A in-season check in on the McDowell Trojans

The regular season in Pennsylvania high school football is nearly complete, with just a few weekends remaining before district playoffs begin. Before you know it, the state tournament will be upon us. With that in mind, this is the perfect time to check in on programs throughout the state to see not only how their seasons have progressed but, most importantly, how their players have continued to develop. These won't necessarily be comprehensive, looking at each and every player that on the roster that has collegiate potential but moreso an overview of top performers and potential stockrisers.   I've been quiet this season, and I do apologize, but that doesn't mean I haven't been watching. Thanks to both HUDL and the NFHS Network, I've had the opportunity to watch plenty of high school football action across the state this year.   In my in-season check-ins over the next few weeks, I'll be taking a look at programs from the central and western parts of Pennsylvania. Today, we start with one of the top programs from the western region—the McDowell Trojans out of Erie.   With two regular season games remaining, McCDowell this season is 6-2 with both of their losses coming to Ohio programs in Walsh Jesuit and Metor. Against Pennsylvania programs this year, the Trojans are 4-0.   THE SIGNAL CALLER    [player_tooltip player_id='1156407' first='Vic' last='Castillo'] covered a bit about Myers in a recent Western PA recruiting update, but I want to dive deeper into his game today. Obviously, when discussing a multi-year starting quarterback, especially a senior, you want to see developmental steps. I believe we've seen that from Myers this season to a degree. The 6-foot-3 quarterback has largely been very effective for the Trojans, although his season numbers can be a bit misleading. He had two subpar performances against Walsh Jesuit and Mentor, but aside from those, he has excelled. Down the stretch, he has been phenomenal. In my opinion, his overall accuracy has improved despite the statistics suggesting otherwise, and it has continued to improve as the season progresses. Over his last four games, Myers boasts a 66% completion percentage, about three percentage points higher than his season average of 63.8%.     From a skill standpoint, Myers is a savvy quarterback with plenty of experience in a spread offense. He is a strong decision-maker, both through the air and on the ground, especially when running the RPO. He's a well-built prospect at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, with very good arm strength. As we discussed, his accuracy has also improved. A strong improviser, Myers thinks quickly on his feet and rarely gets flustered, whether faced with a tough defense, a poor play, a turnover, or a daunting drive. This past week, he helped engineer a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes to lead McDowell to a victory over Ohio program Austintown Fitch   Overall, I believe Myers is a legitimate top-10 senior signal-caller in Pennsylvania. I'm glad to see him receiving attention from Division II and Division III schools, but FCS programs still searching for a quarterback should absolutely be looking at Myers right now.    A RISING SENIOR TAILBACK    I'm not quite sure what college programs want to see from Porter because he has done nothing but be productive over the past two seasons for McDowell. After having a smaller role in 2023, Porter has exploded this fall for a much bigger impact. He's been nothing short of phenomenal, in fact. He's averaging 5.9 yards per carry and has totaled over 1,000 yards on just 169 carries. He also has nine touchdowns this season. Not only is Porter a tremendous tailback with strong size, vision, and athleticism, but he also possesses the ability to be a quality pass catcher out of the backfield. He has 23 receptions this season for 277 yards and five touchdowns. In each of the last three games for McDowell, Porter has been phenomenal as a receiver, combining for 15 receptions for 211 yards and five touchdowns.   On film, Porter shows off his athleticism to go along with his big 5-foot-10 and 200-pound frame. This is a running back that is already built for the college game and can take the physicality that would come with being a workhorse running back. His vision really stands out to me on tape as well; he allows holes to develop and then has the speed and burst in his game to attack those holes and get to the next level. He anticipates where defenders are going to try and cut him and reacts well. He does a great job as well of following his blocks and rarely does he try to do too much. When he needs to "dance," he can dance, but otherwise he shows the required patience to allow the play to develop and then attacks accordingly. He's quite elusive for a big back as well, not necessarily slippery but does a great job of making cutbacks and skirting his way out of tight situations. He likely won't have the same level of success at doing so once he reaches the next level, but he should still have an overwhelming amount of success once he is given the opportunity.      