2025 Outlook

Coach: Joe Turek (1st season)

Career Record: 0-0

Last Playoff: Class 3A State Quarterfinalist, 2022

Best Playoff: Class 3A State Quarterfinalist, 2022

2024 record: 1-8

Coming off a 1-8 season and with a new head coach at the helm, the 2025 season will be a reset of sorts for Reed-Custer. Joe Turek will be the Comets’ new coach as he takes on his first varsity head coaching job after a decade coaching the sophomore team at Lincoln-Way East, getting his players ready to contribute to a varsity Griffin squad that had perennially been one of the best in the state.

Turek will have some comfort with some longtime Comets on his staff, including athletic director Nick Klein, former head coach Mark Wolf and strength and line coach Tyler Graham.

“I’m just leaning on them,” Turek said. “They know the lay of the land around here, and then obviously the kids are helping out too with good personalities and wanting to be here. I think it’s been great. I want to be here and I think they want to be here too.”

Turek said having players like Dominic Alaimo, Dhane Debelak and Alex Rodriguez back along the offensive and defensive lines will certainly help make things easier, as will having linebackers Jeremy Knutson and Hudson Cook back in the fold to help anchor the back seven on defense.

Alaimo has been a stalwart on the defensive and offensive lines throughout his career, and Turek said that the wrestling and track standout will also be running the ball a bit for the Comets as a senior. Thomas Emery and Kris Budick also will be back at the receiver/defensive back positions, giving nearly every position group some veterans to rely on.

“We’ve got a good group of seniors that are going to have a lot of experience from last year that we’re going to kind of lean on this year,” He said. “It helps that they kind of know what to do, they’ve put in the time, they know they want to be here and they’re going to hopefully build off some things they saw when they first got here (back-to-back Class 3A State quarterfinal runs in 2021 and 2022).”

The Comets are zeroing in on their season opener throughout the preseason, and with the team having dropped its first eight games of the season in 2024, Turek said that getting off on the right foot can really propel a team forward through the season.

“We feel like if we come out of the gate strong there, we’ve got a chance to maybe get something going,” he said. “Making sure we’re putting in the effort and hard work, leading and becoming accountable, and just having passion and pride in what we’re doing. We’re living the standard we’re trying to have around here.”