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Schools

Glory Days with Football Star Kevan Comstock

Gifted running back, defender played on one of Lake Forest High School's best football teams.

 

It was the magical football season of 1992 and the word was out. The kid to stop on football team was that powerful two-way player with the odd spelling of his first name.

His first name was simple enough. It was Kevin, but his family spelled it Kevan. And Kevan Comstock was having a terrific season on both sides of the ball.

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"Kevan was a great athlete who was versatile enough to excel at both running back and cornerback,'' noted former teammate Ben Moss. "On the offensive side of the ball, he was a tough runner who was hard to bring down. He was also deceptively fast. In the secondary, Kevan rarely missed a tackle or coverage assignment."

Former star linebacker Brian Funk recalled how, despite Comstock's success on the field, his ego didn't get in the way.

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"I will always remember how level headed the kid was,'' Funk said. "He would run for a 40-yard touchdown, then toss the ball to the referee and act as though he just took his SATs. We would be more visibly excited than he was, and he did all most of the work."

This was the football team that rolled up 11 straight wins before losing in the state quarterfinals to eventual state champion, Wheaton Warrenville South.

Lake Forest coach Tom Myers didn't hesitate playing Comstock on both sides of the ball. He, too, noticed how this player was team first.

"He was an unselfish player,'' Myers recalled.  "He was a very good defensive back. He had exceptional hands. He was a very positive player."

Signature Win

Maybe the signature win that fall was a hammering of a very good Stevenson team in Lincolnshire. And Comstock, fresh off a big game the week before, didn't do much on offense that night.

"Stevenson was a great win and a fun atmosphere,'' Comstock said. "We won handily against a much larger school. I was more of a decoy and a blocker in that game. Jason Klapper had a great game rushing for over 200 yards I believe, and 4 TDs or something like that."

Funk recalled the game plan that night.

"When we met Stevenson in week 7, it was clear from the first snap that their entire defensive game plan involved shutting down Kevan,'' Funk said. "Tommy (Myers) quickly identified the situation, began calling plays for Jason Klapper and the rest was history."

And when the game was over, Funk watched Comstock offer congratulations to the game hero.

"The first guy congratulating him after the game was Kevan Comstock,'' Funk said. "Great leaders just want to win, and he was just as happy to see Jason have a fantastic game if it was needed."

College Doesn't Have Same Magic

Comstock went on to play four years of football at Middlebury College in Vermont as a wide receiver.

"While I had some success starting off and on for three of the four years,
it wasn't the same as in high school where everything was set up perfectly,'' Comstock said. "More than anything, I enjoyed football for the camaraderie and life long friendships that I developed both from high school and college and the teamwork and discipline that it instilled. I still remain an avid  football fan."

Comstock, and wife Katie, are the parents of two young boys, Spencer and William. He earned his MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern in 2004 and now works for Lazard Private Fund Advisory Group raising private equity funds from institutional investors. The family lives in Lincoln Park.

Growing up in , Comstock dabbled in soccer, basketball and hockey growing up.

"Other than pickup football at the end of our street, I didn't play organized football for the first time until eighth grade in the Lake Forest Recreation League,'' he said. "I played travel hockey until seventh grade until I  decided to quit to focus on basketball. My basketball career reached it's pinnacle as a scrappy, 6-foot power forward on the freshman basketball team and went downhill from there when I stopped growing."

Just Like We Practiced

Although he played baseball, basketball and football in high school, it was that magical 1992 football season that stands out. During the unbeaten run through the North Suburban Conference, Comstock recalled being named Chicago Sun-Times player of the week in a win over Zion-Benton. There was another special memory from a win over Antioch.

"The Antioch game was special because I completed a half back option pass for a TD to my best friend from childhood and next door neighbor, Brandon Rolek,'' Comstock said. "That was a play we had practiced many times on the field at the end of our street growing up."

Of course, that season ended with that 24-20 loss to Wheaton Warrenville South. The state power had jumped to a two touchdown lead and then Comstock broke one for 60 yards.

"In one play Kevan, without saying a word, reminded us that we belonged in that game,'' Funk said."Jason followed up with a TD on the next drive and the gap was closed. Their guys went from total and complete confidence to total and complete fear. I credit Kevan’s run with that momentum swing."

Comstock still looks back at the season-ending defeat.

"Losing to Wheaton was difficult, but a good life lesson,'' he said. "It had been sort of a fairy tale season up until then. How you handle defeat and bounce back from adversity is as important as anything."

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