November 13, 2025 // Diocese

At Saint Joseph, Football Is Family

Todays Catholic

Longtime Saint Joseph High School junior varsity football Coach Paul Carrier shares the same message before each Saturday morning game: “This is for the brother before you, after you, and next to you.”

Four seasons ago, for those in the Saint Joe football program, brotherhood took on a whole new meaning. 

In the spring of 2022, three deaths shook the local community. In May of that year, the Saint Joe community was heartbroken by the news that brothers Ahmed and Saleem Qasem passed away tragically while swimming in Lake Michigan. Saleem, a member of the football team, inspired his teammates to remember him each time they put the pads on. The Saint Joe football team placed No. 20 – Saleem’s jersey number – on the shoulder of their practice jerseys. But his number was paired on the opposite shoulder with another – No. 24.

Earlier that year, in April, eighth-grade student Pierson Sult lost his battle with Ewing sarcoma – a rare bone cancer. A close friend of many future Saint Joe students and Saint Joe football players, Sult planned to attend Saint Joe and would have been a senior this year. But Sult is not forgotten. As current strong safety Ryan Ruszkowski put it, “There are more important things than sports – the memories and relationships you create.” 

Ruszkowski and his cousin, Ryder Place, the kicker and punter for the Huskies, were neighbors and best friends with Pierson. They are reminded of him every time they wake up in the morning and look at their arms, which proudly display the words “JoJo Strong” tattooed in remembrance of their friend. Sult’s nickname was “JoJo,” and the hashtag “JoJo Strong” spread throughout the local community while he battled cancer.

Ruszkowski stresses that every player on the team must find their purpose, their compass, their why: Why they go hard, why they play, why they practice, why they are out on the field sacrificing every day. Ruszkowski’s why is tattooed on his arm.

“I do this every day because I know he would be right here playing with us,” Ruskowski said, “and it would be foolish to go about practice or games without giving 100 percent, knowing that he would give everything to just be with us on the sidelines.” 

When the winter of 2022 rolled around, it was announced that Saint Joe was looking for a new head football coach. The name that emerged was a familiar one to the community – former Saint Joe head coach Ben Downey.

“I never thought I would be a head coach again, but as important as the football experience is to the Saint Joe community and the young men who play football, I felt a calling to return to the sidelines,” Downey said. “Under the circumstances, my wife and I knew it would be incredibly difficult because the program needed significant attention. [Despite the fact that] our family life hadn’t slowed down since the first time I stepped down … we took the plunge.”

Coming off a semistate appearance in 2015 and state championship appearances in 2010 and 2011, people were surprised by Downey’s resignation following a six-year tenure. However, when asked why, he had one word: family.

“Things got so hectic between balancing being the head football coach and being a dad and attending all their activities … all while my wife was working full-time,” Downey said. “I knew I had to make a change. When someone asked me how my kids were doing in flag football and I didn’t know, I knew there were more important things I had to focus on.”

So, when Downey made the decision to return, he and his staff immediately went to work rebuilding a culture and brand built on brotherhood. In the fall of 2022, Downey’s son, Dallas, along with Ruszkowski and Place, were now part of the first freshman team the program had in four years. Friends of Sult’s brought a special attitude about football: to play every snap like it was their last. They felt blessed to even be able to put pads on, and every time they saw the numbers 20 and 24 on their practice jerseys, they were reminded that they had been blessed with a gift to be on that football field.

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“In my four years, the brotherhood that we have built from the ground up has taken control of the team, and the culture and has made us play as a family every snap.”

Mason Kazmierzak, Saint Joseph Senior

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Throughout the next four years, the program slowly improved, and more importantly, the brotherhood grew stronger.

This Huskies team began the season 7-0 for the first time in 30 years, when the 1995 team won a state title – a squad that Downey, defensive cacks coach Trevor Doakes, and special teams coordinator Nick Weldy were all members of. On November 7, Saint Joseph moved to 11-1 with a win over Mishawaka in the sectional final.

“In my four years, the brotherhood that we have built from the ground up has taken control of the team, and the culture and has made us play as a family every snap,” said senior linebacker Mason Kazmierzak, who said that the bond begins from the top down. He said that because the coaches have a brotherly bond, the team plays like brothers. All the coaches encourage playing as a family above all else.

Every practice begins with a reminder that family and God come first, and then football. However, in this case, football is family.

Jackson Troester is a senior at
Saint Joseph High School.