CLARK, NJ- As the 2017 Johnson Crusaders varsity football season came to a close, it marked the end of the football careers of 14 senior players. One of them broke a record in his final game as a Crusader. Senior fullback and co-captain Joe Turek became the all-time leading rusher for Johnson Crusaders football.
He achieved it with a 22-yard rush in the first quarter of the Thanksgiving Day game at Rahway HS.
The Rahway PA announcer confirmed it at the end of the play and he capped it off with the rush. He also tagged on a 32-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter. He was a workhorse all over the field and really showed all the work that he did, on and off the game field, along with the practices.
“It’s a credit to my offensive line, they’ve blocked great all-year long,” Turek said, following the Thanksgiving Day Game at Rahway HS. “It made it easy for me to run. They’ve played so hard all year. It’s an honor to have the record.”
Turek was described as the guy who was always about winning games for his hometown with his best friends, never a “me” guy, but one who fought and competed every day, especially going back to the Pop Warner days and the freshman football season in 2014.
Turek’s final career numbers for high school football include:
-521 carries
-3,640 rushing yards
-48 rushing touchdowns
-Four sacks
-230 tackles
-Two recovered fumbles
-Six forced fumbles
-Two interceptions
He was also named the 2017 Johnson Football Most Valuable Player, capping off a record-setting career for Turek as a Crusader.”[Head Coach Anthony DelConte] helped me so much throughout my entire career and my dad has coached me throughout my entire life,” Joe said.
This past season, the Johnson Crusaders started the season off on a hot streak, starting out with a 5-0 record, downing New Providence, Bernards, Roselle, Delaware Valley and Hillside, capturing the 2017 UNICO Bowl championship, along with the 2017 Mid-State 38 Valley Division conference championship, the first one for the program since the 2006 season.In the home opener against New Providence, Turek recorded 175 yards on 14 carries, including three touchdowns in a 41-3 victory for the Crusaders, setting the tone with what he and his fellow teammates were stirring up and capable of doing as the season went along.In Week 2 at Bernards, Turek provided a momentum-killing interception in the second quarter with his team ahead 10-0, leading to the touchdowns from Sebastian Iakouchevitch and Brandon Rapp, as Johnson led Bernards 24-7 at halftime, leaving on a happy bus ride back home with a 38-7 win.
He provided the knockout punch touchdown with a five-yard score to secure a 23-13 win over Roselle-Abraham Clark HS in Week 3 that gave Johnson control of the conference at the time. He was also part of an offensive jaggernaut the following week, scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 168 yards on 18 carries in a 49-21 win over Delaware Valley HS.In the 22-13 win in Week 5 over Hillside HS, Turek scored a touchdown in the second quarter.Following a setback to Somerville, Turek and the Crusaders defeated North Plainfield and Governor Livingston to finish the regular season with a 7-1 record.
They defeated Holmdel in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 First Round by a final score of 34-6, reaching the semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Turek’s role as a fullback with the workload ignited following a season-ending injury later in the 2015 season.
In the regular season finale at Somerville HS and the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 First Round at New Providence HS, Turek ran for a combined 362 yards and five touchdowns to help power the Crusaders.
The next major game Joe had was at Lincoln HS in the semifinals, when he became the main bulldozer on the field, plowing through the Lincoln defense 39 times for 207 rushing yards and three touchdowns. I remember vividly from that press box in Jersey City, watching him with a 50+ yard rush on a fourth down conversion when Lincoln was as stacked as they were.
Photo Credit: Charles Rubino, courtesy of Bob Turek“Joe had a handful of big games his sophomore year leading up to the playoffs,” his dad Bob Turek said. “I think the state semifinal game at Lincoln was the exclamation point that caught a lot of peoples’ attention. That game confirmed that Joe was ready to handle a heavy workload on offense and defense for the rest of his career at Johnson.”
He tied the game and gave Johnson the lead, before Johnson ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and fell by a final score of 40-26. Turek reflected upon the workload he got during that time of the season at his grade level, of being a sophomore.
“It showed me that I could play with everyone on the varsity level and it gave me confidence,” Joe said of the game.
In the 2015 Thanksgiving Day game at Veterans Field, Turek scored two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 5:18 left in the fourth quarter as Johnson edged Rahway by a final score of 21-17, capping off his sophomore season.
Photo Credit: Charles Rubino, courtesy of Bob TurekHis father, Bob Turek, was one of his coaches during the Pop Warner years. He and his mother, Kim, beamed with pride when talking about how amazing it was to watch Joe work hard and watch everything pay off week after week.
“I am extremely proud of Joe’s amazing career as a Crusader,” Bob Turek said. “Ever since he was young, Joe loved to compete. Game after game, he left everything he had on the field. It takes a special person to achieve what Joe did and to stay so humble.”
“Every game brought so much joy,” his mother Kim Turek said. “I’m going miss it. I wish we could do it all over again.”
