Big, physical York's unlikely success continues with a win at Libertyville
York is the area’s most physical team. The No. 20 Dukes pack the paint with three big, wide, strong and smart football players.
Hunter Stepanich, a 6-7 tight end, is heading to Princeton. Georgetown Costa Kampas is a 6-5, 275-pound powerhouse offensive tackle, and 6-4 Jackson Rennick is a lineman heading to Wisconsin-Whitewater.
"We know we are probably one of the most physical teams in the state and one of the best rebounding teams, so we play to our strengths," Stepanich said. "Our defense is the trademark of the team. The guys are all getting up and pressuring because when someone gets through there is me, Costa and Jackson. We can clean up down low and cover the corners. Our defense makes people uncomfortable, and we capitalize on that."
York held host Libertyville without a field goal in the third quarter on Saturday and went on to win 47-41.
The Dukes (24-4) have used their size and bulk to become the area's most surprisingly successful team.
"If you would have told us we'd be 24-4 right now we would have said you are crazy," York coach Mike Dunn said. "But our kids believe and there is a great bond on the team. They like each other and they hang out with each other outside of basketball. That makes things a lot easier."
Junior Joseph Ubbe led the Dukes with 17 points and Stepanich added 12 points and seven rebounds. Stepanich was matched up against Libertyville's 6-9 Bryce Wegrzyn in a rare big-man battle.
"I've played against him a few times and he's a great player," Stepanich said. "I've seen him get better and better the past few years and I was excited for this game. There aren't many big man battles, so it is always a good time when one comes around."
Wegrzyn, a Winona State recruit, hurt his eye early in the second half and finished with 10 points. He tried to play through it for a while, but spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench.
"His vision was blurry and I didn't see any point in risking anything," Libertyville coach Brian Zyrkowski said.
Senior guard Trevor Wallace led the Wildcats (14-9) with 12 points. Libertyville trailed by 12 points with 6:32 left but made three three-pointers to tighten things up. A three from Ben Kristopher with 34 seconds left cut the deficit to 46-41 but that was as close it would get.
York's football team has made deep playoff runs the past several years, but that wasn't the case this season.
"I do think it impacted the team," Kampas said. "The brotherhood this year is really special. And being with the team for 2 to 3 weeks longer made a difference. This is an incredibly close-knit group."
York's coaching staff has been surprised by the team's success, but the senior leaders had this in mind all along.
"This was our opportunity to step up and lead as a senior class, and we always knew we would be ready," Stepanich said. "And our coaches put us in a great position to make it happen."
"This is awesome, playing with some friends I've known since I was 5 years old and having this success," Kampas said.
The Dukes won ten consecutive games before losing to Lyons on Tuesday. Their other three losses are also to quality teams: Batavia, Fremd and Hersey.
"Our kids play extremely hard and obviously we have some big boys and we try to utilize them," Dunn said. "I'm proud of our kids. Nobody expected us to be where we are at and we keep trying to win the next one and get better every day."