Westmoreland County football teams benefit from 1-way players at quarterback

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, September 17, 2025 | 5:06 PM

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Norwin scores a touchdown.

Tristyn Tavares to Potter Brozeski. A pure go-route for six.

Tavares jogs to the sideline, grabs a water bottle and shoots a few squirts into his mouth and heads to the bench.

While teammates are getting ready to turn around and take the field to play defense on the ensuing drive, the senior quarterback doesn’t join them. That is because he does not play defense.

Could he? Definitely. His athleticism makes opposing defensive coaches envious.

But Norwin — and several other Westmoreland County teams — has a luxury: A player whose sole purpose is to play quarterback.

Instead of lining up at linebacker or defensive back, Tavares grabs a quick film study. As he takes a seat, he trades the water bottle for a tablet computer.

“Being able to watch the previous offensive drive on the iPad while the team is on defense is an advantage,” said Tavares, one of the WPIAL’s top dual-threat QBs. “It is also nice to catch your breath while the team is on defense.”

Another local standout signal caller, Hempfield senior Dom Detruf, knows the feeling.

Hempfield’s depth allows him to also specialize in playing the most important position on the field.

“It is very beneficial to be able to meet with him on the sideline and look at the iPad and make those in-game corrections if we need to do so,” Hempfield coach Nick Keefer said of Detruf. “He’s like having another coach out there, so for him to get a look at that last drive in between series is invaluable.”

Penn-Trafford, Latrobe and Franklin Regional also have one-way players at quarterback.

Senior Nate Desmond, who has been solid in his first year as a starting quarterback, follows in the footsteps of other recent Penn-Trafford QBs who played one way in Jonny Lovre, Gabe Dunlap and Brett Laffoon.

Carter Green and Conlan Greene were two-way players.

“(Desmond) gets to make in-game adjustments between series,” Warriors coach John Ruane said. “And it’s less wear and tear.”

At smaller schools, such as Southmoreland, Jeannette and Greensburg Central Catholic, quarterbacks rarely have time to review the previous series because they are abruptly flipping to defense. Depth does not afford a team like Jeannette, which has 23 players, the benefit of playing Kymon’e Brown at only quarterback.

Jeannette coach Tommy Paulone said the communication factor would be the greatest benefit.

But playing both ways is far from a bad thing.

“The other side of that is the student of the game enjoys playing defense because you get to see the perspective from the defensive side,” Paulone said. “When I was playing QB at Waynesburg, we did not study offenses. We studied defenses and how to use their rules against them. It’s what makes good defensive players in college good offensive coordinators. They know how offensives hurt them and with what.”

Paulone said high school QBs often make the best defensive backs in college.

“If I’m a college DB or safeties coach, it’s a major plus if the kid I am recruiting played QB in high school,” Paulone said.

Another area first-year starter is Latrobe junior Dom Scarton. His primary job, too, is to run the offense.

His predecessor, John Wetzel, was the antithesis of a one-way player. He hardly ever came out of a game. He is now a linebacker at Pitt.

“He actually doesn’t even practice defense, so he makes a great scout team QB,” Latrobe coach Tom McIntyre said of Scarton. “We can do a lot of things that we weren’t able to do with Wetzel because John never came off the field. We had a game plan and just went with it except for the small window at halftime we could talk. But we can talk to Dom in between possessions and discuss what he’s seeing on the field and what we see in the booth.”

McIntyre said the individual instruction while the defense is on the field is crucial to Scarton’s development.

“It also allows our QB coach (former Mt. Pleasant quarterback Johnny Yester) to work with him one on one during defensive individual periods. Johnny has a ton of experience and knowledge at the position so that extra time he can work with him on mechanics is extremely valuable to Dom.”

Sophomore Dom Devola is in his first year playing quarterback at Franklin Regional. Though he is also listed as a defensive back, he only plays offense for the Panthers.

“As a young QB, allowing him to focus on the offense and being able to communicate with him on the sidelines while the defense is on the field,” Franklin Regional coach Lance Getsy said, “we feel will help him to continue to grow as a QB.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Jeannette, Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford