Magic hats: York pulls off another surprise, beats Glenbard West

Two weeks ago, York was coming off a pair of three-point losses. With the three toughest league games still left on the schedule, a 3-6 record seemed both reasonable and realistic.

Then again, not every team has a mascot that wears a top hat. The Dukes found some magic somehow, somewhere and on Saturday pulled off their second straight upset victory, beating Glenbard West 25-22.

The difference was a 29-yard field goal by Conner Smith with 2:47 remaining. The host Hilltoppers tried to counter, but their field-goal attempt at the buzzer was barely wide from 42 yards.

Last week, York knocked off previously undefeated Downers Grove North in overtime. So how did this sudden upswing happen?

“I don't know,” York coach Don Gelsomino said. “We weren't playing very good football, I guess that's the bottom line.

“I think we had a little bit of complacency on our side, of (thinking) it's just going to happen. We had to look in the mirror a little bit.”

In this game the Dukes definitely had to dig deep under grueling conditions. The temperature was around 80 degrees, uncommon for mid-October.

Running back Chris Georgas was a workhorse, carrying 28 times for 170 yards. Quarterback Zack Assaad was an efficient 14 for 18 through the air for 122 yards.

Probably no one worked harder than York's two-way linemen. Purdue commit Owen Roberts and Dayton-bound Brayden Byford played every snap on offense and worked in on defense. Byford found the energy to make three vital tackles for loss.

“It was electric out there,” Byford said. “I was ready to go, every snap. Got to stay hydrated. It was a hot one, but I was feeling ready to go.”

At one point in the game, Roberts stayed on the ground, either shaken up or exhausted. Glenbard West tight end Brady Johnson, another Big Ten commit headed to Northwestern, stopped over to check on him.

“It was definitely a grind,” Roberts said. “Just my team, man, I can't do anything without them. They lift me up, I lift them up. We're all together.”

Roberts is known mostly as a defensive end but switched to offensive tackle last week when an injury created an opening. He had a theory about York's sudden surge.

“Honestly, I think our coaches, they brought out the togetherness in us,” he said. “In the past, I feel like there was a little bit of 'playing for me.' But now we really realize our potential if we play for each other.”

Glenbard West (5-3) was clicking on offense at the start, racing down the field on their first two possessions. Jaylen McMiller started the scoring with a 28-yard run, then quarterback A.J. Rayford added a 54-yard run to go up 15-7.

Rayford finished with 91 rushing yards on eight carries, to go with 111 passing yards. Ace Harris added 72 yards on 17 carries and Keyante Johnson had 6 catches for 60 yards.

York's defense found the formula to slow down the Hilltoppers, and the Dukes led 22-15 at halftime after Assaad found Tyler Fuentes for a 23-yard touchdown.

Glenbard West used a 25-yard run by Vince Schoettle on a fake punt to set up the tying touchdown, a 3-yard run by Harris on the first play of the fourth quarter.

York (5-3) finishes the regular season at home against Lyons next Friday, trying to make it three straight wins over ranked opponents.

“You lose two close games, (but) when you have kids like that, it makes it easy to go back to work and look them in the eyes and say, 'We're going to get through this,'” Gelsomino said. “We're going to keep battling and battling. I'm not giving up, you're not giving up, so let's keep going.”