96 • TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
Coach: Ed Dalton
2019 record: 9-3, 6-1 in Class
2A Century Conference
All-time record: 281-416-25
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
9.11 Washington* 7
9.18 at Charleroi* 7
9.25 Frazier* 7
10.2 Linsly School (W. Va.) 7
10.9 at Waynesburg* 7
10.16 Chartiers-Houston* 7
10.23 at Beth-Center* 7
CENTURY • McGUFFEY NATE CUMER
*CONFERENCE GAME
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing Marshall Whipkey*
61-104, 1,265 yards, 21 TDs
Receiving C.J. Cole*
26-592 yards, 10 TDs
Rushing McKinley Whipkey
129-817 yards, 9 TDs
*GRADUATED
FAST FACTS
• Ed Dalton is closing in on a
decade as head coach of the
Highlanders after successful
stops at Purchase Line, Mt.
Pleasant, Altoona and Trinity.
• McGuffey started the 2019
season with eight straight
wins before losing three of its
final four games, including a
41-27 loss to Riverside in the
2A quarterfinals.
• The Highlanders open up
this year at home against rival
Washington after losing to
the Prexies with a share of
the conference title at stake in
Week 9 the last two seasons.
McGuffey has not beat Washington
since a 14-12 triumph
in 2009.
• Twenty-six years ago, Mc-
Guffey won its only WPIAL
football championship when it
beat Blackhawk, 12-6, to win
the 1994 Class AAA title at
Three Rivers Stadium.
McKINLEY WHIPKEY
McGUFFEY EMBRACES
MANTLE AS FAVORITE
Most coaches want to run away
and hide from preseason expectations.
McGuffey’s Ed Dalton is not
like most coaches.
“We are the best team with a big
roster and 17 starters back,” he
said. “This is the best overall team
I’ve had at McGuffey. We think we
are Final Four good.”
Now in his ninth season at Mc-
Guffey and his 34th overall as a
high school football coach, Dalton
is optimistic despite the graduation
of two studs on both sides of
the ball in Marshall Whipkey and
C.J. Cole.
The Highlanders will once again
run the flex-bone offense with
three seniors carrying the load in
McKinley Whipkey, Nate Yagle and
Jared Johnson.
“Our backfield could have three
1,000-yard runners,” Dalton said.
“Whipkey is an old-school fullback
and Yagle is a great returner.”
Yagle likes the combination of
size and speed his team has on both
sides of the ball.
“It’s amazing having so many
players back,” he said. “Last year
was pretty good, but I don’t think
I’ve seen a better group all-around.”
Senior Rocco Falsok will start at
quarterback. His primary job will
be to read, react, hand off or run.
The Highlanders only threw the
ball 106 times a year ago.
Success in the run game begins
up front, where McGuffey returns
four linemen in seniors Grant and
Aiden Brookman, Evan Wright
and Nate Cumer.
A lot of those same names are
among nine defensive starters
back for McGuffey, including seven
of the front eight linemen and
linebackers.
“The defense has size and
depth,” Dalton said. “We will look
imposing and everyone can run.”
“We have a pair and a spare
everywhere,” Dalton added, referring
to his team’s depth.
In this day of roster concerns for
nearly all of the smaller schools,
that is not a worry for Dalton.
The Highlanders have a 53-man
roster, which is huge by Class 2A
standards.
“We have 94 players in the youth
program,” Dalton said.
The future is bright as the Mc-
Guffey JV team was 6-2 last year
with both losses coming to 5A
schools while the junior high team
was a perfect 8-0.
Besides experience and depth,
something in short supply for most
programs, McGuffey is also building
a tradition after some lean
years pre-Dalton.
The Highlanders have had eight
consecutive winning seasons, including
a 9-3 record a year ago
when McGuffey finished in second
place in the Class 2A Century
Conference behind nemesis
Washington.
After eliminating South Side in
the first round of the 2019 2A playoffs,
McGuffey was stunned by Riverside
in the quarterfinals 41-27.
Expect McGuffey and Washington
to be in the hunt this fall for
the new-look Century Conference
crown. The conference still has
Charleroi, Beth-Center and Frazier
in the mix, with new team Chartiers
Houston and Waynesburg
replacing exiting Carmichaels,
Southmoreland and Brownsville.
“The section has good talent
from top to bottom,” Dalton said.
“Every week matters in 2A.”
A conference crown isn’t the
only thing McGuffey hopes to capture
this fall.
“I’m looking at helping my team
win the WPIAL championship,”
Yagle said. “All respect to the other
teams, but I haven’t seen a weak
link in our team and I don’t think
we will be stopped this year.
“I just want to have fun and play
with my brothers out there one last
time and make sure we make it one
to remember.”
The Highlanders’ home underwent
some major renovations in
the offseason as well.
“Our stadium renovations make
our facility elite,” Dalton said.
“They are unreal for a 2A school.”
The new playing surface will
really stand out, featuring the installation
of a two-tone gray turf.
Dalton sums up the excitement
around his program in six words:
“It’s good to be a Highlander.”
by DON REBEL