The Aberdeen Roncalli football team has seen its share of success the past two seasons and now the Cavaliers would like to see that continue with familiar faces in new places this fall.

Roncalli, which has lost four games total the past two seasons, has some holes to fill, but has the pieces to do it.

“I don’t really think we’re rebuilding, I think we’re reloading,” said Roncalli coach Billy Young. “We did lose some skill players, but we had some guys last year that were on the bench that were really good. I think there are a lot of guys that a lot of teams would be happy to have.”

Not only that, but some of the players who were starters will be in new positions this season and it all starts at quarterback.

“Some of them will be shifting around playing different positions,” Young said, “like Zane Backous will move from fullback to quarterback and he’s a good quarterback.”

Backous, who was a defensive force known for tackles for loss on blitzes last season, will bring his physical style of play to the signal-caller position.

“He’s a different style of quarterback,” Young said. “He’s a bulldozer, strong, powerful, but yet has a really good arm, too.”

Backous won’t be the only Roncalli player moving around this year.

“We’ll be moving Brody Weinmeister, who was an offensive lineman last year, to tailback,” Young said. “He was a running back and tight end until last year, but we needed some depth so he volunteered to move kind of with the understanding it would be a one-year proposition and we would move him back.”

Additional help in the skill positions will come from the likes of Keegan Stewart, Kaden Larson and Noah Kramer.

The line will be bolstered by three returning starters in Joey Johnson, Josh Schaunaman and Landon Zikmund. Other key linemen include Carter Samson and Gabe Eichler.

Meanwhile, look for the Cavaliers to continue their aggressive style of play on the defensive side of the ball, one that set the tone against nearly every opponent the past couple of years.

“Our philosophy defensively is still the same,” Young said. “We plan on moving around and bringing blitzes. Last year we blitzed 90 percent of the time.”

Roncalli, which opens the season Friday at Groton, will look to continue to do the same things this year that has produced a Northeast Conference championship, and home playoff games each of the past two seasons.

“Our goal every year is the same: it’s to compete for the conference championship, get the highest possible seed we can get going into the playoffs, and then we go from there,” Young said. “We focus more on game-by-game objectives, even play-by-play. We have certain things we want to accomplish on first and second down. We feel if we can meet those little goals, those will add up to big things over the course of the season. And all the conference championships and playoffs, that stuff takes care of itself, if you can handle the little things.”

During the off seasons, Young finds ways to help motivate his players for their upcoming campaign. This year’s boost occurred inside the Roncalli Gym where all of the school’s championship banners are hanging.

“When basketball was over and we had everybody back in the weight room, the first thing we did was walk in the gym and look up at that 2022 NEC banner and we told them that team is gone,” Young said. “This is a new year. This is a new thing. If you want ‘23 to be up there, you have to earn it, because you’re not going to be crowned a conference champion just by showing up.”