Nov 17, 2019 9 min read

The climb was not always smooth.

It got a little challenging and rough at times.

But the McGuffey High School football team’s ascent to the top of the WPIAL culminated in a perfect way.

The Highlanders, WPIAL Class AAA runners-up to Blackhawk in 1993, returned to the title game in 1994 where they avenged the loss to the then three-time defending champion Cougars and captured the school’s only WPIAL football championship one glorious afternoon at Three Rivers Stadium.

“It was a dream or a goal of everyone there to win a WPIAL championship,” said Frank Sworden, who took over the McGuffey football program in 1979. “It took a lot of work, effort, great athletes and committed people to get to that point. I looked at the McGuffey job as a challenge. We felt we could turn it around.

“The administration was behind us; the coaching staff was together a long time. We had good players. That kept us going when it looked like we weren’t winning enough. Then we had a special group that came together and only concerned itself with the final outcome of the team.”

Sworden and his staff included a handful of long-time members – Frank’s brother, Mickey, Rick Barlow, Mike Malesic and Rudy Johnson. Mickey Sworden and Johnson are now deceased but certainly not forgotten.

“Mickey was a great influence on all those boys and the program,” Frank Sworden said. “Rudy brought all those kids together from the youth leagues and made them one.”

The combination of talented, hard-working and committed players and a veteran and cohesive coaching staff was the championship mix McGuffey had longed for in its pursuit of excellence, according to Malesic, who coached with Frank Sworden for about 15 years, and later became the Highlanders’ athletic director.

“They were a great bunch of young men (in 1994) who worked really hard for the team,” Malesic said. “We had some really good players, but it never was about individuals. It was always what was best for the team.

“I think there was a build-up to 1994. We as a staff knew it was going to be a good season because we had great numbers. We were a (physically) small team. We didn’t have a lot of size.

“The one thing I remember that stood out was that those kids wanted to play Blackhawk because of the loss to them the year before. They felt they needed to get back to that level and play them again. They dedicated themselves in the offseason through the 1994 season to accomplish what they did. It all came together.”

The Highlanders opened the season with consecutive shutouts over Canon-McMillan, 14-0, and Brownsville, 40-0. Victories over Mt. Pleasant (41-21), Peters Township (21-7) and South Park (37-14) followed.

McGuffey posted wins over West Mifflin (28-13), Keystone Oaks (24-9) and Chartiers Valley (14-0) before gaining a pivotal, 7-6, decision over Thomas Jefferson and a regular-season finale romp over Waynesburg (52-14).

“I think we had it in our heads that the only acceptable goal was to return to the WPIAL championship game and fight (Blackhawk) for it and win the championship,” said Aaron Sworden, who was a vital cog along the team’s offensive line and is the son of the late Mickey Sworden. “I felt the third game of the season against Mt. Pleasant was big. We rolled up more than 300 yards of offense against a highly ranked team. At that moment, I think we realized we had something special going on.

“I knew if we accepted the way we were coached and followed the game plans we were given, we had a chance to be champions.”

In 1993, McGuffey was fueled by running back Jason Barr, one of the most prolific rushers in WPIAL history and a one of the greatest Highlanders’ players ever. The 1994 team had to overcome the loss of Barr and did it with a host of players, including a set of brothers in running back Jason and quarterback Jared Johnson, fullback Brett Shriver, and running back Bobby Wagner.

The diversity and overall talent in the McGuffey backfield made it difficult to defend the Highlanders.

Frank Sworden and offensive coordinator Rick Barlow had no reservations about allowing any one of the backs to deliver at any moment. The Highlanders’ offensive front, while undersized, was strong and effective and took over many games.

“We had four running backs and an offensive line with something to prove,” Frank Sworden said. “They were the most unselfish running backs and team I ever coached. They were on a mission from the moment we lost to Blackhawk in the 1993 championship game.”

Barlow, who played for Frank Sworden at McGuffey, said the Highlanders’ were different teams when comparing 1993 with 1994.

“I’ve always said that Jason Barr is the greatest athlete I ever coached at McGuffey,” Barlow said. “Jason and his talents got us to Three Rivers Stadium in 1993. That cannot be denied. We relied so much on him. But the really good teams could take him away through schemes and different defenses.

“In 1994, with the approach we took with those four kids, there was really no one to key on. If a team decided to take one of those guys away, one of the other three would hurt them. We had advanced to that point.

“Our entire team put in so much time to get physically better. They studied hard, watched a lot of film. They were as prepared or more prepared than anyone else. They paid the price to be great. They were just amazing kids.”

McGuffey opened the WPIAL playoffs with a 26-7 victory over Hampton at home in the Class AAA playoffs. The Highlanders followed with a come-from-behind, 20-13, decision over Belle Vernon at Wash High Stadium in the semifinals.

They earned their rematch with Blackhawk, which was going for a fourth consecutive WPIAL title.

“We were focused on that goal the entire season,” said Harry Silvis, one of the team’s linebackers. “We wanted so bad to get back to the championship game and to play Blackhawk. Now, we had the chance to do it.”

Silvis admitted that McGuffey was awestruck at playing at Three Rivers Stadium the year before.

“It was surreal,” Silvis said. “You walk in there, into those locker rooms and you know who has been in there and it can work on you mentally. You start thinking about that and it distracts you from the game. We were pretty shell-shocked.

“In 1994, it was still Blackhawk on the other side. We weren’t new guys walking in there that time. We were aware of what the surroundings were, and we were comfortable and focused solely on playing the game.”

McGuffey completed the task by defeating the Cougars, 12-6, and winning the school’s only WPIAL football championship.

While the Highlanders lost to Sharon in the PIAA semifinals, it could not take away from a wonderful season, 13-1 record and a lifetime of memories.

“Blackhawk beat us good in 1993,” Frank Sworden said. “We lost to a team that had been one of the best in WPIAL history. We felt the only way for us to get it done was to beat the best and, at that time, Blackhawk was the best. Winning in 1994 was the culmination of many things. First, and foremost, we had a great group of kids. They knew what they wanted. As a staff, we understood where the program had come from.

“When we came, we didn’t have a weight room. We turned a garage into our weight room. We got on a bus to practice on a full-sized field. None of it mattered. Players and coaches just kept working. There were a lot of unsung heroes on that team in 1994.

“We went at Blackhawk and ran the ball. I think we completed one pass, a 72-yarder to Jason Francis. It was a wonderful experience to win a championship with those kids and the staff.”

Other key members of the team included linebacker Dan Terrell and defensive back Justin Magon, among others.

Wagner said cohesiveness with one another and a belief in each teammate was a virtue for the Highlanders.

“We were together from 8th grade,” Wagner explained. “We knew each other, were friends and always had one another’s backs. We all trusted each other, and we were not afraid to make mistakes because we knew someone would be there to pick the guy up who made the mistake. That was what was great about that team.

“We felt if we stuck together, we would always be fine, and we were.”

For Aaron Sworden, the championship took on even greater significance. He grew up with McGuffey football. He saw struggles, difficult defeats, tense moments, a championship defeat and then experienced the elation of victory by capturing a WPIAL title.

“I had a great connection with McGuffey football,” he said. “For me, I grew as a little boy idolizing some of these guys through the years before I had the chance to play. It was a great experience for me.

“I honestly think our motivation came from all the years leading up to 1994. I really do. There were guys on that team who had brothers or cousins, or relatives knocked out of the playoffs or who fell short in the playoffs. I just feel we all felt we underperformed in the 1993 championship game and it was a huge motivating factor for us.

“We wanted to get back there to get that one thing done that hadn’t been done before and that was to have those gold medals put around our necks. It was so much fun.”