Preview capsule: Reed-Custer football

A loss to Richmond-Burton in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs put a bit of a damper on an otherwise successful season, but it should serve to make the six starters returning on both the offense and defense hungry for at least another week of football.

Backfield: Gone is quarterback Casey Barnes, but Derek Albin, a starter last year on the defense, will take his place. Wingbacks Garrett Sandefur and Ryan Garbin, along with flanker Steven Davis, return a wealth of experience and rushing yards.

Linemen: There's plenty of size and experience up front for the Comets. Zach Speed (6-3, 185), Mike Gorman (6-4, 255) and Brad Gutzman (6-1, 260) return as seniors for a team that racked up more than 2,000 yards on the ground last year. Other line candidates are juniors Spencer Butler (6-5, 275) and Mike Powers (6-3, 295) and sophomore Cody Nicholson (6-2, 210).

Receivers: Besides Davis, who is an all-purpose threat, Anthony Scaglione also saw action at flanker last year. Jim Benson returns at tight end. He will get help there from Jake Bunting, Jake Hays and Cody Jensen.

Linemen: With only 25 players on the roster, many of the Comets will have to play both ways. Most of the players on the offensive line will also see time on the D-line.

Linebackers: Ivan Martinez returns as a linebacker, as does Benson. Others vying for time are Garbin, Brandon Cunning, Jake Jedryck and Jensen.

Secondary: Davis and Albin will anchor the secondary, with Scaglione, Zach Boyer, Brandon Barrow and Rory Kelsey also in the mix.

Boyer, who doubles as the backup quarterback, will handle the kicking duties. The hope for the Comets is their fourth playoff appearance in the last five years.

"Despite some really low numbers, we have some quality players," Cappel said. "That means many of them are going to have to play both ways. If we stay healthy, we should be in the middle of the conference race.

"Our strength will be our quickness and experience in the backfield."