Downers Grove North, York, pull off big wins

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By Bobby Narang

Downers Grove North and York High Schools each had memorable football games last weekend.

The pair of West Suburban Conference Silver Division teams pulled off big wins in the second round of the playoffs.

In Class 7A, Downers Grove North’s strong season added another noteworthy chapter with a thrilling 24-21 come-from-behind victory over Hersey. Downers North erased an 11-point deficit behind stellar play from sophomore quarterback Owen Lansu to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2013.

Lansu passed for 187 yards, including 166 in the second half to spark the comeback.

“It feels great,” Downers Grove North head coach Joe Horeni said to advance to the quarterfinals. “I’m really proud of our kids and their efforts and all hard work they have put in. You think about all the people who have helped you and pushed the program in the right direction. The history at Downers Grove North is fantastic. A lot of people did a lot of work to get our team to where it needs to be, not just the kids, but also the coaches and the family support. I’m thankful for everybody who has been involved, and happy everybody got to be a part of our success to beat Hersey.”

The Trojans (9-2) ended the Hersey 10-game winning streak by scoring 14 unanswered points to advance to the play Lincoln-Way West (9-2) in a quarter-final game Saturday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. in New Lenox.

“It wasn’t just one play, but the perseverance and grit our kids showed,” Horeni said. “We were down 14-3 at halftime. Our kids didn’t quit. They trusted the game plan and each other and stayed the course and good things happened. Our QB played well beyond his years. He made some really big throws. We played very, very well, and proud of him and our defense continues to shine.

“Lincoln-Way West is a really good team. They won conference this year, and in that league, that’s no small feat, just considering all the great teams they play. They’ve been through the gauntlet, like our league, and seem similar to us in that they like to run the football, throw the ball when they can and their defense can fly around.”

In Class 8A, York advanced to the quarterfinals for the second straight year thanks to a Damian Glodz hitting a 30-yard field goal as time expired to lead the Dukes to a 17-14 win over Lyons in the second round.

“Damian Glodz, our kicker, obviously came up clutch again for us as he hit the game-winner this weekend,” York head coach Mike Fitzgerald said. “Damian just started playing football last year as a junior and is a two-sport athlete that also plays on our soccer team, so it’s been really awesome to see him contribute to both programs’ successes this year.”

The Dukes (10-1) will be host to Edwardsville (10-1) Saturday at 2:30 p.m.. Edwardsville crushed Glenbard West, 48-14, in the second round.

“Edwardsville is an extremely well-coached team and they have a great scheme offensively and defensively with tremendous players on both sides of the ball,” Fitzgerald said. “They have great team speed and play very physical on both sides of the ball. They are very balanced on offense and have a really good quarterback who commands their offense well.”

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