Dukes will face Loyola Academy Saturday night at Illinois State University
By Mike Miazga
The York football team has made plenty of history the last three seasons, but none bigger than what went down in Naperville last weekend.
The Dukes defeated host Naperville Central 20-15 in one of Saturday’s Class 8A state semifinal to advance to the state-championship game for the first time in program history. This was York’s third appearance in the state semifinals in a row.
York (11-2) will face familiar playoff foe Loyola Academy (11-2) out of Wilmette for the Class 8A state championship this Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Hancock Stadium on the grounds of Illinois State University in Normal. Loyola beat York in the 2022 and 2023 Class 8A state semifinals. York is the No. 14 seed in the 32-team Class 8A bracket, while Loyola, which beat top-seeded Lincoln-Way East 27-24 in the other Class 8A semifinal, is the No. 12 seed.
Against Naperville Central, York quarterback Bruno Massel scored on a 10-yard run to put York up 7-0 in the first quarter. Naperville Central tied it on a 42-yard run later in the quarter and took a 10-7 lead into halftime after converting a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter. Jimmy Conners’ 10-yard run in the third quarter put York up 14-10. Central countered with a 38-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-13 in the fourth before Massel scored on a 1-yard run to give York a 20-13 lead. Naperville Central was awarded a safety on the game’s final play when Massel took a fourth-down snap from York’s 43-yard line and ran backwards, into the end zone, then out of the back of the end zone, to burn off the last 10 seconds.
“In the end, it was a tight, back and forth football game,” York coach Don Gelsomino said. “We made one or two more plays than they did. It was close. We didn’t make too many mistakes, and they made a couple more. We made a play or two. That’s what these types of games come down to.”
York’s defense allowed one touchdown in the game and limited Naperville Central to 220 total yards. “We were happy with how we played on defense,” Gelsomino said. “We had a lot of pressure on their quarterback. Our base front did a nice job in the run game (108 rushing yards allowed) and we limited the big plays. They did have a couple of them, but overall, we played really well on defense.”
Tyler Hayes was cited for strong play on the defensive line. “Tyler had a huge game,” Gelsomino said. Conners, Joe Reiff and Evan Gaughan also starred on defense. “Jimmy, Joe and Evan had monster games,” Gelsomino noted. Eddie Sica also starred in the defensive backfield for the Dukes. “He might not jump off the stat sheet, but Eddie had a tough assignment and did an awesome job for us,” Gelsomino said. “He had a pass breakup, an interception and only allowed one or two catches. He played really well.” Gaughan finished with 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one hurry. Reiff had eight tackles and three hurries. Hayes had seven tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass breakup. Conners had six tackles, as did Drew Richardson. Aidan Link had two pass breakups, while Angelo Matire had one hurry.
As a team, York had six pass breakups and five quarterback hurries on defense. York ran for 168 yards and passed for 172. Massel completed 11 of 16 passes for 172 yards (long pass of 51 yards) and ran 19 times for 128 yards and two scored. Conners ran 16 times for 41 yards and one touchdown. “We were able to make some big plays on offense,” Gelsomino said. “Bruno had some gains with his legs and had a decent day through the air. He scrambled and made some plays and had some deep throws. He kept plays alive with his legs and moved the ball and moved the sticks for us. He did a great job.”
Henry Duda had one catch for 51 yards, while Finton Helm had five catches for 47 yards. Hayden Alexander had one catch for 34 yards, while Simon Kodosky had three catches for 29 yards and Conners had one catch for 11 yards.
York won on the road for the second time in the postseason. “It was a great atmosphere there,” Gelsomino said. “Winning on the road is tough, but we have played pretty well on the road, really since I have been at York. It’s never easy. The kids stayed focus and stayed together and kept on course. We were down at halftime again, but we have a team that believes and stays focused and they got the job done.”
York is now 34-5 over the last three seasons and 42-7 in making four consecutive playoff appearances starting in 2021. “I don’t know if this has fully sunk in for me yet,” Gelsomino said. “It’s crazy. We have put in a lot of hard work, but a lot of it has been watching these kids develop since they were freshmen and believe this is something we could get accomplished. When they started as freshmen, they hadn’t been to the playoffs in 10 years, and now with this senior class, look what they did. It’s incredible. When they started here there were no guarantees they would make the playoffs and now they are going to the state championship game.”
