Prior to the season, the plan for Highland football was to have junior Jack Whitmer take over the quarterback job from Easton Durham, who would transition to a multipurpose role as a senior to take advantage of his speed and dynamism.

But, like most plans made in 2020, that one didn't last long.

The Rams' scheme collapsed midway though their second game of the season after a listless first half against Utah power Sky View in the Rocky Mountain Rumble at Madison High School.

With Whitmer struggling — he went 5 for 11 for 26 yards and an interception in the first two quarters — head coach Gino Mariani went back to Durham at quarterback.

Despite throwing two interceptions and failing to score any points in the second half of that game, Durham remained under center until two weeks ago, when the situation reversed itself.

Up just 9-7 at halftime against Madison, Highland went back to Whitmer at quarterback. The junior responded with three touchdowns — two passing, one rushing — as the Rams pulled away to win 30-14.

The back-and-forth has left Highland in an unusual position. Some high school teams don't mind playing two quarterbacks, whether out of cleverness or necessity. But throughout Mariani's long and successful tenure at Highland, that hasn't been the case.

"I've always settled on one (quarterback) usually," Mariani said. "(Whitmer and Durham) bring different things to the table. It's almost like you have to read it and see which one's playing well that day.

"The biggest thing is being able to accept it and say, when I'm called upon, I'll go out and play and do the best I can. That's the one nice thing about both of them, they can step in and do it."

Given that Durham has been the quarterback for about four of Highland's six games and Whitmer has been in for about two, their stats are very similar.

Durham has completed 52 of 79 passes — 65.8% — for 574 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. He has 39 carries for 216 yards — 5.5 yards a carry.

Whitmer has completed 39 of 61 passes — 63.9% — for 548 yards, six touchdowns and one pick. He has 111 yards on 24 carries — 4.6 yards per.

"We made the switch in the second game," Mariani said. "Third game, Easton played really well against Logan. I thought he struggled a little bit against Madison, and Jack came in and was a spark. We're giving them equal reps, they're both doing a great job.

"At the end of the day, you're still trying to do the best thing that you can for this team and what's giving us the best opportunity to win. That's the bottom line, is putting the best product on the field. Both of those kids are working towards that."

The two came to the quarterback position from different backgrounds.

Durham, who's been on Highland's varsity since he was a freshman, got reps in a wildcat package down the stretch of the season in 2018, his sophomore year.

"I was definitely really nervous, because I'd never really played in a varsity game," Durham said. "I'd never really played in big-time situations, especially because I played my sophomore year, really, in playoff games. So it was like a big-time spot for me."

After that, he was Highland's starting signal-caller last year as a junior despite not being a natural quarterback.

Whitmer, meanwhile, was the star gunslinger for Highland's junior varsity a year ago.

"The thought process for everybody was I was going to take the job and Durham was going to help where he could," Whitmer said. "I didn't follow through. He's capable of playing the quarterback position, you can tell. That's how it goes."

Both quarterbacks acknowledged the competition but were quick to point out  they just wanted to see Highland win -- whether they were under center or not. 

"I look up to (Durham)," Whitmer said. "He knows what he's talking about. He definitely helps me out sometimes, we help each other out. He's someone to look up to and someone to learn from. He's seen a lot more, especially the speed of the game. It's a lot quicker up here on varsity than it is on JV, and he knows when to get the ball out, what reads to make right off the bat."

One thing that helps is that it's not an all-or-nothing, quarterback-or-bench proposition for either player.

Durham, the natural athlete, gets reps at wide receiver, running back or even defensive back when Whitmer's under center. That, of course, was the plan all along.

But Whitmer's also been able to get some work at receiver and running back when Durham is calling the plays. That shows off his athleticism, as well.

"Jack's as good of a runner in that spread offense as anybody," Mariani said. "He's probably doesn't have the speed that Easton has, but he runs hard and runs with some power."

The Sky view game, aside from being one of the worst losses in Highland history, threatened to throw the Rams into disarray as their best-laid preseason plans were dashed in a night. With two quarterbacks in and neither playing well, they were courting a controversy that might not have had any answers.

But Whitmer and Durham picked up the pieces, and Highland's been on a run since — regardless of who's under center.

"I would say it's a competition, but at the same time, we're both wanting what's best for the team," Durham said. "I feel like we have a good working relationship.

"And whether that's him at quarterback or me at quarterback, we want to win."