FAIRMONT — Back-to-back Class AAA state appearances, including a runner-up showing at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in 2018.

If Fairmont head coach Mat Mahoney and his football team produce a rare three-peat during his 13th season at the helm this fall, the Cardinals will make school sports history with only 36 players on the varsity roster.

“Our expectations haven’t changed one bit,” said Mahoney, who has compiled an impressive 87-41 record, .680 winning percentage and four overall state bids during his tenure. “We’ve made the section championship game seven out of the last nine years, and expect to be in contention again.

“When we look at our numbers this season, it’s quality over quantity.”

Caden Baarts, Josh Heinze and Jacob Rahn definitely fit Mahoney’s definition of ‘quality players’ after earning Sentinel All-Area football accolades as juniors a year ago, and will provide a solid base to restructure the team around in the upcoming weeks.

Baarts pocketed a second-best four interceptions — including a pick-six — and generated a sixth-best total of 73 tackles from his cornerback position last fall. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound senior stalwart also will be utilized as a running back and a receiver on the offensive side of the ball this campaign.

“Caden is one of those guys who evolved into both a sure-handed defender and a good leader on the field for us last season,” said Mahoney. “In fact, the entire senior class have been good mentors to our younger kids in practice, and their buy-in to excellence is second to none.”

Like Baarts, the 6-foot, 190-pound Heinze will be counted on to deliver clutch plays in the Cardinals’ offensive backfield this fall, in addition to anchoring the interior of Fairmont’s 5-2 base defensive alignment. Heinze recorded a third-best 79 tackles and chalked up a second-best team total of seven quarterback sacks for minus 44 yards from his defensive tackle/end spot in 2018.

“Heinze really made a commitment to the weight room during the past couple of seasons, and it has really paid dividends on the field,” said Mahoney.

The 6-3, 220-pound Rahn returns as the Cardinals’ only two-way starter from last year’s state runner-up team at offensive guard and defensive end. Rahn recorded 51 tackles to help pace Fairmont’s 11-2 overall record.

Wyatt Frank, a 6-8, 210-pound senior, will bookend Rahn at the opposite defensive end spot, seniors Jacob Roberts and Carson Toomer join Heinze in the interior, while Tanner Rosch — one of only six juniors — will provide depth in the trenches.

Senior newcomer Michael Johnson and sophomore Gavin Rodning will handle the linebacking duties, with sophomore Tyson Kube also figuring into the mix, according to Mahoney.

Senior Cale Steuber joins Baarts at cornerback, the sophomore tandem of Hudson Artz and Zach Jorgensen will vie for playing time at safety with senior Zach Soelter, while sophomore Eli Anderson also will compete for playing time in the defensive secondary.

Offensively, Mahoney and offensive coordinator Brian Wille have their collective work cut out for them in replacing 86 percent of the Cardinals’ staggering 4,664 total yards in 2018.

“We’re wide open offensively this season. We’ll run everything, with multiple options out of multiple formations,” said Mahoney.

Senior Jack Hested and sophomore Zach Jorgensen will battle it out at quarterback, with Hested playing in a limited reserve role last year and Jorgensen logging his occasional varsity offensive minutes at wide receiver.

“Both Jack and Zach have done a good job of running the offense in practice, and are making each other better at the position,” said Mahoney.

The 6-foot, 175-pound Rodning and the speedy Artz will compete for minutes at halfback after gaining 48 yards on nine carries and 33 yards on six totes, respectively, as freshmen in 2018.

Heinze, Baarts and Kube also will figure into the backfield mix, while the 5-11, 230-pound Roberts will handle the tight end duties.

“We should have good balance and depth in both the backfield and at the receiver spots,” said Mahoney.

Blake Buntjer, a 6-5, 185-pound senior, returns to a wideout position after catching 15 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns.

Hested and Jorgensen also will have tall targets to throw spirals to in the 6-8 Frank and the 6-3 Baarts. Steuber, Eli Anderson and Artz also will compete for minutes at receiver.

Jacob Rahn, Toomer and Sedrick Parker will return to their familiar spots in the offense line, with Toomer handling the snapping duties. Rahn and Parker will again work as a right-side tandem at guard and tackle, respectively.

Michael Johnson and James Fernandez will fill the vacated spots at left guard and left tackle, respectively, with 6-4, 295-pound sophomore Noah Rahm and 5-10, 210-pound junior Shayne Steinbrink figuring into the blocking mix, too.

From a special-teams perspective, Hested returns to handling the punting duties after averaging 31.7 yards per kick, and the PAT job on the heels of hitting 44 of 56 one-pointers. Frank will handle the kickoff chores, with Artz returning as a kickoff and punt returner this fall.

After sharing the South Central Red District championship with Jordan and Marshall a year ago, Fairmont will compete in the newly-created Silver District of the South Central.

“The powers-that-be took 24 teams and divided the district into four pods of six teams,” said Mahoney. “So now we know who’s in our district — Luverne, Tri-City United, Sibley East, Norwood Young America and Belle Plaine — and they’re all on our regular-season schedule.”

Unfortunately, the new district realignment created an unthinkable scenario for southern Minnesota football fans — no Little Brown Jug game between Fairmont and Blue Earth Area for at least this season and 2020.

“Not playing Blue Earth Area is really weird. Unfortunately, two quality football programs 20 miles apart can’t play each other due to district scheduling for the next two years,” said Mahoney.

As for the postseason, Mahoney would like to make it a five-peat in squaring off against Section 3AAA rival Jackson County Central for yet another state berth.

“Jackson County Central has a very good senior class of athletes and are well-coached,” said Mahoney. “They won the first two times we met for the sectional title in 2015 and 2016, while we’ve won the last two years.”

Wille will handle the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator duties again, with Brad Johnson returning as defensive coordinator. John Kesselring and Todd Sukalski will lend their coaching skills to the offense and defense, respectively, with Terry Ehlert and Dave Shoen coaching the C-squad this season.

“We’ve got an awesome coaching staff. They all are knowledgeable of the game, good to work with, and the kids love working with them,” said Mahoney. “Through my years here, Suk (Sukalski) and Johns (Johnson) have helped keep things consistent year in and year out, and I can’t express how much that means to me.”

Fairmont kicks off the 2019 season by playing host to Class AAAA powerhouse Marshall at 7 p.m. Friday night at Mahoney Field in Fairmont.