2025 MIDWEST CLASSIC SMALL CONFERENCE PREVIEWPredicted Order of Finish1. St. Joseph (Kenosha)
2. Brookfield Academy (Brookfield)
3. Kenosha Christian Life (Kenosha)
4. Living Word Lutheran (Jackson)
5. Catholic Central (Burlington)
6. Dominican (Whitefish Bay)Players to WatchJoJo Hernandez, RB, Kenosha Christian Life: Hernandez earned First Team All-Conference honors at running back last year, going for 1,021 yards and eight touchdowns.
Christopher Kenesie, RB/DB, St. Joseph: Kenesie ran for 1,237 yards and 15 touchdowns as just a sophomore last season, earning First Team All-Conference as a running back and defensive back.
Berkley Kuiper, TE/DE, St. Joseph: Kuiper was a First Team All-Conference selection on both offense and defense last season for the Lancers.
Garrett Priebe, WR/LB, Brookfield Academy: Priebe was First Team All-Conference both ways, catching 34 passes for 675 yards and nine scores with 57 tackles on defense.
Dominic Rinaldi, WR/DB, St. Joseph: Rinaldi led the Lancers with 51 catches for 871 yards and 14 touchdowns, earning First Team All-Conference recognition on offense and defense.
Zach Rizzo, QB, St. Joseph: Rizzo put up big numbers last season, throwing for 1,913 yards and 28 touchdowns with just two interceptions, posting a quarterback rating of 128.0.
Andrew Schmidt, QB, Brookfield Academy: Schmidt threw for 1,462 yards last season with 18 touchdown passes, earning First Team All-Conference recognition.
Sincere Williams, OL/DL, St. Joseph: Williams earned First Team All-Conference as an offensive lineman and defensive lineman for the Lancers a year ago.
2025 Team Previews1) Kenosha St. Joseph dominated the Midwest Classic-Small last year and played a tough schedule outside the league. The Lancers lost early non-conference games to Racine St. Catherine's and Milwaukee Academy of Science, which helped prepare them for a nice playoff run to the state semi-finals. They'd go out to Potosi/Cassville, but it sets the stage for a 2025 season that will feature significant expectations right out of the gates, as they figure to be one of the top-ranked teams in the state. "We return a good number of very good and experienced players who are poised to make another run," said head coach Matt Rizzo. "We will need to stay healthy and have many others step up this season, as we are not as deep or experienced in many positions as we have been in recent years. Our senior class will need to carry us." That senior class is extremely talented, led by returning conference Offensive Player of the Year Zach Rizzo, who threw for 1,913 yards and 28 touchdowns with just two interceptions. 1200-yard rusher Christopher Kenesie is back, along with leading receiver Dominic Rinaldi, plus talented two-way player Berkley Kuiper. Up front, Sincere Williams is perhaps the league's best offensive lineman, also laying on the defensive side of the ball.
2) Brookfield Academy was a pretty clear number two in the Midwest Classic-Small behind St. Joe's, finishing the regular season 7-2. The Knights scored a playoff win over Racine Lutheran, going out against Prairie du Chien the following week. Head coach Jon Kahle moved on to Marquette, as Dave Archibald has taken over the program. "We have an eager, hard-working group with multiple returning linemen," said Archibald. The Knights return seven starters on both offense and defense this season, including five returning on the offensive line. Also back is starting quarterback Andrew Schmidt, who threw 18 touchdowns last season. His favorite receiver, Garrett Priebe, also returns.
3) Kenosha Christian Life dropped five straight games on the field to end the season, but with a couple of forfeit victories, the team was still able to get into the playoffs for the first time (the only other appearance was in the adjusted 2020 COVID season), where they'd fall to Kenosha St. Joseph for a second time. The team should compete for another postseason berth this fall, with quarterback Monchie Gunter returning along with 1000-yard rusher JoJo Hernandez.
4) Living Word Lutheran did not win a game on the field last fall, with just a pair of forfeit victories over Catholic Central and Dominican. The Timberwolves struggled defensively, allowing more than 50 points per game. Offensively, the team does return quarterback Ryde Ehley, who will have his top three receivers back from a year ago: Donavon Pettis, Gavin Weissenburger, and Chip Fox.
5) Catholic Central returns to varsity competition after playing a non-varsity schedule last fall. Nathan Wallman, who was a head coach at Delavan-Darien previously, takes over the program. "We are a young team looking to rebuild the program," said Wallman. "Our numbers are low, but we have some solid athletes at key positions."
6) Dominican has joined a co-op with Shorewood/Messmer and will not field its own team, meaning all Midwest Classic-Small teams will get a forfeit win in the week they'd be scheduled against Dominican.
*Dominican has joined a co-op with Shorewood/Messmer and will not field its own team, meaning all Midwest Classic-Small teams will get a forfeit win in the week they’d be scheduled against Dominican. Catholic Central did not field a varsity team last year but is returning to competition this fall.
The Midwest Classic-Small is a six-team league that will play double crossovers with the Midwest Classic-Large.