The York football team opened the Class 8A state playoffs with a 47-14 win over Chicago Heights Bloom Township at Clarence D. East Field in Elmhurst on Friday, Oct. 23.
The play-in round win sends the Dukes – in the post-season for a sixth year in a row and third in a row under current coach Don Gelsomino – to the first round (round of 32) of the Class 8A playoffs. The Dukes will face West Suburban Conference Gold Division champion and No. 14 seed Downers Grove South in Downers Grove on Friday, Oct. 30. York is the No. 19 seed in the 48-team 8A bracket, while Bloom was the No. 46 seed.
York left zero doubt in this contest, jumping out to a 20-0 lead after the first quarter and cemented a blowout with a 39-0 lead at intermission.
“We got up pretty quick and did what we had to,” York coach Don Gelsomino said. “We got a lot of guys a lot of reps. It was good to get a lot of guys some playoff experience.”
York outgained Bloom 285-114 and created a pair of turnovers on fumbles, while limiting Bloom to 0-for-12 passing.
Three different York players threw touchdown passes with Zack Assaad completing four passes for 93 yards and a score, Noah Jahn completing a 70-yard touchdown pass and Jackson Moskal throwing a two-yard touchdown pass.
Chris Georgas ran seven times for 47 yards and a touchdown, while Cade Kasmer ran four times for 26 yards and a score. Moskal led York in rushing with eight carries for 48 yards. York ran for 120 yards and 51 of those came on explosive runs of 20 by Kasmer, 19 by Moskal and 12 by Georgas.
Dean McPartlin caught the 70-yard score, while Georgas caught a 23-yard touchdown pass. Anthony Massel had two catches for 38 yards, while Chris Winton had one catch for 32 yards and Leonardo Martire caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Moskal.
“Offensively, we ran the game plan pretty well and hit some passes and ran the ball. We were balanced and kept them off balance and executed pretty well,” Gelsomino said. “Our sophomore quarterback (Jahn) threw a touchdown pass to a sophomore running back (McPartlin) and our backup quarterback (Moskal) had some nice stats.”
On defense, 23 different York players registered a tackle. York’s defense had 9.5 tackles for loss, six quarterback sacks, three hurries, two pass breakups and forced three fumbles as many different rosterees saw action.
“Our defense played really well again,” Gelsomino said. “In the first half, it was three and out pretty much every time while we had the starters in. Our leading tackler was a sophomore who was pulled up to varsity for the playoffs.”
Theodore Chapman and Juan Valez each had 1.5 sacks, while Demetri Kekos, Owen Roberts and Ryan Enright each had a sack.
Owen Gorny had two pass breakups, while Christos Danigeles, Valez and Dyan Villanueva each had a forced fumble with Max Bui and Dillon Watson each recovering a fumble.
Kekos led the way with seven tackles, while Chapman had five tackles and Miranda had four tackles. Chapman and Valez each had 2.5 tackles for loss. Kekos, Blake Yankowski, Roberts and Enright each had one tackle for loss, while Danigeles had 0.5 tackles for loss.
York has won four games in a row after losing two conference games to Oak Park and Hinsdale Central.
“It’s definitely good to have a little momentum right now,” Gelsomino said. “We’re playing good football. We want to keep rolling as long as we can.”
Up next is a familiar local face in Downers Grove South, who several years ago was York’s WSC crossover opponent during the regular season.
“Downers South won the Gold Division. We have a pretty good idea from the teams they have played and we have played,” Gelsomino said. “They were our crossover game and we played them throughout the levels so they are a familiar opponent. We’ll be on the road and being on the road in the playoffs is never easy. In order to win, we have to stay focused. Our message is focus on ourselves and play good football. It’s great to still be playing and our goal is to keep going.”