Turek had big games throughout his career, including in Week 2 of the 2016 season, rushing for 122 yards on 21 carries and four rushing touchdowns in a 43-14 Crusaders win. He also recorded 1,000 career rushing yards in the process, after having rushed for 975 yards as a sophomore at the varsity level.
In Week 3 of the 2017 season, he ran for 183 yards on 30 carries with the game-sealing touchdown as Johnson defeated Roselle by a final score of 23-13. The following week at Delaware Valley, he ran for 168 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns in a 49-21 Johnson win. The offensive line, which allows the successes of the running game, had words of praise for Turek after the football season came to an end.
“It’s really been great just watching him run all over the field,” Johnson offensive lineman and 2017 senior Dan Olenick said. “I think without our [offensive line], we wouldn’t be able to get them to be running across the field.”
“Having Joe as a teammate has been a blast,” he added. “He’s a really good kid and a hell of a player too.”
Game after game, Turek came to practice and always gave everything he could. He reflected on the past season, when he played almost with everyone from his days of Pop Warner football.He was also part of an era that accomplished the following accolades:
-20 Wins
-Three Playoff Appearances
-Two Trips to the Semifinals in Three Seasons (2015, 2017)
-Two UNICO Bowl championships (2015, 2017)
-2017 Mid-State 38 Valley Division Conference Champions (First one since 2006 season)
“It was amazing because I knew that we had a great team all of these years,” Turek said. “It was great to play with all my best friends for all these years and achieve these things.”
“His leadership and how fast and physical he played, it’s gonna be tough to fill,” Johnson now-junior Max Carmino said.
He was also a co-captain in the 2017 season, serving the role with Tommy Bowen, as a part of the best Johnson football team, capturing the most wins in a season since the 2008 season, when Johnson went 8-4, losing the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 State Title Game to Manasquan.Turek was also named the News 12 New Jersey Scholar Athlete of the Week in October.
“Watching Joe grow as a player and as a person was amazing,” Johnson head football coach Anthony DelConte said. “They tell you when you [become a head football coach], that’s the number one thing you look forward to and that’s changing boys into men and Joey’s done that.”
“We knew he was going to be a good football player,” he added. “His work ethic, his family background [and] the support, it’s all there and he had all the keys to be a successful player. The reason why Joey was successful was because of his surrounding cast. He had a great offensive line, he had great quarterbacks at the helm and he has other guys that take the focus off of him.”
In addition to football, Turek excels on the baseball field as the team’s first basemen for head coach Dave Kennedy and his team. In the 2017 season, Turek had 29 hits, five doubles, one triple, 22 RBIs and had a .433 batting average in his junior year. He looks forward to the final part of his high school sports career.
“I’m definitely excited to play my last year of baseball,” Turek said, when asked about the last part of his high school career. “I’ve been playing my whole life and it’s very exciting to play my last season.”
The numbers he posted were phenomenal, including a .484 batting average, 30 hits, seven doubles, one triple and four home runs, including a near-grand slam on April 17 in a 15-4 win over Westfield.
He capped it off by accomplishing his 100th career hit in the season finale against Union Catholic on May 23, two days after coming up just short against South Plainfield in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 2 First Round.
His younger sister, junior Taylor Turek, plays field hockey and was amazed by watching her brother compete every single week.
“Joey is a fierce competitor and hates losing,” Taylor said. “I admire his passion for every sport he plays. I’m going to miss watching him play.”
She also praised Joe for his playing for Arthur L. Johnson High School, ignoring the “me” aspect and going to battle for everyone at the school, as well as adding to her taste for competition during her days of field hockey.
“Joey never played for the name on the back of the jersey, he always played for the name on the front,” she added. “I admire this the most and it inspires me to do the same.”
Joe also says for high school athletes to enjoy every moment of practicing and playing, along with competing, as it goes quite fast.
“Just go work hard everyday and don’t take any of this for granted because it goes fast,” Turek said.
His final numbers with Johnson baseball included over 100 career hits, 81 RBIs, 19 doubles, four triples, three home runs (all coming in his senior season) and a .456 career batting average.
My Thoughts:
I always never had a doubt Joe Turek was going to bring football up a notch for the Johnson Crusaders. I remember talking to him on a few occasions his sophomore year and talking to him more as he began his junior year.
I enjoyed watching tear defenses up as he gave his all every single game of his high school football career. That’s the one thing about Joe I will personally miss the most. I look forward to seeing him play baseball for one last time.
Personally, putting together that story upon his completing 1,000 career rushing yards was fun, getting to know more about him and his family.I chuckle about the time I had to do a documentary for a school project and he overheard me said that so many times and was like, “Hey Dan, where’s my documentary?”
The endless laughs over that were great, especially seeing him improve on the baseball diamond.Um, Joey, here’s your documentary and my thoughts of covering you throughout your entire high school career!
Bottom line, I’ll miss him tearing it up on the football field every week and miss the daily, or more so, weekly conversations with his dad over PowerPoints, life and about upcoming opponents every day of the weeks leading up to gameday.
