Conor Hunt was ready when his name was called.

Earning his first significant varsity experience as a junior, Hunt started at cornerback over Marist’s first three games of the 2025 season. His role changed abruptly, however, as the RedHawks moved him over to offense after running back Kevin Bartolotta went down with a season-ending knee injury in a Week 3 loss against Montini.

Fortunately for Marist, Hunt adjusted naturally to playing running back, a position he excelled in during his sophomore season with the program. In a six-week span, Hunt rushed for 730 yards and nine touchdowns. During Marist’s 29-28 victory over IC Catholic Prep, Hunt carried the ball 30 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns.

“The first four weeks of my sophomore season, I played both ways at running back and corner,” said Hunt, who was called up to varsity for the 2024 playoffs. “As that went on, they started to only play me at running back, so I already knew how to play both positions... It was definitely a big role to fill and I give my coaches a lot of credit for helping me be able to do that. I thought I did pretty well at it.”

Leaning on an experience offensive line that featured Division I talent in Rico Schrieber (Purdue) and Danzel Newell (New Mexico) keyed the RedHawks’ late-season surge. In a 35-21 win over St. Ignatius, Hunt ran 25 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns. Against Marmion, who Marist defeated 51-6, Hunt ran for 95 yards on just nine carries.

“It was tough, but also fun at the same time,” Hunt said. “I give a lot of credit to our offensive line for helping me with that. I was seeing everything, slowing things down and finding the right places to go. I’ve been working to get better at my explosiveness through the hole, having that second gear and working for yards after tackles.”

Hunt, who had over 10 tackles and broke up four passes in the first three weeks of the season, helped Marist close the regular season on a three-game winning streak. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder carried the ball 30 times for 171 yards and a touchdown while catching a 6-yard touchdown pass in the team’s 42-14 win over Niles Notre Dame.

“Our run game was very strong,” Hunt said. “Our offensive line was very good last year and we’re really good at establishing the run early. Our pass game definitely got a lot better as the year went on too and I feel like, by the end of the year, we were playing to our potential.”

While the RedHawks finished 4-5 after starting the season 0-4, they failed to make the IHSA playoffs for just the third time in 17 years. In addition to injuries taking their toll, Marist suffered three losses that went down to the wire. St. Rita, a Class 7A state finalist this past fall, ran in a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to win 28-21 in Week 1.

Montini, which won the 4A state title, made a defensive stand in the final moments of a 28-21 victory. In Week 4, Joliet Catholic turned a failed field-goal attempt into a broken-play touchdown to beat the RedHawks 23-17. Those losses have taught Hunt and his teammates about the margin of error that comes with playing in the CCL/ESCC.

“It was definitely disappointing,” said junior Tommy Hosty, who played in all three phases for the RedHawks. “We thought we should’ve done a lot better. As we went through the year, we stayed locked in during practice, even though we knew we weren’t guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. It was just a bunch of small things we need to fix and be locked in on so when the game comes, we have a different outcome.”

Like Hunt, Hosty saw his role shift during his junior season. Hosty, who played quarterback as an underclassman, moved to defensive back in the summer and started there in the fall. But an injury to starting quarterback Luke Detampel in Week 3 moved Hosty under center for a two-week period before returning to his free safety spot.

“I picked up a lot of new things,” Hosty said. “Going to the defensive side of the ball was different and I learned a lot during summer camp. Our seniors did a great job of teaching me the position. When I got to the season, I felt like I was rolling and now, I know what to do. Since I played quarterback, I know what the DBs are trying to do. Now, on the other side of the ball, I know what the quarterback’s trying to do.”

An All-CCL/ESCC selection, Hosty will return to the Marist secondary for his senior season, but he’s prepared to take snaps on offense if necessary. Even after Detampel came back from injury, Hosty took snaps as a wildcat threat. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder also served as the team’s punter, a role he said he expects to maintain as a senior.

“I did a better job of knowing my pre-snap reads and knowing where I should be lined up in situations like if it’s third and long or third and short,” Hosty said. “Man-to-man coverage and open-field tackling are areas I can definitely get a lot better in. We have a really strong DB group coming up from JV, so we should be pretty strong there.”

Marist, which will move into the Blue Division this coming season, is graduating a slew of senior players bound for collegiate programs. Among them are Division I signee and IHSFCA 8A All-State offensive lineman Rico Schrieber, who will play at Purdue. Danzel Newell (New Mexico) and Stephen Brown (NC State) are also Division I signees.

Eight RedHawks signed or committed to play collegiately after the early period. Those seniors include Michael O’Connor (Dayton), Marty Donahue (WashU), Kevin Bartolotta (John Carroll), Jack Watson (John Carroll), Pat Wynn (UW-Platteville), Ayden Ginn (UW-Platteville), Finnbhar Kelly (Carnegie Mellon) and Brandon Hoff (North Central).