Sure, last season was fun for Kam Rutlin. Winning state by beating a heavily favored opponent in the cold of December will do that.
But right now? It’s not that relevant.
“We haven’t won anything yet,” said Rutlin, a senior defensive tackle and right guard. “Whole different team, whole different group.”
Jake Thies, another senior, concurred. He’s moved on.
“I’m focused on this new team and keeping that same culture we have had the past few years and setting the standard high,” said the senior safety and running back.
Coach Matt Battaglia, whose Friars went 11-3 last year and beat East St. Louis 38-28 in the IHSA Class 6A title game, is guiding that line of thinking.
“The one thing we’ve mentioned is we are state nothings right now,” Battaglia said, “and when we handed out the rings, congratulations, enjoy it seniors, but underclassmen, we’re state nothings. The only other thing that remotely resembles last year’s team is reminding the players that they have a big, fat target on their back.”
That may be, but the Friars have the personnel to not only compete but succeed. Consider the offensive line, a focal point for Battaglia, which has plenty of experience.
Besides the 6-foot, 265-pound Rutlin at right guard, there is senior Charlie Becker at left guard, senior center Will Doody and tackles Thomas Ristau, a junior, and senior Jack Woods. None of those guys weigh less than 230, with Woods topping the bunch at 6-foot-6, 290 pounds.
That’s not all. Juniors Michael White, Hank Rosenberg and Jacob Rodriguez were all up for the playoffs last fall, while support will also come from seniors Will O’Keefe and junior Brayden Gresik.
“We have 10 linemen,” Battaglia said. “That group of 10 has been together all summer. It’s a band of brothers and it’s a community.”
They’ll protect the replacement for dual-threat quarterback Jamen Williams, who graduated. The good news is that there were four candidates as of press time for the position, including last year’s backup, senior Tommy Quinn, along with junior Myles Hill and sophomore Ryder Machacek. But the wild card could be an import from Las Vegas, senior Rozia Lightfoot II.
“All four have been doing a great job and it’s turning into a good problem to have,” Battaglia said. “Honestly, I’d feel confident with any of them.”
Thies will come out of the backfield, and his value is not just carrying the ball, but leadership, which he learned in part from his older brother Tommy, who’s now at Miami of Ohio. But Thies is quick to give Battaglia a lot of credit for his own development.
“He’s one of the best coaches in Illinois, if not the best,” he said. “Everyone on the team has a lot of respect for him.”
The other guy to mind in the backfield is senior Rocco Nero, who learned a lot from the Thies brothers last year.
From a receiving standpoint, Battaglia will have a pair of senior tight ends in Jonathan Pavalon and Will Hosty who both stand 6-foot-5. Senior wideout Jimmy Watts will be all over the field on both sides, and then there is freshman Noah Marshall, the younger sibling of former Fenwick star Nate Marshall.
“He’s going to be really good,” Battaglia said. “He’ll wind up being one of the best players in the nation.”
Battaglia is bullish on both sides the line and defensively, you’ll see Rutlin at defensive tackle and senior Jimmy Bonakdar at defensive end. Bonakdar tore his ACL in the second game of last season and Battaglia said he’s a “madman,” especially in the weight room, with “a massive chip on his shoulder.” Also manning the defensive line will be junior tackle Drew Culton, junior end Hank Holland and senior end/tackle hybrid Jeremy Munoz.
Thies, committed to Iowa as a safety, will ply his trade there, but he’ll have plenty of help in the backfield from Watts, junior safety Fran Madden and junior cornerback Will Butman. But again, there’s a wild card. Senior cornerback Josh Morgan, a Cincinnati baseball commit, is recovering from a partial UCL tear and should be back mid-season.
Jack Haagenson is a junior inside linebacker who transferred from Mount Carmel last year and was granted full eligibility. He was injured last year but he’s back. Also contributing at linebacker inside will be junior Quinn Paris and seniors Kaz Kolozak and Michael Kotynek. Senior Ronan Morrissey will play both inside and outside.
Kicker and punter JP Bordeaux-Walsh will replace Noah Sur, now at Northwestern.
Fenwick’s schedule is once again loaded, and will include powerful Joliet Catholic on Friday, along with St. Ignatius, St. Francis, Providence Catholic and Brother Rice. In fact, four of the Friars’ first five games are on the road. On the other hand, Fenwick will have five home games.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
“For the most part, our goal is to get better each day,” Battaglia said. “One of my go-to lines whenever we have a loss is, it’s only a loss if we don’t learn anything from it.”
At a glance
Team: Fenwick Friars
Head coach: Matt Battaglia (Record: 45-21 overall, 11-3 in 2025)
Top players: Jake Thies, S/RB, Sr.; Kam Rutlin, RG/DT, Sr.; Jimmy Bonakdar, DE, Sr.; Thomas Ristau, OT, Jr.; Jack Woods, OT, Sr.; Tommy Quinn, QB, Sr.
Tidbit: Fenwick moves up the Chicago Catholic League Orange, from White, and will battle Providence, Carmel and St. Ignatius divisionally. Battaglia is particularly excited about facing off against the Wolfpack. “That’s a rivalry,” he said. “I think both fan bases will be excited about that.”
Outlook: Don’t expect the Friars to rest on their state championship laurels. Battaglia won’t accept that. Instead, you should see a new team that’s got the experience and new weapons on both sides of the ball to compete in-season and the playoffs.