ABOVE: Fairmont quarterback Joe Long prepares the first offensive drive of last Friday’s contest against Belle Plaine at Mahoney Field. The Cardinals took down the Tigers 35-0.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont High School football program has seen its fair share of talented quarterbacks under center during the dedicated tenure of head coach Mat Mahoney.

Whether it was the big-play ability of Spencer Chirpich or the dominating presence of Nate Kallenbach, Mahoney has been blessed to see so many skilled play callers represent the Cardinal colors over the years.

This year, however, fans have been able to see another gifted field general dazzle opponents with his dual-threat capabilities. Senior Joe Long has been a household name for the Cardinals for two seasons now, being one of the main catalysts for an offense that has averaged over 30 points per game during his time under center.

“At the end of the day, Joe kinda has a little bit of every one of them [past Fairmont quarterbacks],” Mahoney said. “He is a very intelligent kid, he has a strong arm and is probably the fastest of them all. So he has a little bit of all the different intangibles you are looking for.”

Finding his path

Long’s journey to the varsity started in his sophomore season. Sitting behind then quarterback Blaze Geiger at the time, Long gathered knowledge of the position through practice, coaching, and junior varsity game experience.

This time at junior varsity was able to emulate some of the same things Long would see in the future. Running an offense, faster competition, and in-game experience are all things he was able to pick up and acquire after this lone season.

“JV definitely prepared me,” Long said. “Just seeing that next level, even from C-squad, it actually helps quite a bit. Just reading defenses. Obviously, when you are younger, you don’t pass as much. So as I got older and passing more, I just felt more comfortable, and I’d say that [JV experience] helped quite a bit.”

A jump in competition

Long took reins of the offense the next season entering his junior year. While Mahoney and the other coaches will say the transition went smoothly, it didn’t take away from any added nerves or pressures Long put on himself to manipulate the offensive unit.

Luckily for him, Fairmont had a handful of talented seniors on that side of the ball to help carry the load, most notably, running back Elijah Johnson, who accumulated a program record 3,790 rushing yards during his tenure with the Cardinals.

“I got mentored by the older guys and the coaches; they helped me a lot progressively,” Long said. “Obviously, having Elijah at running back also helped keep me composed because we gave it to him; it helped me a lot with just running the offense.”

Long finished his junior campaign with 1,245 yards and nine touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes.

His efforts were enough to guide Fairmont to a quarterfinal appearance in the 2024 Class AAA State Football Tournament against eventual runner-up Dassel-Cokato. Although the season ended in a 29-28 loss to the Chargers, Long’s performance gave the rest of the program confidence in their man under center going forward.

“As a junior, he just took over full responsibilities,” Mahoney said. “He was able to pick up on things instantly. We have been able to open up the playbook because of his mental capacity and what we can throw at him. If there was something he didn’t like, coach [Brian] Willie has done a great job of adjusting.”

Taking a

leadership role

For any senior individual playing high school varsity athletics, the development into a leadership role for the rest of the roster’s underclassmen is necessary for any sort of team success and program development.

Fairmont would enter 2025 with the departure of many key seniors whose skills on and off the field impacted the team heavily. Being not only the returning starting quarterback, but a senior, Long knew he would need to grow into where he could impact the team in a multitude of ways.

“With a leadership role, I knew I had to step up being the oldest guy on the field now,” Long said. “As a quarterback, you kind of have to take over that role. … They [Fairmont coaching staff] talked to me about a leadership role and how I had to step up and be more vocal.”

Playing with

confidence

Long will be the first person to tell you about the nerves and jitters he experienced heading into his first handful of starts at the varsity level in 2024. But after gaining game experience, practicing rigorously every week, and seeing the confidence from his teammates and coaches, Long’s belief in his own abilities steadily progressed as the season went on.

“Our coaches preach ‘Get 1% better every day,’ and I feel like I have slowly done that,” Long said. “Maybe not 1% better every day, but from where I started to now, I think it’s improved quite a bit.”

This has directly impacted the way Long has played so far in his senior year. Heading into the seventh week of the season, Long had 882 yards passing and 17 touchdown passes, limiting turnovers while completing passes at a clip of 63%.

The Cardinals’ offense under the watch of Long is on pace to be one of the most potent Mahoney has had during his time with the program, scoring more than 40 points three times this season.

“I think a lot of that [offensive success] is because of him,” Mahoney said. “What we are allowed to do and what we are capable of doing is because of Joe. … Joe has kind of kept the ship afloat and going in the right direction.”

Finishing strong

With the regular season wrapping up and postseason play just around the corner, Long knows his time playing for the Cardinal program is nearing an end. Long speaks for himself and his teammates when saying he wants people to see how hard they have worked, not just this season, but during their entire time frame under Mahoney.

“I want to end the season knowing we gave it our very best,” Long said. “We have the guys to do it, but we just have to put it all together. I think when we do that, we are a really good team, and we have seen flashes of that this year.”

Fairmont finishes the 2025 regular season next Wednesday with a road contest against St. Peter at Floyd B Johnson Memorial Field. Kickoff for this game is set to begin around 7 p.m.