By Bobby Narang
York High School’s football records go back to the start of the program, way back in 1920.
The Dukes have one of the oldest and most extensive record-keeping across nearly every sport, a rarity in this age. Many sports have their annual win-loss record for 100 years, including football.
Clarence D. East posted a 5-1-1 record in 1920, and coached the Dukes until the completion of the 1938 campaign. In 2018, Mike Fitzgerald became the 15th head coach in program history, according to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) website.
Despite that long history, the Dukes have struggled building a consistent winner, or even producing double-digit winning seasons. The Dukes last won at least 10 games came in Bill Lech’s second year, an 11-2 record in 2006. Before that, minus the 1990 record which is left blank, the Dukes won 10 games in 1995. That’s the extent of the Dukes’ 10-plus win seasons.
Fitzgerald is slowly building a consistent winner in Elmhurst, from the bottom up through the feeder program, and he has the Dukes’ program going in the right direction.
In his first three years, the Dukes had won four games in each season, including a 4-2 record in the shortened Spring. This season, the Dukes have won all three games entering Friday’s showdown at Downers Grove North, 3-0, in the West Suburban Silver.
Fitzgerald said it’s been a slow process that’s finally starting to pay off.
“We have a great coaching staff and great parents who help align to make a great youth program in the area,” he said. “It’s a great combination of things, , the administration at York has been very supportive. We’re building off each year, more people pushing in the same direction, the kids hearing same message at home as on the football field, so everybody is on the same page.
“We have really good players. Our guys have done a great job with strength and speed and increasing their football knowledge and skills. This is deepest we’ve been. This year we are deep at nearly every position, just a lot of guys, Our junior varsity games are pretty good. We have kids who can play for us on Friday’s and compete for spots. Depth is huge in our Conference. It’s a gauntlet.”
Fitzgerald said he had roughly 140 players in his entire program when he was hired. The York program is up to almost 200 players, which has created another problem.
“We still might have a couple of kids joining this week,” he said. “The kids are having a good experience and it’s been a positive influence in the community. I thought we were going to run out of helmets. That’s a good problem to have, though.”
The Dukes defeated Schaumburg, Morton, and Proviso West in their first three games but the true test comes in a four-week stretch against Downers Grove North, Lyons, Glenbard West and Hinsdale Central in the rugged West Suburban Silver.
“We ended the Spring the right way, had some good momentum, and we knew we had to get off to a good start because our schedule is competitive and strong,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve played well in all three phases. We have a lot of depth, a lot of different guys can play. We have confidence. Our guys truly believe they can win it every week. That’s the way they’ve prepared and we had success on lower levels. This (senior) class was the first class when I was hired, so that’s four years in the system from the offense and defense. That helps with confidence, and there’s consistency there. The kids understand the plays and overall scheme, which allows them to play fast and physical.”