Switching sides: Former Yough star Shoaf takes over Scotties football program
Southmoreland football fans may still cringe at the thought of Dustin Shoaf playing for the Yough Cougars.
It was Oct. 20, 2017 at Russ Grimm Field when Shoaf shredded the Scotties defense for a school-record 428 yards and five touchdowns on runs of 15, 8, 8, 2 and 56 yards. As if that wasn无毛视频檛 enough, Shoaf also threw a 7-yard TD pass in the Cougars无毛视频� 49-38 victory.
The next time Shoaf steps on the football field for a game at Southmoreland he无毛视频檒l do it not as a nemesis but as head coach of the Scotties.
The former Southmoreland foe is now its leader.
Shoaf was hired recently by an 8-0 vote to become the next head football coach at Southmoreland.
Shoaf takes over for Tim Bukowski who originally stepped down in December after guiding the Scotties the past three years to records of 4-7, 6-5 and 7-4 for a combined 17-16 mark. The Scotties made the playoffs each of those years but are still searching for the program无毛视频檚 first postseason victory.
Bukowski later reversed course and re-applied for the job opening but the board sided with the 23-year-old Shoaf who was a four-year starter at two-time all-conference running back at Mercyhurst University.
无毛视频淚 feel like the administration has been very supportive already,无毛视频� said Shoaf, who will turn 24 in April. 无毛视频淭he people, the community are very excited. I met with the kids and they were fired up.
Things are going to get rolling here.无毛视频�
A lot of coaches talk about changing or altering the culture of a team. Shoaf did also, but used 无毛视频渃ulture无毛视频� as an acronym for what he thought was important to a football program.
无毛视频淲e have to establish our culture first, and our culture stands for Communication, Unconditional love, Leadership, Trust, Unity, Respect and, at the end of the day, Education,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淥nce we label the culture and lay down the groundwork, the foundation, then all the other sections are going to start building off of that.无毛视频�
Shoaf remains Yough无毛视频檚 all-time leading runner with 5,053 yards, was a two-time WPIAL regular-season rushing champion and was named to the all-state team.
Mercyhurst, which is now an NCAA Division-I program after shifting from the PSAC to the NEC last year, was Shoaf无毛视频檚 college choice.
无毛视频淭he big difference was obviously the speed of the game,无毛视频� Shoaf said of adjusting from high school football to college. 无毛视频淭hings got a lot quicker and I had to adjust and adapt to it pretty fast if I wanted to play right away.无毛视频�
Shoaf did and wound up starting his freshman year.
无毛视频淭he second biggest change was the whole capacity of the level of the game, as far as practices are a lot longer, there are hours of meetings each week,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淭hen balancing that with school work and your social life. It无毛视频檚 a handful.无毛视频�
Shoaf wound up starting 39 games as a versatile running back counted on for blocking, running and receiving. He ended his career with 255 carries for 1,022 yards (4.0 per carry), 49 receptions for 473 yards (9.6 per catch) and 11 touchdowns. He was named All-PSAC second team in each of his final two years with the Lakers.
无毛视频淭he whole experience allowed me to grow as an individual,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 super-happy with the way things panned out. If I had a chance to do it all over again I无毛视频檇 do the same thing and sign with Mercyhurst. The people I无毛视频檝e met, the connections I无毛视频檝e made, the memories 无毛视频� it was an overall great experience. I wouldn无毛视频檛 change a thing about it. I was truly thankful to be a Laker.无毛视频�
Shoaf graduated from Mercyhurst with a degree in Early Education and Special Education and a minor in Administration.
Shoaf then turned to coaching.
无毛视频淭wo years ago once I got done playing I wound up volunteering at Mercyhurst,无毛视频� Shoaf pointed out. 无毛视频淎fter that I jumped on staff at Jeannette. It was just an avenue to be a part of the game again, the game that gave me so much.无毛视频�
The Jayhawks went 9-4 and reached the WPIAL Class A semifinals this past season with Shoaf as an assistant coach under Tom Paulone.
Shoaf pondered seeking a head coaching job next despite obviously being a younger candidate than most.
无毛视频淭ommy Paulone was my biggest supporter. He urged me to go for it,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淗e said, 无毛视频楥oach Shoaf, do it. You never know what无毛视频檚 going to happen.无毛视频�
无毛视频淪o I interviewed at Southmoreland and some other school districts. I saw it as an opportunity to give back to our society, our kids, our youth. It无毛视频檚 all about building character. Building a culture. Everything I want to do in life aligns with sports. I knew I had to be involved somehow once I was done playing. I wanted to be able to coach and share my experiences on and off the field.无毛视频�
Southmoreland welcomed him.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 so thankful to have the opportunity,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淥verall, the interview was a great process. It was two rounds and I used it as an opportunity to compete. That无毛视频檚 something that will always be a part of me is being a competitor.无毛视频�
Shoaf said he hopes to relate all he无毛视频檚 learned to his players at Southmoreland.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 going to be bigger than just football while I无毛视频檓 here,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e going to do a lot of things with this program where we无毛视频檙e going to be good on the field but we无毛视频檙e going to be even better for the kids individually off the field.无毛视频�
Shoaf is aware of the Scotties无毛视频� recent success on the field and said he isn无毛视频檛 going to step in with a complete overhaul in mind.
无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 a lot of great things they无毛视频檝e done the last couple years,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 a good chance things are going to be modeled or based off of that in a sense.
无毛视频淭here are things that I无毛视频檒l bring to the table that I like to do. Without getting into Xs and Os, our mentality is we无毛视频檙e going to be aggressive.无毛视频�
Shoaf is aware he无毛视频檚 got one of the WPIAL无毛视频檚 star quarterbacks on his roster in sophomore Anthony Smith, who already has a scholarship offer from Syracuse.
无毛视频淎nthony does a lot of great things, watching him on film,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a young guy whose growth is going to continue and he无毛视频檒l have an opportunity to continue to be successful.
无毛视频淭here are a lot of great student-athletes at Southmoreland. Everybody who无毛视频檚 a part of our program will have a role in some way and their arrow has to face in the right direction for us to be successful. Southmoreland was competitive the last few years. They无毛视频檝e won games, they无毛视频檝e made the playoffs, and that无毛视频檚 great. Our goal is to continue winning football games and competing for that conference championship and finally winning that playoff game and letting that domino effect happen.
无毛视频淥nce you get over that hump, and I really truly believe we can, then all the other pieces start to fall in place. These are exciting times. The kids there are great. I无毛视频檓 super-excited to work with them.无毛视频�
Shoaf, the son of Randy and Patti Shoaf, still lives in the Yough school district but is only a 15-minute drive from Southmoreland.
Shoaf sees similarities between Yough and Southmoreland.
无毛视频淏oth schools and communities have great people,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淭he administration at both school districts is awesome.无毛视频�
Shoaf does still remember his school-record performance playing for the Cougars at Southmoreland.
无毛视频淭hat was great. The kids asked me about it,无毛视频� Shoaf said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檒l be very exciting when I step on that same field for a game as a head coach for the first time.
无毛视频淭hose are great memories but at the end of the day it无毛视频檚 all about the kids here now and what we无毛视频檙e going to do moving forward.
无毛视频淓xpectations are high and we无毛视频檝e got to go meet them.无毛视频