Kent, York rush past Willowbrook
With the playoffs looming, York came out sharp in its final tuneup, defeating Willowbrook 56-0 Friday night in Elmhurst in a West Suburban Conference crossover game.
Leading the way, as usual, was senior running back Ryan Kent, who went out in style in his final regular-season game. Kent slashed his way for a season-high 289 yards and 4 touchdowns. Even more astonishing was the fact that Kent collected all his yards in the first half.
"It was the offensive line," Kent said. "I broke a few tackles, but they were opening gaps and blocking downfield."
Breaking a few tackles may have been the understatement of the season, as the 289 yards amassed by Kent was the third most in York history, and the most yards rushing in a game since 1964. Kent finished only 31 yards short of the all-time school record, but the senior back lead the area with 1,356 rushing yards to go with his 18 touchdowns.
"Ryan's earned everything he's gotten this season," York coach Bill Lech said. "This group of kids work hard together, and the kids up front have seen the effort he's put in, and I think in turn he's seen the effort they've put in. It's been a total team effort."
York (8-1) rested its starters the entire second half as its punishing ground game accounted for 452 of the 500 total yards on the evening for the Dukes. The rest for the starters was especially nice as York approaches the playoffs in full stride.
"Our ultimate goal is to go downstate and win a state championship," Kent said. "Now the real season begins. Tomorrow we are all going to a buddy's house to watch who we're going to play. Hopefully, we get a one or two seed, but we can't slow down and we need to work harder than we did all season."
Coach Lech also touched upon the urgency of the playoffs beginning, and the mentality his team will need to achieve their ultimate goal.
"Now it's do or die," Lech said. "Hopefully, we get a good draw and get to host four games, but we can't worry about that. All we can control is how we prepare and keep our sights on the goal and just play football."
Willowbrook (2-7) had a disappointing end to a season full of transition. The constant, though, was the yeoman-like work of senior running back Jabril Jones, as the three-plus year varsity starter accounted for 90 of the Warriors' 106 total yards on the evening.
"It went by real fast," Jones said of his time at Willowbrook. "It didn't end like I wanted, but I played my hardest every game and that's all I can do."
Despite losing a workhorse like Jones, Willowbrook coach Mark Olson has nothing but positive vibes moving forward.
"I'm happy with our growth," Olson said. "Our kids persevered through some tough times and they worked hard; it wasn't from a lack of effort. Our future is bright we're playing eight sophomores out there but I'm proud of the kids."