Duchi will keep Highlanders on the run
Running back, Jim Duchi, left, and quarterback Nate Whipkey are expected to be leaders this season for McGuffey.
McGuffey offensive lineman work on their stance during practice.
CLAYSVILLE – When James Duchi needs a little motivation, he needs only peer down at his arm.
There, spread across the upper muscles is a tattoo he got after his grandmother died this summer. It’s a source of strength and a way to keep her memory close for the talented running back from McGuffey.
Duchi is going to need inner strength because this is a football season where much is expected of him.
The 6-0, 205-pound senior has rushed for a combined 2,500 yards the past two seasons. Last year, he and Patrick Frey combined for 2,355 yards and 33 touchdowns. Frey, who gobbled up 1,290 of those yards and scored 22 of those touchdowns, has graduated.
That means the running game, and for the most part, the McGuffey offense, is in the hands of Duchi.
“I know I have to step up more,” said Duchi, one of eight starters returning on offense and seven on defense. “I’m more mature. I have to show everyone what to do and how to do it.”
That means, in part, getting to practice early and leaving late. It means a dedicated summer workout that made him even stronger and quicker. It means doing what it takes to make sure the Highlanders reach the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
“I don’t think he ever takes a day off,” said Ed Dalton, who is entering his third season as Highlanders’ coach. “He’s grown up a little bit. He’s developed good leadership qualities. Physically, I knew he would get there, but now he is maturing. We expect a lot from him, and we think he’s ready. He looks like a man now.”
Duchi’s running from the McGuffey spread offense will be key if the Highlanders are going to improve on last year’s 5-5 record. Another big change is the Highlanders dropping to Class AA Interstate Conference and resuming some rivalries with closer schools, such as Burgettstown, Charleroi, Washington and Waynesburg.
“I’m friends with a lot of players at Wash High,” Duchi said. “I’ve known them since I was little. It’s more fun playing against people you know.”
The road to the playoffs won’t be easy. Washington is one of the stronger teams in Class AA; Waynesburg, with Russ Moore as coach, is always a threat; and Mount Pleasant is coming off a 10-1 season and is the defending Interstate Conference champion.
“We could have remained in Triple-A and possibly made the playoffs just as easy because they take five of the nine teams now,” Dalton said. “That league; wow.
“It will be really nice to be playing Wash High again, because our teams in other sports play them. To us, geographically, it’s nice to get off after a 20-minute bus ride. We would drive by Wash High Stadium on our away games. It just makes sense.”
McGuffey’s offense also will have quarterback Nate Whipkey (6-0, 180) back after an injury-plagued junior season. He broke a small bone in his leg against Elizabeth Forward in a scrimmage and missed half the season. Freshman Marcus Czulewicz did well under the circumstances in the games Whipkey missed.
“Nate’s loss was significant, because it forced us to rearrange things,” Dalton said.
McGuffey has nearly all its wide receivers from last year back, though the Highlanders attempted just 61 passes. Adam Narigon, a 6-2, 190-pound senior, caught five passes for 99 yards in the season finale. Juniors Connor Thompson (6-0, 185) and Shaun Sanders (6-0, 180) and senior Steve Clemens (5-9, 180) also return.
The offensive and defensive lines keep Dalton up at night. There is talent there but not enough depth. Senior Dean Pawlik (6-2, 200) anchors the line at center and seniors Austin Johnson (6-4, 295) and Ryan Stienstraw (6-3, 240) will be at right tackle and right guard, respectively. The remaining positions will be decided in camp.
Stienstraw, Johnson and senior Logan Iams (6-3, 305) and form three of the front four. Duchi and Clemons return at linebacker. Nick Haynes, a junior, transferred from Trinity and could start at safety. Czeluwicz and Sanders will hold the cornerback spots.
“We have good skill and a little bit of depth,” said Dalton. “There is not a lot of depth on the line. There are encouraging signs. We went 17-4 at passing camps. I don’t think we won five games in passing camps last year. We open with Mount Pleasant, and that will be a real test for us. But it will show us where we are.”