Over the past two seasons, Whitehall’s Trey Dogmanits has been on both sides in big games.

During this freshman season, Dogmanits was part of a rising Zephyr squad that captured some late-season momentum on their way to a district title.

Last year, Dogmanits took over the reins at quarterback and took his team back to the title game, only to lose in the final.

Now as a junior, Dogmanits is back at the controls to try and get the Zephyrs back to the big dance. He took over last year when starter Quinn Wentling went down with a season-ending injury. Dogmanits finished with over 800 yards passing.

“It has been going good so far,” said Dogmanits about the Zephyrs’ summer workouts. “We all have spent a lot of time in the weight room.

“We all work well together, and we have a good chemistry.”

Dogmanits stated trust in each other has been a key. He understands his role.

“One of the things that I have worked on is communication,” said Dogmanits. “I feel that I am communicating better with the team.

“I have spent more time with the receivers, and have been reading defenses better. We have made some strides this summer.”

Head coach Matt Senneca believes Dogmanits is ready to take the next step.

“Trey has been getting more and more confident and comfortable,’ he said. “Last year, he started to play well and to understand the offense.

“We have been very happy with the way he has been playing, and we expect him to play better this season.”

A few years ago, Dogmanits thought his 5-10, 150-pound frame may have been a detriment.

“When I was younger, I took two years off,” he stated. “I didn’t think I was big enough to play.

But I grew and worked on getting bigger. Once I got to seventh grade, I worked on being a quarterback. But at Hokey (Hokendauqua Youth Association), we were playing both ways because we didn’t always have enough kids.”

Dogmanits admits that last year’s 47-41 loss to East Stroudsburg South in the district Class 5A championship was disappointing, but the team can draw some positives from it. Whitehall broke a six-game losing streak with a victory over Southern Lehigh in the opening round of the playoffs, and finished 4-7 overall.

The Zephyrs open the regular season against Bethlehem Catholic Aug. 26.

“We can learn from that game,” said Dogmanits. “We were in that game, and we had two strong games at the end of the year.

“We’re all spending a lot of time in the weight room, and we all have a lot of confidence.”