Westmoreland County’s newest football coaches tackle 1st day of official workouts

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, August 11, 2025 | 10:22 PM

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Dustin Shoaf made sure his team didn’t leave hungry on the final day of football heat acclimatization workouts.

The new Southmoreland football coach cut the last practice short Friday and surprised his players with a post-practice meal of brisket and macaroni and cheese for what he called a “well done” week.

There also was a cornhole tournament, with a catch: The winner took home a dozen ears of sweet corn.

Shoaf loosened the mood, allowing himself to get, well, corny.

“Cornhole … a dozen of sweet corn … you get it?” Shoaf said to the Scotties. See what he did there?

Speaking of hungry, the next challenge began for Shoaf and other first-year coaches. Five men blinked awake early Monday morning to welcome their first training camp as rookie head coaches for Westmoreland County programs.

Other new coaches are Tom McIntyre at Latrobe, Scott Bryer at Belle Vernon, Colyn Haugh at Kiski Area and Dom Girardi at Burrell.

Two weeks of full-padded, full-­contact practices will get teams prepared for their season-opening Week Zero game Aug. 22.

Teams will scrimmage Saturday.

Putting in the time

Southmoreland has been putting in long days and loving it. There were rumors Shoaf had a cot in his office.

“Thankfully, teaching doesn’t start for a couple weeks so I can spend a lot of time getting these guys ready,” said Shoaf, a teacher at Yough who coached one season as an assistant at Jeannette before taking over the Scotties’ program. “We’ve been able to have four-hour practices. Doing that as a staff has allowed us to get a great feel for what we have. We’ve been able to grind through the process and grow with them.”

Shoaf, Yough’s all-time leading rusher, played running back at Mercyhurst. The 24-year-old is applying what he learned at the next level to his new gig.

“It’s about cutting the film and analyzing everything we can,” he said. “We have the drones in practice, so we can see different angles. It’s time consuming, but I love every bit of it. It’s not a job. It’s a passion.”

Shoaf replaced Tim Bukowski, who led the Scotties for three seasons, helping the program navigate the sudden death of would-be coach Ron Frederick and getting them to the playoffs all three times.

Bukowski is now the head coach at Uniontown.

Voice of reason

McIntyre, a former Latrobe assistant, said heat week felt the same as past years and expected a similar feeling in camp. But he foresees something different as the regular season gets closer.

He has been part of a resurgence in the program, and his primary goal is to keep the bar raised.

McIntyre takes over for Ron Prady, who led the Wildcats to two playoff wins after they had one in 54 years. Prady is back on the staff at Penn-Trafford as an assistant.

“I think it’s going to feel pretty different around 5 p.m. on the 22nd,” McIntyre said. “I used to run the scout team, and I am still doing that. But being the last voice they hear (after practices) is different. We started (heat workouts) at 6 a.m. They’re just out of bed, so you have to get their attention.”

McIntyre compared preparing for a new season and the day-by-day approach to another sport he likes.

“It’s like golf,” he said. “If you have a bad hole, you move on. It all depends on what you do after that. Do you bounce back or go down a bad road?

“I went to Saint Vincent to hear (NFL rules analyst) Gene Steratore speak. Like he said, if you ever have a perfect game, just retire. If you have a perfect practice at any level, you have more to do.”

Day at The Beach

Bryer has been around Belle Vernon football — from the youth level to the varsity — for the better part of two decades. When highly successful coach Matt Humbert stepped down, Bryer was a logical replacement. Although he didn’t see it that way initially.

“A lot of people said I should apply,” Bryer said. “Being a head coach was not something I had thought about. I thought that had passed me by.”

He actually was named head coach in 2009 but stayed only a month after he was hired as an elementary principal at Mt. Pleasant, a job he still holds.

He was an assistant for the Leopards the past four years. Belle Vernon won back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2022 and ’23.

The first day of camp was more different for Bryer than the players, the coach said.

“The only difference is they’re all wearing pants instead of shorts,” Bryer said. “There’s more contact, yes, but we have been doing pretty much the same thing since June.”

The Leopards didn’t have to open camp on a grass field by the high school because “The Beach” with its sleek new turf was ready to go.

“I feel like I am more equipped now than I was before,” Bryer said. “It’s the lead-ups more than anything, getting the scripts and everything in place. … I am very detailed and scripted.

“Once practice starts, it’s old hat.”

School pride is hard-wired into Bryer. His and his wife Tina’s three sons played for the Leopards, and a fourth is making his way to the varsity level.

Luke Bryer won two WPIAL and PIAA titles, and Jack Bryer and Max Bryer were WPIAL runners-up. Luke and Jack play at Case Western. Max is an assistant coach at Edinboro.

Eighth-grader Heinz Bryer is next up.

“My kids played here. We’ve been to Heinz Field and won state championships,” Scott Bryer said. “This is a special place. It means a lot to me.”

Bryer and his staff are dealing with low numbers, by Belle Vernon standards. The roster shows 36 players.

Setting the standard

Haugh, a Franklin Regional alum, has been a college coach for the past 17 years. The former Robert Morris lineman most recently was an associate head coach at Edinboro. He also was an assistant at Saint Francis and Westminster.

Once he got to know his players and got them acclimated to his system, Haugh said the transition to his first head coaching job has smoothed out.

He took over for longtime A-K Valley coaching personality Sam Albert, who guided the Cavaliers for seven years.

“For me the biggest challenge was early,” he said. “Getting kids to come out and work hard and buy into the standard we have set. A few were on board from Day 1. But it took some time to get the whole team out. Now, six months in, the standard is set, and I challenge them to meet or exceed the standard daily.”

Seeing his plan carried out is where the pride comes in.

“The most rewarding part is when it clicks for one of the players,” Haugh said. “Especially one who has been struggling with a certain technique and/or schematic responsibility. When they do it correctly, first their eyes light up, like they just realized, ‘Hey, I can do this.’ Sometimes that helps to release the pressure they put on themselves. My comment is always the same: Now that you’ve done it once, you should be able to do it every time.”

Chief concerns

Girardi hooked up with Burrell after five years as head coach at Highlands. He took over for Shawn Liotta, who stepped down after seven seasons.

“It’s been very enjoyable,” Girardi said. “The support from the administration and the community has been great. The kids have been working hard and are excited about the upcoming season.”

Also a former assistant at Deer Lakes, Knoch and Geneva, Girardi is a Valley graduate, where he played quarterback. Valley is Burrell’s most bitter rival.

His greatest challenge has been getting accustomed to life across the bridge (the Tarentum bridge connects the Natrona Heights, Tarentum side of the Allegheny River to the New Kensington, Lower Burrell side).

“As trivial as this might seem, sometimes it’s just getting accustomed to where everything is and how everything works,” he said. “I’m the type of person who likes to plan everything out and have a vision for what we’re doing and where we’re metaphorically headed. Figuring everything out that first time around ends up taking extra time that you’re able to devote to other things in the future.”

Girardi has been to a couple of Super Bowls to cheer on and support his brother, David, the quarterbacks coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. One day, he hopes to play in a WPIAL championship.

He’ll get a fresh shot at Burrell.

“I like the clean slate, the hope and excitement of the season to come,” he said.

“Every player and every team is in a position to accomplish their goals. A long time ago, the (Valley News Dispatch) used to have a ‘Survivor Island’ with all the undefeated teams. Each week, teams would be taken off if they lost. Right now, everyone is on the island.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Burrell, Kiski Area, Latrobe, Southmoreland