Duchi joins 4,000-yard club
BURGETTSTOWN – Nathan Whipkey and Steve Clemens each rushed for two touchdowns, and James Duchi gained 159 yards on the ground to become the 60th player in WPIAL to rush for 4,000 career yards, as McGuffey rolled to a 35-0 victory over Burgettstown in an Interstate Conference game Saturday afternoon.
The victory keeps McGuffey (5-1, 6-1) in the hunt for the conference championship. The Highlanders, who are currently in third place, host fourth-place Waynesburg Friday night and end the season with another home game, against conference leader Washington. McGuffey has won six in a row after losing its season opener at Mt. Pleasant.
Duchi scored the game’s final touchdown, on an 11-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. The 159 rushing yards pushed Duchi over the 1,000-yard mark for the third consecutive year and gives him 4,014 career yards. he is the second player in McGuffey history to rush for 4,000 yards. Jason Barr, a 1994 graduate, is the school’s all-time rushing leader with 5,749 yards.
Of the 60 players in the WPIAL’s 4,000-yard club, 15 played at schools in Washington or Greene counties.
Whipkey, the Highlanders’ quarterback, rushed for 117 yards and scored two touchdowns, on runs of 65 yards in the first quarter and 13 yards in the third. Whipkey also completed eight of 15 passes for 119 yards.
Clemens carried the football only four times but reached the end zone twice. His six-yard TD run gave McGuffey a 14-0 lead at the halfway point in the second quarter. He added a 53-yard scoring run to make it 21-0 early in the third quarter. Clemens finished with 90 rushing yards.
Duchi scored the game’s final touchdown, on an 11-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. The 159 rushing yards pushed Duchi over the 1,000-yard mark for the third consecutive year.
McGuffey had 473 yards total offense.
Burgettstown (1-5, 1-6) was held to 38 total yards, 19 rushing and 19 passing.