Owen Roberts spent his junior season disrupting West Suburban Silver offenses to the tune of 61 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and two sacks. Now the 6-foot-4, 230-pound York defensive end has a Purdue commitment in his pocket and an early-season matchup that looks like a college showcase.
The IHSA released its 2026 statewide football schedule on Tuesday, July 22, and three York games landed on Shaw Local reporter Joshua Welge's list of top matchups in the Suburban Life coverage area. The headliner: a Week 2 trip to Nazareth Academy at 7:30 p.m. Friday, August 28, pitting Roberts against a roster loaded with Power Four recruits.
Roberts committed to Purdue on Wednesday, June 3, choosing the Boilermakers over offers from Kansas, Illinois, Kansas State, Minnesota, Rutgers, and Vanderbilt, according to 247Sports. He is rated a three-star prospect, ranked No. 38 in Illinois and No. 92 nationally among edge rushers in the Class of 2027.
"Purdue just felt like the right place for me," Roberts told 247Sports upon committing. "Having my sister there already made it feel like family, and the combination of academics and engineering was a huge factor."
He becomes the first defensive end pledge in Purdue's 2027 recruiting class.
From title game to 6-4
York finished 6-4 in 2025 after reaching the Class 8A state championship game in 2024, when the Dukes went 11-3 under head coach Don Gelsomino, according to Shaw Local's 2025 season preview. The program posted a 34-4 regular-season record from 2021 through 2024 with three consecutive Class 8A semifinal appearances.
Senior quarterback Zack Assaad, who stepped into emergency starting duty in Week 7 of the 2025 season, returns as the established starter, according to a Shaw Local profile published Monday, June 29.
Nazareth brings the recruits
The August 28 matchup at Nazareth will feature Missouri-committed offensive lineman Luke Injaychock, Missouri-committed edge rusher Chris Kasky, and Michigan State-committed linebacker Henry Sakalas on the Roadrunners' side. Welge called it a "spicy little new nonconference matchup between powerhouses from the West Suburban Silver and CCL."
Two Silver showdowns at home
The Dukes' conference slate features back-to-back home tests that could shape the West Suburban Silver title race.
Downers Grove North visits York at 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 2, in a Week 7 matchup between programs that have emerged as league and statewide powers. The Trojans beat York 41-28 in Downers Grove last season and advanced to the Class 7A semifinals.
Glenbard West comes to York in Week 8. The Hilltoppers won the Silver title in 2025, but York handed them their only league loss, 21-20. Glenbard West returns Northwestern commits Brady Johnson (tight end) and Josiah Wallace (offensive line) along with quarterback AJ Rayford.
York travels to Nazareth on Friday, August 28, for the first of those three circled dates.
