With St. Rita facing a 2-4 start to its season last fall, Brandon Johnson Jr. felt he needed to shoulder a bigger workload to energize the offense.

In some ways, the team’s slow start mirrored a slow start to his junior season. Working his way back from an offseason knee injury, Johnson took some time to round into form. Meanwhile, the Mustangs lost three of their first four games and were in serious danger of missing the playoffs and posting a losing record for the first time since 2016.

“It started off pretty rough, especially coming back from the injury,” Johnson said. “Going to 2-4 after Nazareth, I knew we had to pick it up or else we weren’t going to make the playoffs. I had to pick it up and be a big part of the team and I had to put the team on my back.”

But once he proved his health, the 5-foot-10, 205-pounder emerged as one of the top rushing threats in the state. As Johnson went, so did the Mustangs, who rallied off seven consecutive wins to qualify for the playoffs and advance to the Class 7A state finals. Johnson finished the season with 1,184 yards and 20 scores on 202 runs.

“I felt healthy,” Johnson said. “I could make the moves and this year, I’m focusing on sharpening my craft, my speed and my power so I can come back, be more explosive and have a bigger role on the team next year. The game slowed down for me. I was seeing the holes, the linebackers and the D-linemen. I was able to read them, cut off of that and see the game slower so I could make plays.”

Johnson who averaged a shade under 6 yards per carry, anchored a St. Rita offense that scored 56 points in a quarterfinal win against Hersey and 54 points in a semifinal win against Batavia. Early in the season, Johnson showed flashes out of the backfield, as he scored the game-winning touchdown in a Week 1 rivalry victory over Marist.

But his combination of toughness and consistency, which have landed him on Division I scouting reports, sparked St. Rita’s resurgence on offense. Johnson, who holds offers from Toledo, Miami (Ohio) and Lindenwood, recorded six 100-plus-yard rushing games and received All-CCL/ESCC honors in the Blue Division during his junior season.

“I’ve been a leader on the field, but I want to be a bigger vocal leader coming into this year,” Johnson said. “My breakaway speed, I think I can pick that up a little more. I have the burst and the acceleration between holes, but I want to be able to break 70 and 80-yard runs.”

While Johnson stepped up for the offense, sophomore linebacker Jack Schapendonk rose up as one of the team’s top stoppers on defense. Schapendonk, who led the Mustangs with 12 total tackles and a tackle for loss in their state title loss to Brother Rice, ended the season with 104 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss and three sacks.

“It was a great sophomore year,” Schapendonk said. “We had a tough schedule, but we bounced back at the end of the regular season. My teammates helped me the most because anytime we were down, they would pick me right back up. Anytime they were down, I picked them up... We’re just a great team and we bonded really well together.”

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder is preparing for a bigger role as a junior. He’ll be tasked with filling the shoes of senior teammate Owen Lynch, a team captain and All-CCL/ESCC selection who had 87 total tackles and seven TFLs in the fall. Schapendonk has shown big-play ability, as he made 10 tackles, including a clutch fourth-down stop before the half, to spark the St. Rita defense in its semifinal victory over Batavia.

“Our mindset is to have the grit of a walk-on, but the confidence of a five-star player,” Schapendonk said. “That mentality really helped me. I got really good at the little things and I was able to make a lot of good plays. I was really good in the run fit and I worked on all of the little things like engaging alignment, getting off the box and tackling.”

St. Rita has a list of senior players signed or committed to collegiate programs. Among them are Jaiden Blunt (Western Illinois), Eli Erkapic (Valparaiso), Owen Lynch (Drake), James Franklin III (Truman State), Walter Jones (UIndy), Langston Smith (Findlay) and Ben Perek (UW-Stout). Saul Ruiz (K/P) recently committed to play for North Central.

“[Owen] definitely taught me a lot about leadership,” Schapendonk said. “He led the defense and he’d get on other players so the defense could work better. He’d always be the first guy to pick someone up or point something out that we needed to fix. He went through the season with a lot of injuries and his toughness was really cool to see.”

The Mustangs will also move forward without junior wideout Donovan Evans, who transferred to Montini and will play with Miami commit Israel Abrams. St. Rita has reinforcements arriving, however, as the team added Romeoville transfer Ohimai Ozolua. Ozolua, a three-star defensive lineman, had 21 tackles, 2 TFLs and a sack in 2025.