Suburban Life football notes: York’s Evan Gaughan, after missing most of last season, making impact in return

Evan Gaughan is not bothered by his unsung status.

The York senior linebacker leads the team with 86 tackles heading into a Class 8A second-round playoff game at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Oswego (10-0).

Gaughan’s main sport is lacrosse, but he’s managed to make a big impact for the Dukes (8-2) in his first full season on the field on the varsity. Last season, the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder suffered a season-ending broken collarbone injury before the fourth game of the season.

Gaughan, who has five sacks among his 14 stops for a loss, said it was tough not to help the Dukes on the field in their run to the 8A semifinals, but he turned the experience into a positive.

“Breaking my collarbone last year played a huge roll in my mindset going into this season,” Gaughan said. “I broke my collarbone during practice going into our fourth game. I remember on the way to hospital, just thinking about how I had lost my whole season. I was really upset because I had put in so much time and energy throughout the year in preparation for the season.

“Watching from the sideline the rest of the year was difficult. I missed being able to play on the field with my teammates. In some ways, I’m thankful for the injury. It helped me prioritize what I really found important and gave me the motivation to have a great senior season.”

And Gaughan is definitely having a great season for the Dukes. His toughness and on-the-field IQ are a key factor in the Dukes’ strong season.

“Evan is a having an incredible season,” York coach Don Gelsomino said. “Last year he was fighting for a spot. He broke his collarbone on a freak play in practice. This year he’s been an absolute force in the middle for us, just flying around and getting everyone else in the right spots. He gives it his all on every play.”

Gaughan said his background in lacrosse aids him on the football field. The Dukes defeated Edwardsville 37-7 in the first round last weekend, limiting the Tigers to 151 yards of total offense.

“Playing lacrosse for years now, I feel it has really helped me with my agility and grit on the football field,” Gaughan said. “As a linebacker, field awareness and the ability to sort through an offense is a part of the job and something that lacrosse has helped me to do.”

Gaughan said the returnees have felt the pressure to keep the Dukes’ run intact, to help build the program from the bottom up to sustain the success for many years.

“Going into this season there was a lot of uncertainty and pressure,” Gaughan said. “After finishing fourth in state, two years in a row, our team had expectations to have the same success. Graduating a great senior class meant that us juniors had to step up and put in the work.

“An aspect of our team that helps us achieve success is the bond we have together. In my opinion, our defense works so well because of how close the guys are with each other. No one points fingers on the defense and instead just work together so we can be our best.”

Gelsomino said the Dukes, who finished in third place in the rugged West Suburban Conference Silver Division, have a stiff test against Oswego.

“(Oswego) is undefeated for a reason,” Gelsomino said. “They play an old-school brand of football by running the ball and playing great defense with a very good special teams. They’re big and physical and don’t make a lot of mistakes. We have to match that. If we make a mistake, they will make you pay. We’re trying to keep playing another week.”

Willowbrook first round road Warriors

Most likely, most football fans didn’t expect to see Willowbrook in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.

The No. 26-seeded Warriors avenged some demons with an impressive 40-21 win over No. 7-seed Rockton Hononegan last weekend. A year ago, the Warriors suffered a 44-0 defeat to Hononegah on the same field.

“I think the (team) did a nice job of trusting the process and not getting panicked,” Willowbrook coach Nick Hildreth said. “We kept getting better each week and had kids buy in, so it was really cool to see that develop over time.

“Last week we just came out and were able to execute right away. We knew last year wasn’t us. Very rarely do you get a chance to play the team that knocked you out last year and up there. It was a special opportunity for our guys. We were able to move the ball, got an early turnover and were up three scores early. We were willing to fight on every snap.”

The Warriors (7-3) will need the same effort, if not more, in Friday’s 7 p.m. second-round playoff game against St. Rita (8-2) in Villa Park. The Warriors have a built a strong recent history of success in the playoffs, so Friday’s game is another tough Chicago Catholic League opponent, Hildreth said.

“We’re very aware of the quality of football in the Catholic League, but you want to play against the best programs in the state in November,” Hildreth said. “We’ve fought and battled and now put ourselves in a position to win. This is a big opportunity for us this week at home.”

Field position and special teams are often a key component in the playoffs. Hildreth said the Warriors have the added benefit of a dependable kicker in Dean Romano. The senior made his football debut in the season opener after playing soccer. He has been perfect this season, a shiny 10-for-10 on field-goal attempts, Hildreth said.

“Dean didn’t come out until August practice and had never played or kicked a football,” he said. “He made four field goals in grass last weekend. He’s had a great year. Having a (good) kicker really dictates what you can do offensively in spots knowing you can get points. He also punts for us. He’s a soccer kid who stopped playing soccer.”

Looking ahead

Fenwick (8-2) heads into the second round of the Class 7A playoffs with some momentum after an impressive win over Brother Rice. The Friars travel to 7A runnerup Downers Grove North (9-1) for a 1 p.m. Saturday game… St. Francis (8-2) hosts Prairie Ridge (8-2) on Saturday looking for another signature win after defeating Loyola and Nazareth this season.