Former Yough star Shoaf hired to guide Scotties

Dustin Shoaf hasn’t taken a handoff like this since college.

Just a couple of months ago, the former standout running back was lending his expertise as an assistant coach at Jeannette, which made a surprise run to the WPIAL Class A semifinals.

Now, the 23-year-old is the head coach at Southmoreland.

“Things are happening fast,” Shoaf said.

Yough’s all-time rushing leader who had five-year college career at Mercyhurst, Shoaf was hired Tuesday night to fill a vacancy left when Tim Bukowski resigned a little more than a month ago.

Shoaf was approved by an 8-0 vote. “To get experience, you have to throw some mud and see if it sticks,” Shoaf said. “I owe a lot to (Jeannette coach) Tommy Paulone, one of my best supporters. He told me to take a shot.”

It turns out, Bukowski nearly returned as coach. He and Shoaf both received second interviews. Bukowski said parents and players urged him to return, which swayed him to re-interview.

But the district went with Shoaf, a teacher at Yough, who brings one year of coaching experience from Jeannette, where he learned from another up-andcoming head coach in Paulone.

“I know what it’s like,” Paulone said. “Dustin is going to be a great coach.”

Shoaf is a teacher at Yough and also works on his family’s farm. He coached offensive linemen at Jeannette.

Despite his light resume, Shoaf believes he is ready to be a head coach.

“The experience I have as a high school coach, college player and teacher aligns with what I want to do at Southmoreland,” Shoaf said. “At the end of the day, I hope this opens the door for other young coaches.”

Shoaf ran for 5,053 yards at Yough, twice claiming the WPIAL rushing title. He ran for a school-record 428 yards on 43 carries in a 49-38 win over Southmoreland in 2017.

“Dustin is an energetic young man who brings a lot of enthusiasm to our school and football program,” Southmoreland athletic director Brian Pritts said. “We believe he is going to be a great fit for our student- athletes.” Bukowski, the man who helped turn around a struggling program, stepped down in December, citing a lack of support from the administration, following his third season in charge of the Scotties. Overall, he was with the program for seven years.

“It’s been an emotional roller coaster,” Bukowski said. “I think about the guys … the seniors now were freshmen when I got the job. Either way, they’ll have a good coach and a good team.

“It was a good seven years. We turned the program around.”

Bukowski turned down a Class 4A head coaching job when he decided to try to get his job back.

He is now looking into other coaching opportunities.

Southmoreland made the playoffs four straight seasons with Bukowski on staff. It finished 7-4 last season and was 17-16 under his watch.

The Scotties still are seeking their first playoff win in school history.

Bukowski, on staff when Dave Keefer was head coach and led the initial resurgence, helped the team make the playoffs for the first time in 40 years.

Southmoreland had not won seven games in a season in 30 years.

A point of contention with Bukowski’s initial departure was the co-operative with Geibel, an agreement where student-athletes from Geibel can play football at Southmoreland. Geibel does not have a football team.

The co-op appears to still be in place, at least for one more year when a new, two-year enrollment cycle turns over.

Bukowski said a few parents were upset about the co-op, which began in 2014, and complained to the board about issues involving playing time and players getting “recruited” to come to Geibel.

Bukowski denied those claims. He was a six-time WPIAL championship- winning coordinator at Clairton, where he also won four PIAA titles.