Sure, the St. Joseph football team may have graduated its top rusher from last season.

That doesn’t mean the Lancers are devoid of some big returning talent from 2019.

There’s no doubt St. Joseph will miss departed senior Jake Gessert, who led the team and the county with 1,019 rushing yards last season. But as much as they’ll miss Gessert, the Lancers are licking their chops for the return of junior quarterback Jacob A. and junior running back Caden T., who were significant contributors as sophomores last year.

They’ve had another offseason, and then some, to get bigger and stronger, and the junior duo will lead St. Joseph into its Midwest Classic Conference and season opener against Burlington Catholic Central on Friday night in Paddock Lake at Central’s home field.

All in all, the Lancers return 20 letterwinners from last season.

“We were relatively young last year, and we have a good group of seniors that are leaders,” said St. Joseph coach Matt Rizzo, in his second year at the helm of the Lancers after leading Bradford from 2013 through 2017.

“We have some underclassmen that are juniors now that played as sophomores last year that are coming back after a year or two of varsity that are taking the lead and doing a great job.”

As a sophomore, Jacob A. was named first-team All-County, throwing for 727 yards and nine touchdowns and rushing for 167 yards and five more scores.

“My challenge to him was to continue to grow in leadership and become a voice for the team,” Rizzo said. “He’s always had a good arm, a very good athlete. Just really trying to have him take the reins in the huddle, own and take command of the offense with the voice and leadership.

“... So far, so good in that department.”

Ditto for Caden T., who was second behind Gessert on the team with 203 rushing yards in 2019 and averaged 5.1 per carry in being named honorable mention All-County. A strong back at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, Caden T. also plays linebacker.

“He didn’t miss a lift, and he’s taken great strides this year in his athleticism,” Rizzo said.

Also in the backfield will be sophomore Calvion H., who goes just 5-8, 145 pounds but rushed for 169 yards and two scores last season.

“Calvion is just a great little talent,” Rizzo said. “He’s got great moves. He sees the field really well, and he’s got some great speed.”

Like all small-school teams, St. Joseph will rely on a number of players to go both ways.

Those include senior Danny S. at center and middle linebacker, sophomore Luke S. at tight end and outside linebacker and seniors Jack D. (team-high three interceptions last season) and Max M. at receiver and defensive back.

Anchoring both lines will be 5-10, 240-pound junior Dominic Z.

“Great kid, just continues to work hard,” Rizzo said. “Never misses a lift. We’re excited about him.”

Also on the lines will be 5-11, 215-pound sophomore Marco M., who Rizzo called “built for football.”

The Lancers also feature a couple intriguing athletes in senior running back/linebacker Frankie M. and junior receiver/defensive back/kicker Andrew A.

Frankie M., a baseball standout, decided to join the football team for his senior year. Andrew A., a basketball and soccer standout, kicked for the football team last season, but Rizzo said they’re hoping for more on both sides of the ball from him in 2020.

Like everyone around the state, St. Joseph is doing everything it can stay to remain sanitary and minimize COVID-19 risks. Rizzo said they’re routinely cleaning everything, not using locker rooms and spreading out when possible.

“We’re usually a one-bus team,” Rizzo said. “Now we’re a two-bus team.”

The Lancers also begin play in a new conference.

During the offseason, the Metro Classic Conference and the Midwest Classic Conference essentially mixed up their teams in order to better align schools of similar size in the same conference. A smaller school, St. Joseph moved from the Metro Classic to the Midwest Classic.

The Lancers will see some familiar foes that also come over from the Metro Classic, like perennial stalwart Catholic Central and 2018 WIAA Division-5 state runner-up Racine Lutheran. Brookfield Academy, a playoff qualifier in 2019, is one of the new opponents St. Joseph will see in the Midwest Classic.

But if the Lancers want to reach the playoffs after a two-year absence — they just missed at 3-4 in conference play last season — they’ll have to work to just stay on the field, like everyone else this year.

“We’re excited about the new opportunity to go to a new conference with some parity in enrollment, so that should help,” Rizzo said. “But we’re going to take it week by week. We’re just excited to be playing. I know our kids are as well.

“We’re thankful that we’re playing, and we’re going to do all the things to make sure that we can continue to just play week to week.”