Mustangs fall short in opener
Quarterback Derrick Whipkey scampered 42 yards to the end zone to give McGuffey a fourth-quarter lead and the Highlanders held on to defeat Laurel Highlands, 20-16, Friday night in their season opener. “We live and die with him,” said McGuffey coach Derek Bochna of Whipkey. “He is our best player on defense and tonight you saw what he is capable of on offense.”
Whipkey was 0-for-7 passing, but he didn’t let the lack of success in the passing game stop him from being an offensive force running the ball. The senior quarterback had 13 carries for 130 yards and three touchdowns.
After a three-and-out on their first possession and a Mustangs’ missed field goal, McGuffey put together the first scoring drive. Ryan McKean had a 42-yard run and Whipkey added a 22-yard carry to get the Highlanders deep into LH territory. Whipkey capped off the drive with a 3-yard QB keeper to give his team the early lead.
The second quarter belonged to the Mustangs and junior quarterback Jake Riddell.
Riddell hit Jordan Crews for a 41-yard gain, and then tied the game on a 23-yard toss into the hands of Matt Shull.
After a strong stand from the Mustang defense, Riddell, along with running back Rasheed Dotson, put together another productive drive. It appeared the Mustangs would come up empty on the drive when they fumbled close to the goal line, but Shull made an aggressive and heads up play to recover the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
McGuffey blocked the extra point, but Laurel Highlands took a 13-7 lead into halftime as Riddell threw for 158 yards on 11-of-15 attempts with the touchdown in the first half.
The Highlanders’ defense was revitalized in the second half and promptly got the ball back to its offense in good field position.
McGuffey started on their own 44 and ran eight straight run plays. Jacob Szolek had a 20-yard carry and Whipkey once again entered the end zone on a QB keeper, this one from 13 yards out.
Down by one, it was the Mustangs’ defense that would step up in the fourth quarter.
McGuffey continued to use its ground game to move the ball to midfield, but an aggressive defensive line forced a fumble and it was pounced on by LH safety Dawson Sickles.
Riddell promptly hit Crews for a 26-yard gain and Kevin Provance split the uprights to give the Mustangs a 16-14 edge.
“Jake is a young man with a lot of talent and ability,” said Laurel Highlands coach Jack Buehner. “He lacked experience, but he worked really hard over the offseason.”
The McGuffey offense came out poised after the score. Keith Cox hit a hole to find 15 of his 75 yards and move the Highlanders over midfield.
LH’s defense stiffened up to present the Highlanders with a third-and-6, but Whipkey made his biggest play of the day in both length and magnitude. Whipkey went left and evaded tacklers on his 42-yard sprint to the end zone.
The McGuffey defense held to seal the road victory for the Highlanders.
“There is no excuse, they earned it,” said Buehner. “We have some younger guys on defense, we got beat in the trenches.”
Laurel Highlands (0-1) will look for its first win Friday when the Mustangs host Peters Township at 7 p.m. in a non-section battle.
McGuffey (1-0) opens its home schedule in Week 2 when Belle Vernon comes to town.