York football will travel to No. 14-seeded Downers Grove South on Friday, Oct. 30, after rolling past Bloom Township 47-14 in the Class 8A opening round.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m., according to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) bracket. The Dukes enter as the No. 19 seed at 7-3. Downers Grove South (7-2) received a first-round bye as a top-16 seed.

The IHSA expanded the playoff field this year from 32 teams per class to 48, Shaw Local reported. That expansion added an "opening round" for lower seeds before the traditional bracket begins. York's blowout of Bloom was that opening round. Friday's game at Downers Grove South is what the IHSA labels the "first round."

York's 47-14 win continued a surge that started in the final three weeks of the regular season. The Dukes beat the other three top teams in the West Suburban Silver down the stretch: Downers Grove North, Glenbard West and Lyons, as we reported Oct. 23. Those three wins were decided by a combined six points.

The Dukes are not alone. All six West Suburban Silver playoff teams survived the opening weekend, Shaw Local reported. York, Lyons, Hinsdale Central and Oak Park-River Forest all won their games, while Downers Grove North and Glenbard West had byes.

Senior linebacker Tommy Hosler leads the defense with 78 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks on the season. Owen Roberts, a Purdue commit at defensive end who has also played offensive line, has recorded 31 tackles, six tackles for loss and 15 hurries. Running back Chris Georgas entered the playoffs with 945 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Zack Assaad has thrown for 1,311 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions.

In coverage published Oct. 10, Georgas told Shaw Local's Friday Night Drive after York's win at Glenbard West: "Gelso always says this, but I think it really hit us: it's always York vs. York … Those previous losses, we did it to ourselves."

This is York's sixth straight playoff appearance. The program reached the Class 8A state championship game in 2024, finishing as runner-up, and made three consecutive semifinal appearances from 2022 to 2024.

A win Friday would send York to a second-round matchup against the winner of No. 35 Minooka at No. 3 Loyola Academy, according to the IHSA bracket. That game is also scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m.