Brian and Jono Schettler aren’t twins, but they might as well be.
Separated by just a year, the brothers have a treasured connection.
They respect one another. They look up to one another. They support one another. They even finish one another’s sentences sometimes.
When Brian, a senior, lost his train of thought during an interview, Jono, a junior, picked his big brother up and got him back on track.
As far back as she can recall, Natalie Schettler can remember her two sons attached at the hip. Whether it was playing in the backyard or Pee Wee football, the two have a rare kinship.
“Where there was one, there was the other,” the Natalie said. “Sometimes, they don’t have to communicate; they know each other so well. They just know.”
Being familiar with one another has paid dividends for the Schettler brothers.
Brian and Jono are two of the best athletes in Utah 3A sports and, over the course of the last couple seasons; they’ve become a well-known tandem.
The brothers starred on Park City’s Region 10 title football team this year under first-year head coach Kai Smalley. They’re currently starters on the Miners’ basketball team that has jumped out to an impressive 5-2 start this season.
They played the same two positions in football: wide receiver and defensive back.
When a Schettler went skyward to reel in a reception, the crowd was hard-pressed to guess which brother it was.
According to Natalie Schettler, sports always came easy to her boys. Athleticism and coordination were innate in both Brian and Jono.
Following a victory early this season, Smalley was in awe of both Schettlers. He referred to Brian’s defensive tenacity as “monstrous” and raved about Jono’s athletic ability.
Both Brian (honorable mention) and Jono (first team) were both named to the Deseret News 3A all-state football squad.
At one time in the season, Jono was ranked top-five in the nation in receiving yards. He finished the year with 1,058 yards and 10 touchdown catches.
Brian caught two touchdowns to go along with 552 receiving yards, but his prowess showed on the defensive end as he was third on the team with 48 total tackles, according to Maxpreps.com. In Park City’s first-round playoff loss to Emery, Brian had a season-high 18 tackles.
During football season, Miners’ head basketball coach Caleb Fine would pace the sidelines during games covertly sweating bullets, hoping and praying neither Jono nor Brian picked up an injury. He knew that without either of them, a championship contender would be a pipe dream.
“Any time you’re a coach and you can have brothers that are as good as the Schettler brothers are, it makes you look a lot better as a coach,” Fine said.
In basketball, Brian and Jono have nearly identical stat lines through the first seven games of the season. Jono has an average of 13.7 points per game to go along with 2.4 rebounds and 1.57 assists. Brian averages 12.4 points per game to go along with 2.9 rebounds and 1.57 assists.
Those similarities may reflect their familiarity with each other’s game.
“If Jono just gives me a head nod, I know exactly what he means,” Brian said. “Just being so close, I can always rely on Jon when I’m having a bad game. He comes and talks to me and gets me out of my slump.”
As Natalie Schettler pointed out, her sons carry as much determination within themselves as anyone.
“They don’t want to take the glory away from one another,” she said. “They don’t like to lose and they aren’t competitive with one another.”
Fine sees the two in practice and sees a completely different side of the brothers.
“They’re really happy for each other when each succeeds,” Fine said. “Are they competitive with one another? I think they are super competitive with one another.
“If one or the other is not performing, they’ll let them know.”
Asked to name differences between her two sons, Natalie Schettler said Brian is traditionally laid back, easygoing and has a great sense of humor and comes off as a little less serious.
Jono, on the other hand, is tremendously strong-willed and determined, she said.
“They are also very similar,” she said.
Fine said Brian, one of the team’s two captains, is a very vocal leader, while Jono conventionally leads by example.
That determinative attitude came out when Jono said, “You always want to make the other person better. That’s what helps you out.”
The two spoke of the early exit against Emery in football this year as a feeling that neither ever wishes to feel again. That has helped translate over to basketball where the Miners started off 5-0 and are now coming off two close losses.
“It definitely puts a target on our back now,” said Brian of Park City’s hot start. “People know that we’re good.”
Fine has arguably one of most talented classes in PCHS history this year and knows that Brian and Jono are two of the team’s main pistons that help drive the whole engine.
“I’ve never had a practice where Jono and Brian were great and the practice wasn’t good,” Fine said.
When asked what it means to be able to play with his brother last season, Jono responded:
“It’s really special. Not everybody gets to have a brother play with them. We have to take advantage of it.”
Brian followed by saying, “It’s been fun so far. It’s always been the thing I look forward to the most.”
Come the end of February, the state tournament will be rolling around and the clock will be ticking on the boys’ time together on the court.
“I just want to give it my all because I don’t have a next year,” Brian said.
But Jono does, and be assured that next year Brian will be his number-one fan, cheering him on, giving him tips and some constructive brotherly love.