white and blue colors.

She wore the shirt when Reese and Rylee competed against each other in basketball last season and also when the two were at the same track and field meets.

She’ll be wearing it Friday night when she sits - not in either the home or visitors stands, but in the end zone.

“It’s going to be tough. It is,” she said. “I hope the game doesn’t decide who will go to the playoffs.

“I’m just going to sit there and be quiet.”

Robin, too, will be torn. “It’s a no-win for us,” he said.

•••

If one team has a slight edge in the eyes of the parents, Reagan might have an unfair advantage.

His son. The aforementioned River Roof is a sophomore quarterback for the Jackets and is the lone grandchild of Robin and Marcy playing in this game.

“The only edge Reagan has is that he’s got River,” Robin said. “We’ve told them both that River comes before both of them.

“We’re just crazy grandparents.”

Tanner doesn’t mind as much game planning against his older brother.

He doesn’t, however, enjoy helping devise plans to slow down his nephew, who has been splitting time at QB this season with Brett Calamateo.

“That’s where it just feels different,” Tanner said. “It’s River. We’re watching film that has him in it and we want to do everything we can to win.

“But at the end of it, I want the best for my nephew as well.”

•••

All the Roofs can’t wait until about 10 p.m. Friday.

That’s when the game will be over.

The brothers have already talked everyday this week and will continue to do so, even up until game day.

But, once the final buzzer has sounded, the weight of this game won’t be on their shoulders.

Things can go back to normal.

“Being in coaching, it’s always been nice to be able to call him and get advice,” Tanner said. “And now it works both ways. This game stinks because we’re playing against each other and I’m also going against my nephew.

“But after it, we’ll be able to go right back to helping each other out any way we can because we’re both going to see the same teams the rest of the year.”

Win or lose, the season will go on and both teams will have multiple chances to improve their playoff stocks.

The seasons will play out.

Winter will come and go. Next spring, Reagan will coach golf and Tanner will coach track.

They’ll likely meet up on the golf course for a few rounds.

Tanner will keep trying for that second win against big bro. Reagan will try to keep holding off his younger sibling, much like he says he does in water volleyball.

River will most definitely be there as well, trying to beat them both.

The trash talk - territory that comes with the competitiveness - will be plentiful.

Next year, the teams will meet again, but on Tanner’s home field.

Through it all, they’ll remain brothers and Reagan said he’ll always look on with a source of pride knowing he played at least a small part in shaping Tanner as both a player and a coach.

“This team we play Friday night might be the bestcoached team we’ve played in a while,” Reagan said. “He’s done a really good job.

“And with him being my younger brother, I’m absolutely very proud of him and what he’s done in his career.”