Small class, small world Mueller brothers to cross paths in Cla

Tim and Larry Mueller will be on opposite sidelines Saturday when St. Vincent squares off against East Buchanan.

By Jeremy Joffray ~ Southeast Missourian

St. Vincent assistant football coach Tim Mueller got an early introduction to the game from his older brother, Larry Mueller.

The brothers graduated from Perryville High School 10 years apart, so Tim spent some of his early years watching his brother earn all-state honors for the Pirates.

"One thing he was proud of when I was in kindergarten and he was in high school, he helped me memorize all the head coaches and quarterbacks in the NFL," Tim Mueller said.

Larry Mueller said he probably had taught Tim the NFL team mascots before Tim had learned his A, B, Cs.

"We had fun together. We grew up with football. It's kind of been our life," Larry Mueller said.

Those early teachings helped lead Tim Mueller into the coaching ranks. In 1988 and 1989, Tim was an assistant coach at Sparta, Ill., under Larry. Tim has spent the last 11 seasons as an assistant at St. Vincent.

"He definitely was influential in my introduction to the game. I looked up to him quite a bit when I was young," Tim Mueller said.

Fifteen years after the brothers last shared the sideline, they will be reunited on the football field. St. Vincent (12-1) will make its third appearance in the Class 1 state title game on Saturday against East Buchanan (13-0) at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

Up in the booth for East Buchanan will be Larry Mueller, the running backs and defensive end coach for the Bulldogs.

"It's really nice for my family," Tim Mueller said.

Tim Mueller said his dad is really excited to get to see both his sons coaching at once.

"He's uncommitted to who he's going to cheer for," Mueller joked.

The brothers nearly met in 1999, when Larry was the head coach at Crest Ridge. The teams were on a collision course to meet in the semifinals, but Crest Ridge got knocked off by a point in the quarterfinals.

Tim Mueller and his brother had a feeling about this year. They discussed the possibility of meeting in the playoffs before the season started.

"We did talk about it a bit at the beginning of the season. We knew both teams had a chance," Tim Mueller said.

"We were kind of hoping this year it might happen," Larry Mueller added.

Tim and Larry met in Columbia last weekend to exchange film. Tim said the two exchanged a little playful banter. Both know their teams have had successful seasons, and only one can go home with the championship.

"We know there won't be any hard feelings," Tim Mueller said. "That's just the reality of competition."

Added Larry: "Just getting there is an accomplishment for either team."