OTHER OFFENSIVE STANDOUTS    A tight end / defensive end, Dickerson isn't necessarily the biggest player for either position but he's got quite a bit of upside. He's a well built 6-foot-2 and 220-pounds and shows quality athleticism, with that I do wonder if there's any potential Division II or Division III programs that still use the fullback regulary that he would be a potential strong fit for. As a tight end, however, Dickerson has been one of [player_tooltip player_id='598937' first='Blayze' last='Myers']' favrotie targets this season. Dickerson this season has 29 receptions for 228 yards and two touchdowns. He has recorded multiple receptions in six of seven games.   Going back to the potential of being a fullback, Dickerson could also fit into an offense as a primary blocking tight end instead of a receiving tight end as well. He's a very good blocker on tape, delievering punishing blocks on a regular basis, he's very fun to watch in that regard. That being said, if Dickerson is set on being a tight end or defensive end at the next level, I do believe he has the athleticism to do so.       This 6-foot-0, 200-pound athlete has flown below the radar for quite a while in my opinion. Now first, it's important to note that Magorien is considered one of the best long snappers in the country. Rubio Long Snapping ranks the Erie native as the No. 11 long snapper in the 2025 recruiting cycle including the top long snapper in Pennsylvnia.   That being said, Magorien has the ability to lineup anywhere pretty much on the field but has excelled this season as a pass catcher. This season he has recorded 23 receptions for 333 yards and two touchdowns. He's averaging 14.5 yards per carry. He also has spent time carrying the ball out of the backfield with nine carries for 66 yards. Defensively, Magorien has also been excellent this season with 29 tackles and one inteception at safety. He plays well both down hill against the run and against the pass.   To go along with his strong 6-foot-0 frame that would be good for running back, receiver, or safety at the next level, Magorien also has the potential athleticism to go along with it, if his testing numbers via HUDL are accurate. A 4.5 forty-yard dash, a 4.0 shuttle, a 39'' vertical, 315 bench, and 550 squat.   Magorien just all around is a phenomenal football player who just so happens to be best at long snapping.     We unfortuantely cannot spend too much time on Dodds as there is no updated HUDL film. That being said, his stat line stands out this season. Despite just nine receptions this season, Dodds has recorded 300 receiving yards and three touchdowns including in each of his last three games. This past weekend, he had a 97-yard touchdown recption but even beyond that outlier, he has receptions of 41 and 52 yards this season. Even if you take out this three longest receptions, Dodds is averaging a quality 18.3 yards per reception this season. Again, unfortunately there's no udpated tapoe for Dobbs but the results are especially intriguing. He's a playmaker, there's no doubt about that. We'll be watching Dodds HUDL closely over the next few weeks in hopes of getting a long look at the senior wide receiver.    DEFESNIVE STANDOUTS    Hower is committed to play baseball at Cornell but still deserves a mention in today's article. He has been McDowell's arguably best player on defense this season with 30 tackles including three tackles for losswhich is tied for the team lead. He also has one sack this season.     Brown is an emerging defensive lineman for McDowell who alongside Hower has been one of the Trojans' most productive players on defense this season. He's a very athletic 6-foot-2, 210-pound edge rusher who plays with a quality bend to his game and has a quick first step. shows the ability to flight through blocks and make his presence known in the backfield. Has good length to go with his 6-foot-2 frame which allows him to bring down quarterbacks and running backs in the backfield.

The regular season in Pennsylvania high school football is nearly complete, with just a few weekends remaining before district playoffs begin. Before you know it, the state tournament will be upon us. With that in mind, this is the perfect time to check in on programs throughout the state to see not only how their seasons have progressed but, most importantly, how their players have continued to develop. These won't necessarily be comprehensive, looking at each and every player that on the roster that has collegiate potential but moreso an overview of top performers and potential stockrisers.