Dating back to fourth-year coach Matt Miller’s days as a player for McKeesport in the mid-90s, the triple-option attack has been a staple of the Tigers’ offense.

With 29 playoff appearances in program history, it’s clear the system has worked. But one player in particular could force Miller to open up the playbook even more than last season, when quarterback Konota Gaskins’ 701 passing yards nearly tripled the team’s total of 286 yards from 2017.

“With Deamontae Diggs at split end, a 6-6, 210-pound receiver that we have, I think that makes us want to try to throw the ball a little bit more,” Miller said. “Going into last season, I didn’t know how big of a weapon he was. Then obviously going out and having the success he did last year, he’s such a great talent that you want to try to find ways to get him the ball as much as possible.”

Diggs accounted for more than half of McKeesport’s yardage through the air as a junior, racking up 424 yards on only 14 catches for an average of more than 30 yards per catch. He has offers from several mid-major Football Bowl Subdivision programs, but Iowa State is his only standing offer from a Power 5 school as of now.

“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t land another couple major offers,” Miller said. “People are kind of hovering right now, so it’ll be interesting to see.”

Despite Diggs’ presence, Miller is committed to maintaining the Tigers’ identity as a power-running team on offense — albeit one with one of the most dangerous deep threats in the WPIAL at its disposal. That means more new faces will be called upon to replace last year’s trio of Gaskins and running backs Devin Sims and Quaran Sayles, who each rushed for more than 490 yards.

Senior Devari Robinson will replace Gaskins as the starting quarterback in 2019, and he brings with him plenty of Friday night experience, even if it’s mostly as a runner. He was fourth on the team with 443 rushing yards on 59 carries last season, but he’ll need to use both his arm and his legs this season if McKeesport hopes to reach its full potential.

“He’s one of those guys who was so vital to our success that he was able to do a little bit of everything,” Miller said. “This year we’ll narrow it down for him to play QB, but he’ll still play safety on defense.”

Robinson will also have a mostly new stable of runners behind him in the backfield, although the front-runner to get the bulk of the carries is senior Taiveon Baker, who was one of eight players to rush for more than 100 yards for the Tigers last season.

“He’s the front-runner to be the B-back, and for us, you’re carrying the load and getting a lot of touches,” Miller said, referring to the fullback in the triple-option offense. “He had a lot of carries for us last year at fullback, and he’ll probably be carrying the load this year.”

Most of the pieces are already in place for McKeesport on offense, but there’s still plenty of moving parts and positions up for grabs on defense going into the season.

One definite starter Miller is counting on is senior linebacker Tyron Wagner, who missed the entire second half of the 2018 season with a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, Baker, Diggs, junior wide receiver Terrance Glenn and others will compete for the other starting spots at linebacker.

Up front, senior defensive tackle and three-year starting offensive lineman Andy Mellinger returns to anchor the defensive line. Meanwhile, Robinson, like Gaskins before him, will be relied on to enter the game as a safety whenever the opposing team crosses midfield.

“Devari is kind of the same mold as Konota, being able to cover ground and make a lot of plays defensively,” Miller said. “It’s their turn, so hopefully they’re able to take on those responsibilities and carry the tradition on.”

When the Tigers were on their game last season, they were almost impossible to stop. All eight of their regular-season wins came by at least 19 points. But when they ran into Gateway and eventual WPIAL and PIAA champion Penn Hills, they got blown out of the building by scores of 34-6 and 34-7, respectively.

“We had something like five or six fumbles against Gateway. We had eight turnovers against Penn Hills,” Miller said. “You can’t win those games like that. You’ve got to win the turnover battle, and we lost it miserably.”

With Gateway reloading and Penn-Trafford returning almost all of its starters from last year, Miller knows McKeesport won’t have an easy path to winning its first conference title since 2013, let alone its first WPIAL championship since 2005. But that won’t stop him from doing everything he can to bring the Tigers back to the promised land he never got to reach as a player.

“The reason you visit colleges, the reason you’re going to clinics, the reason you’re studying and working all offseason isn’t to win a handful of games — it’s to win every one you’re involved with,” Miller said. “It’s important in our community. Football is huge … it would mean a lot to bring something positive into our community like a championship of some sort.”

Steve Rotstein: srotstein@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SteveRotstein.

Coach: Matt Miller

Years at school: 4

2018 record: 9-3

WPIAL playoff appearances: 29

Returning starters: Offense 5, Defense 6

Key returners: Devari Robinson (6-0, 185, Sr., QB-DB), Deamontae Diggs (6-6, 220, Sr., WR-OLB), Taiveon Baker (5-11, 205, Sr., RB-LB)

Keys to success: Find ways to get the ball to Diggs downfield. Maintain level of play against top competition while avoiding turnovers.

Schedule

*Non-conference game

First Published: August 18, 2019, 10:00 a.m.