Mason Kholi remembers when Tanner Dogmanits got on the field as a Whitehall freshman in 2023.
“Tanner was out there wearing No. 81 and it was a little funny seeing a quarterback wear No. 81, but that’s what we had for him,” said Kholi, the Zephyrs’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. “He has come a really long way since then.”
Dogmanits now wears no. 7 and he’s No. 1 all-time on Whitehall’s passing yardage chart.
He had one of the best games of his career at Emmaus last week, passing for 174 yards and rushing for another 174. Whitehall rallied from deficits of 7-0, 14-7, 21-14 and 27-21 to post a 28-27 win when Dogmanits hit Henry Shultz for a 6-yard TD pass with 11 seconds left and Nicholas Miley added the extra point.
During the course of the game, Dogmanits passed his brother, Trey, who is now a junior quarterback at Wilkes, as Whitehall’s all-time leader in passing yards. Tanner has 5,188 and his brother had 5,155.
Dogmanits isn’t worried about personal records. He’s only interested in the team’s record, which stands at 6-1 entering Thursday night’s home game against Allen.
“It’s not really what I am focused on right now,” he said. “I’m just focused on doing my best for the team and leading out on the field. I talked about it with [Kholi] before the season. But during the season, it’s not something I am focused on.”
Dogmanits was able to break his brother’s record thanks in large part to another brother, Talon. He had 57 catches for 1,101 yards and 14 touchdowns last year and made 52 grabs for 848 yards and six scores in 2024 as Whitehall reached back-to-back District 11 5A finals and won last year’s crown.
While he doesn’t have his brother as a top target anymore — Talon is at Bloomsburg — he has a longtime friend on the other end of his passes.
Henry Shutlz and Dogmanits have known each other since they were little kids. Shultz, a junior, has become the league’s top receiver in terms of catches with 42 for 719 yards and eight TDs.
“Knowing my brother’s slot needed to be filled this year, I knew I had to come in during the summer and do our workouts and then staying extra extra with the receivers,” Dogmanits said. “I think getting that extra work in has paid off.”
Shultz said he has playing different sports with Dogmanits since they were in elementary school.
“It started with basketball and then moved to football, and we’ve always known each other and played on the same teams and built chemistry together,” Shultz said. “I feel like when it comes down to those big moments, we have a lot of trust in each other and can make those big plays.”
Dogmanits has a lot of respect for Shultz.
“He really tracks the ball well,” he said. “Knowing when we need a big play, I can only trust Henry to come down with the ball. The way he knows football is big. There’s a lot of trust there.”
Shultz said Dogmanits has been making big plays for years.
“He’s got eyes all over the field,” he said. “He knows how to read the defenses and puts the ball perfectly in my hands. And when I am not open, he can scramble and find other receivers. He finds a way to get first downs and get extra yards.”
On the game-tying TD pass at Emmaus, Shultz said, “I just ran a corner route. I looked up and it was right there. I got it and got my foot in.”
Dogmanits said in the huddle before the play, if they saw man-to-man coverage there was going to be an option or go to Henry in the corner.
“The swing to the running back [Jeziah Gregory] was the first option, but I checked out of that and went to Henry.” Dogmanits said.
The two will likely connect over the last three games of the regular season, and then it’s on to the District 11 6A playoffs.
Kholi is thrilled for their success.
“All of these guys have been working, going back to last winter in the weight room and then installing stuff in the springtime,” Kholi said. “They’ve done thousands of reps and they have built chemistry through all of their work together. We have some guys that play wide receiver and quarterback and they’re just athletes.
“But they have a special connection similar to what Tanner had with his brother. It’s hard to replicate that sometimes because they had that brotherly telepathy, but they would stay after practice throughout the course of the year and get that timing down.”
Kholi said they are hard-working, coachable kids who know how to work.
“Even when they play other sports, they’re great competitors and they’re always locked in,” Kholi said. “They focus on what they’re doing and they’re trying to improve each day.”
Kholi played quarterback at Allentown Central Catholic before graduating in 2015. He played college football at Muhlenberg and then was a college assistant with one year at Juniata and two with current Whitehall athletic director Jeff Pukszyn at Moravian.
He knows all about the Whitehall sports tradition and the stories lineage of certain families, like the Dogmanits gang.
“The Buskirks, the Bonshaks, the Rexes; this school has always had those families that have history here and we’re celebrating 100 years of football this year and that’s what this program has always been about,” Kholi said. “Henry’s dad [Matt] played here and we all know about the Dogmanits family. They know the tradition and they know it’s about being gritty, tough competitors. It doesn’t matter who they’re going up against. They’re going to fight and battle.”
Kholi is aware of what’s going on around the Lehigh Valley where Nazareth has Cooper Madson, Bethlehem Catholic is led by Axel Burkart, Parkland features Finn Coen and there are quality QBs at a bunch of schools.
“It’s awesome to see and it’s only human nature for guys to look around and see other quarterbacks have big games and it inspires them try to one-up it,” Kholi said. “Talking with Tanner, he doesn’t think about records. For him, he’s worried about us as a team. He just wants a good end to his season and career.”
A look at Thursday night’s EPC games, both 7 p.m. starts:
Allen (3-4, 1-3 EPC) at Whitehall (6-1, 4-0)
The storylines: The Canaries have lost three in a row during an injury-plagued stretch but have had some good moments in games against Parkland and Allentown CCHS. The Zephyrs have won five in a row since a Labor Day weekend loss to Nazareth. They have shown they can win the close ones, beating Wilkes-Barre Area by two, Pleasant Valley by three and Emmaus by one. They are in contention for the EPC Lehigh County title and have huge matchups against Parkland and Allentown CCHS looming.
Players to watch: The Canaries had 215 yards on offense, including 153 in the air, against the Vikings. Curtis Cooper ran for the team’s lone touchdown. Jaylen Walker had seven catches for 77 yards and Michael Taylor had 54 yards rushing. The Zephyrs have an MVP candidate in Tanner Dogmanits, who has passed for 1,333 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 493 yards and five more scores. Henry Shultz leads the EPC in receptions with 42 for 710 and eight grabs. Jeziah Gregory has rushed for 736 yards and 12 scores.
Keith Groller’s pick: Whitehall 48-18
Emmaus (2-5, 1-3 EPC) at Dieruff (1-6, 0-4)
The storylines: The Green Hornets are coming off a pair of frustrating losses to Allentown CCHS and Whitehall, setbacks by a combined four points that came in the final minutes. At the moment, they are out of the District 11 6A playoff picture — ranked 11th out 12 teams in 6A. They will need to win out to have a shot at getting one of the eight berths. Dieruff continues to struggle with injuries and inconsistency during a four-game losing streak in which the Huskies have been outscored 202-8.
Players to watch: The Emmaus running game has been boosted by the return of Jay Santos from injury. He ran for 166 yards on 17 carries against Whitehall and has 266 yards on 33 carries in three games. Mason Lenig leads the Green Hornets defense with 67 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss and three sacks. Dieruff has struggled offensively, but Sincere Brown has rushed for 114 yards on 29 carries and Kayson Barlow has 10 receptions for 154 yards.
Keith Groller’s pick: Emmaus 42-0
Note: Keith Groller’s high school picks were 6-4 last week and 61-22 on the season.