To put it mildly, St. Mary’s finds itself as a football team in transition this fall.

Sure, the roster may be dotted with some upperclassmen, but many only have one year of varsity football experience and none have been in the kind of backbone situation they expect to be in for 2024.

Always a numbers game for Crusaders head coach Jamie Young, this year’s cast has fewer freshmen on it than a year ago but is without the kind of tried-and-true seniors that carried St. Mary’s to four wins in 2023 after reaching the 3A state playoffs the previous year.

“When it comes to a team that I’ve had here, this is definitely a group that probably has the least amount of varsity football experience of any group,” said Young. “With that being said, we love this group. We love this group in terms of the type of kids they are and their work ethic. All of those things are such a plus that I feel like we’re going to be in good shape here. But, right now, we’re going to have to spend some time learning and working through some things to get these guys kind of in sync.”

Sophomore quarterback Joel Kiene returns after being thrown to the wolves a little last year, taking his lumps on occasion while also showing promise before St. Mary’s shifted to an almost entirely run-based attack.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Kiene will be tasked with steering a ship that has a revamped list of skill players but should get some time thanks to the return of linemen Jeremiah Burke, Alex Rosales, Dylan Van Horn and Charlie Caldwell.

The 6-3, 260-pound Burke is the only senior in the bunch and the only one with extended varsity experience.

“We’re a young team and a lot of these guys haven’t played together — sometimes even in the positions they’re playing — so we’re working it all together,” said Young. “Culture-wise, this team is close and is just a hard-working group of guys. We’re going to have some adversity this year, without a doubt, but I’m confident that they’re going to be the kind of group that’s going to grow and build from that for the future.”

Young said he’s confident that Kiene will be able to use last year’s experience plus the work he’s put in during the offseason to carry him through as the team looks to jell.

“Joel’s just a really hard-working kid and a good leader and I think we’re going to find our groove here at some point,” said the coach. “He’s got a heck of an arm and he’s learning to make good decisions with this new group.”

Sophomore Dominick Hiratzka returns as Kiene’s top target on the perimeter, and Young is enthused by the prospects of junior receiver Hudson Eiler, sophomore tight end Gabe Miller and freshman Mason James, who serves as backup QB but will plug into a variety of roles.

Running back had been locked down for the past four years by Indiana Olson but his graduation has left a void that the Crusaders hope the combination of sophomore Luke Oliva and freshman Zeke Beitler will be able to fill with continued development.

“I don’t think we can ever replace a guy like Indiana Olson, he was a very special player,” said Young. “We really like Luke and Zeke, but they’re starting from scratch. We’re learning every day what kind of things those guys can do and then we’re going to do our best to put them in positions to do what they do well.”

St. Mary’s expects to get a boost in special teams with senior Davis Jones focusing fully on football after splitting time as a goalkeeper in soccer last year.

“He’s done a lot of work in the offseason so we’re expecting big things from him,” said Young.

St. Mary’s took an unfortunate hit in the offseason when expected two-way senior starter Bradley Patten was seriously injured while skiing at Mount Ashland. Patten led the team in interceptions last year and was a chief downfield receiving threat.

“Bradley’s still with us and on the roster and making a full recovery but, unfortunately, he will not be with us on the field,” said Young. “It’s been a long road but he’s getting mobile again and doing better. That’s a really big loss for us because this would’ve been Bradley’s third year as a starter. He’s a very smart kid on the field, so that’s a big loss for us, but we’re happy with how he’s recovering.”

In other offseason news, the Far West League decided to split into two factions, leaving Cascade Christian, St. Mary’s, Phoenix, Lakeview, North Valley and Klamath Union to form the 3A Southern Oregon Conference this season.