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Willowbrook finds York better than its record

The host Willowbrook Warriors found out the hard way Friday night what facing tough foes the first four weeks of the season did to the York Dukes.

York (2-3) ran the ball consistently well, rushing for more than 180 yards, including 141 yards in the first half en route to a 24-7 victory over the Warriors (2-3) in a West Suburban Conference crossover.

The Dukes went into the game after ahving faced opponents with a combined record so far of 14-2, including Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central and New Trier.

"We knew the first four games that it was a brutal schedule," said York coach Matt Monken. "We had a few tough ones. Our goal is to try and get into the playoffs and our kids see it."

York wasted no time scoring on the first drive of the game. It took five plays to reach the end zone, capping it off with Connor Placey's 4-yard run just more than two minutes into the game.

Just more than six minutes later, the Dukes took seven plays to deposit quarterback Johnny DiCanio running in from the 3 to make it 12-0.

"We came out flying. We had good looks up front," DiCanio said. "We have had a hard time passing and this week we focused on the run. Connor Placey had a terrific game."

Willowbrook struggled on offense the entire night, but the lone bright spot was a spectacular one. The Warriors took over on their own 20 with 6:24 left until halftime and the drive's only play saw quarterback Billy Degnan find Jonathan Kelso on an 80-yard connection. Mike Dembowski made the extra point and the Dukes led at halftime 12-7.

It was ball control again for York in the third quarter, eating almost eight minutes of clock on an 11-play drive that featured Keith Freeman run it in from the 1-yard line.

"We went to some stuff that we did last year and we felt comfortable what they would do defensively," Monken said.

York closed its scoring with 3:36 to play when DiCanio pitched out to Nicholas Brown, who found Matt Wozny past the last Willowbrook defender for a 50-yard scoring pass.

The Warriors went into the game having won at Hinsdale South 27-13 the previous week.

"I don't have a ton of answers. There was a lack of energy. I thought we would come out with great effort and execution and we didn't," said Willowbrook coach Nick Hildreth. "The guys did not play to their responsibility."

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