Sep 23, 2014 5 min read

The fate of McGuffey’s 2013 football season took a drastic turn last August when quarterback Nathan Whipkey suffered stress fractures in his tibia in a scrimmage against Elizabeth Forward.

He missed the first three weeks of the season and the effect on the Highlanders’ offense was dramatic. They averaged just over 20 points per game during an 0-3 start. When McGuffey’s 6-0 senior quarterback returned, the offense thrived.

The Highlanders went 5-2 the rest of the way and averaged more than 35 points per game. While Whipkey was effective running head coach Ed Dalton’s spread option attack, he was not much of a threat to run because of injuries, allowing defenses to key on running backs Patrick Frey and James Duchi.

Now healthy and looking like the ideal player to lead Dalton’s system, Whipkey has the Highlanders off to a 3-1 start – 2-1 in the Interstate Conference – as they attempt to reach the WPIAL Playoffs for the first time since 2009. Through four games, the quarterback has completed 26 of 46 passes for 602 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

After carrying the football just 22 times last season, Whipkey is second behind Duchi in rushing with 298 yards on 41 carries and six touchdowns. The Highlanders have scored 182 points in four games, an average of 45.5 per game that ranks third in WPIAL Class AA behind South Fayette and Aliquippa.

“It feels pretty good because no one has really noticed our receivers or anything else,” Whipkey said. “Teams are realizing that those guys can make plays with their feet and catching everything as well. We keep teams guessing.”

Dalton had high expectations for his offense entering the season, but pointed to Whipkey’s return last October as the turning point.

“I’ve seen a lot of teams run the read, but they don’t really read it,” Dalton said. “It looks like the coach calls when to pull it or calls when to throw the bubble. Nate is truly reading it. We have a triple option on every running play.”

This season began with a six-point loss to Mt. Pleasant, but in the three wins since, the Highlanders’ average margin of victory is 41 points. Duchi has been the workhorse as the team’s every-down back with 56 carries for 572 yards and nine touchdowns, but the offense runs through Whipkey.

From his ability to change the play at the line of scrimmage or throwing a defense off balance by faking a handoff to Duchi and darting for a large gain, Whipkey has added a dimension Dalton has been searching for since he took over at McGuffey in 2012.

“We can either run the ball with Jim or our passing game is working pretty efficient right now too,” Whipkey said. “It depends what defenses do, and it’s pretty much giving them a hard time most of the games.”

Dalton’s offensive scheme hasn’t changed, but his approach has. Traditionally, his systems have been geared toward the running back. Now, Dalton is working with the area’s youth coaches to get athletic kids with Whipkey-like talent playing quarterback.

“You obviously have to fit your style to your personnel. If we had a different type of talent, then we’d probably play a different style. But right now, we have this type of talent on hand, and we’re trying to slot kids in our building to fit our scheme if we can,” Dalton said.

Every Saturday, Dalton sets his television to record several college football games. Dalton has been around long enough to know that “borrowing” ideas is part of the game. So he spends hours watching Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez’s spread attack and Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn’s Wing-T. The Highlanders’ attack is somewhere in between the two philosophies.

“The Wing-T is filled with deception, counters and those types of things,” Dalton said. “We tried to incorporate the best of that with the option part, which was Coach Rodriguez’s part. It’s really exciting because every weekend is a clinic for a play, scheme or something you can get out of there to add a twist the following week.”

Creative play-calling aside, the Highlanders’ would not be moving the football with ease without an offensive line playing beyond expectations. Senior center Dean Pawlik, senior right tackle Austin Johnson and senior right guard Ryan Stienstraw are returning starters, but the depth beyond the trio was unknown and a cause for concern early in the season.

Not anymore. Senior Liam McElhoes, freshman Chase Miller and sophomore Eddie Shingle have played well at the other three line spots, which allowed McGuffey to become multi-dimensional behind Whipkey’s arm. With their next three games against defenses allowing at least 26 points per game, the Highlanders are unlikely to slow down anytime soon.

“What we do now that has evolved is since Nate is so experienced, he can change plays at the line of scrimmage and he’s been very successful doing that,” Dalton said. “If we get a box we don’t like, Nate can get us out of a play and into another play.”