McGuffey High School has a boys' varsity lacrosse team, one of four in Washington County.

In only the second season of the program's existence, the Highlanders are one of five teams in the WPSLA that is an associate member of the league.

This means McGuffey plays only "exhibition" games and is not eligible for the league's postseason playoff system. The neophyte Highlanders ended their season last Wednesday with an 11-4 loss to Wheeling Central Catholic, a vast improvement over the team's 19-1 loss to the same team a month earlier.

Second-year coach Dan Hill said his team has also played other schools' junior varsity teams because the Highlanders would not be competitive against their varsity teams. Hill is a 2001 graduate of Trinity High School, where he played lacrosse.

According to the official Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association standings, McGuffey played only four varsity contests, going 1-3.

"I don't keep the books or a whole lot of excess stuff," Hill said. "They just have me come here and coach. A lot of the record-keeping and scheduling stuff is done by the parents' organization. They take care of the odds and ends and I just coach."

According to Hill, a 6-3 win at first-year program North Catholic is the only game the Highlanders have won against another varsity team.

Four of the 18 players on the small roster were seniors, including defender Matt McAdams, whom Hill characterized as a "heavy hitter who controls the defense very well and he's a good leader."

Among the notable non-seniors are sophomore attackers Zach Klein and Brendon Sims and sophomore midfielder Nick Steele.

"Brendon is our hands-down assist leader," Hill said. "He assists on our goals like crazy. A lot of our better players are only sophomores because last year, when we started the team, we had a lot of freshmen who came out. The kids who do come out are dedicated and a lot of them are planning on coming back next year.

"The more experience they get, the better they are going to play, obviously. They have improved by leaps and bounds. They played better toward the end of the season."

The goalie is junior Ian Eshbaugh, who faces a lot of shots.

"Not many teams take as many shots as we do and Ian has played very well," Hill said.

The parents of several McGuffey junior-high-age players became familiar with Hill from his coaching involvement at the Brownson House, a non-profit recreation organization in Washington that sponsors a summer lacrosse league.

The parents wanted their sons to compete on a varsity team.

"The parents' organization at McGuffey asked me to coach their high school team and I said, 'Sure. I love coaching,' so I decided to give it a shot," Hill said.

"I'm best friends with our one assistant coach [Danny Berry], who I played with in high school. He offered to help when I asked him. Then [other assistants] got in touch with me and offered to help out as well."

Although Hill and his three assistant coaches, all former Trinity players, are non-paid staff, they are hoping to return next season when the Highlanders compete in the WPSLA's Division 2.

"My family and living situations have changed in the last month so I have to take that into account whether I can come back and coach again, but if I have the time I'd like to coach the team next season," Hill said. "I enjoy it a lot."