The York Dukes will face off against the Seward Bluejays at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as York comes in on four and Seward on five.
York proved they can win big last Friday (they won by 36) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Northwest 18-16.
York can attribute much of their success to Emmitt Dirks, who rushed for 93 yards on only 11 carries, and also threw for 119 yards on 12 of 17 attempts.
Meanwhile, Seward blew past Blair, posting a 42-7 win. With the Bluejays ahead 35-0 at the half, the game was all but over already.
York better keep an eye on Kayson Salyer. He was instrumental in Seward's win, throwing for 97 yards and three TDs while completing 77.8% of his passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Jack Vyhnalek, who picked up 39 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Seward proved: they limited Blair to a paltry 2.1 yards per carry. The team can thank Deklan Lindau for the heroic effort on defense: he. Seward's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 5.05 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 9.97 on average over their last five games.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for Seward, racking up 11 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Vyhnalek, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
York's victory bumped their record up to 5-2. As for Seward, their win bumped their record up to an identical 5-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. York has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 174 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Seward struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 198.6 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
York might still be hurting after the 26-0 loss they got from Seward when the teams last played back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Bluejays' Tresten Hass, who threw for 161 yards and two TDs, and also rushed for 56 yards. Now that the Dukes know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
