Bruno Massel, York run wild, ride huge second half past previously unbeaten Oswego

OSWEGO – York coach Don Gelsomino is done doubting the speed of senior quarterback Bruno Massel.

On five different occasions this season Gelsomino estimated he’s yelled at his quarterback to throw the ball away when plays break down, only to see Massel turn scrambles into touchdowns.

That’s the speed of a three-time state track qualifier who runs the 40 in 4.43 seconds.

[ Photo store: York vs. Oswego football ]

“He’s got to be the fastest quarterback in the state. All-State in the 4x100, just missed qualifying in the 100 meters. I don’t know if there is a quarterback as fast as him,” Gelsomino said. “When we’re going against him in the summer, man, it’s hard. It adds another layer.”

Such was the case Friday night.

Massel turned two designed passes into third-quarter touchdown runs, two of his three TDs for the game. Massel, Jimmy Conners and Henry Duda all rushed for over 100 yards against Oswego’s vaunted defense in visiting York’s 35-17 Class 8A second-round win over the previously unbeaten Panthers.

Massel’s 11-yard TD run, taking off for a scramble down the left sideline, gave York (9-2) the lead for good, 14-10 with 8:23 left in the third quarter.

Two plays after Notre Dame recruit Joe Reiff recovered a strip sack by Conners, Massel scooted down the right sideline for a 23-yard score.

“One of the things we’ve worked on is going through my reads and once that’s not there just to take off,” Massel said. “They did a great job covering some of the routes we had planned. Once that breaks down you go into scramble mode.”

Massel rushed for 177 yards on 19 carries, scoring on a 65-yard keeper in the first half. Conners rushed for 113 yards on 12 carries with TD runs of 5 and 2 yards and Duda 104 yards on 16 carries for York, which turned it on in the second half for the second consecutive week against an elite defense.

The Dukes scored 37 unanswered points in Round 1 to beat Edwardsville 37-7 in a game tied at halftime. Oswego (10-1) led 10-7 at halftime Friday on Brett Connolly’s 33-yard TD pass to Jeremiah Cain with 2:37 left in the second quarter.

“We knew this was a good football team but none of the guys were fazed in the locker room. We were ready to go,” Massel said. “We have faced some of the toughest competition in 8A and we were ready to go in the second half.”

Indeed, York has put behind losses to Downers Grove North and Lyons in the second half of the season to advance to the quarterfinals for the third straight year. The Dukes host Warren next week.

“Lyons, they beat us pretty good that game [a 24-7 loss in Week 8],” Massel said. “They were more physical, they were better than us in the trenches and we took that to heart. We hit the reset button and now we’re the more physical team.”

The Dukes looked the part, churning out 394 rushing yards and scoring 35 points – 28 in the second half – against an Oswego defense that had given up 70 points total through 10 games.

Oswego was without senior linebacker and Iowa recruit Carson Cooney, hurt late in the first-round win over Waubonsie Valley. Cooney was on crutches for Friday’s game.

“Cooney being out, you can’t overstate that. That kid is an unbelievable football player but we got some good kids too,” Gelsomino said. “One of the advantages of our schedule is we see a lot of different defenses so we are always ready for what defense we see and the kids have more confidence running the ball.”

Connolly was 15-for-34 passing for 204 yards passing for Oswego, 20 of those attempts coming in the first half in a departure from the Panthers’ usual run-first emphasis.

Oswego led 10-7 at half on Connolly’s TD pass to Cain (six catches, 120 yards) and an earlier 40-yard field goal by Kaleb Stumpenhorst.

But the Panthers turned it over three times in the second half, and couldn’t stop York’s three-man rushing attack.

“The run game, some of the zone read stuff they did is tough, and they have some electric players. Having a QB that runs a 4.4 helps a little,” Oswego coach Brian Cooney said. “They have some guys up front that can lock on and chew up some grass. That’s kind of our game.”

Dylan King scored on a 2-yard TD run and Teddy Manikas had seven catches for 64 yards for Oswego. Ayden Villa rushed for 79 yards.

Cooney and Cain were two of a group of three-year varsity players that led Oswego’s rise from a 3-6 season two years ago to the program’s first 9-0 regular season and conference title since 2018, and first playoff win since 2019.

“Can’t say enough about this senior group,” Cooney said. “This group has been with us for seems like 10 years, these kids that played up as sophomores. Sad to see them go. They’ve left a great mark.”