Senior to take Quarterback Reins

By Marty Stewart

 In his first season as coach at Fox Chapel, Tom Loughran is faced with the daunting task of replacing the Foxes’ leading passer, rusher and receiver from last year’s 4-6 team in graduates Billy Urso, Carrington Vaughn and David Brown.

Returning senior Brendan Whelan is confident he can take over the reins at quarterback.

“I think that things have gone well for me in the camps and scrimmages so far,” Whelan said. “Billy Urso was a great mentor for me. There will be some pressure replacing him. I don’t think that I would put up the numbers that he did, but it’s all about winning as a team, and we’re all working well together.”

Loughran hasn’t named a starting quarterback for the team’s Sept. 4 opener against North Hills yet as Whelan and junior Dimitri Spina are competing for that spot.

“It’s been pretty competitive between me and Dimitri, and that’s a good thing for the team,” Whelan said. “We’ve been sharing playing time with the first team pretty evenly, and it looks like Coach Loughran will make his decision after our scrimmage against Plum this week.”