Westmoreland County campus clippings: Yough grad Dustin Shoaf among PSAC's top returning players

Back for his graduate season, Dustin Shoaf is primed to be the focal point of the running game this season at Mercyhurst.

The running back from Yough is coming off a career season where he rushed for 635 yards and seven touchdowns for the Lakers, who are trying to flip the script on a 2-9 season that saw them finish 0-7 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division.

Shoaf is the top local player to watch in the PSAC, but a number of others will be looking to make an impact.

Several of them are Shoaf’s teammates who are late in their college careers.

They are senior lineman Max Malis (Derry), senior linebacker Dillon Ferretti (Hempfield), junior linebacker Jonas King (Mt. Pleasant), senior tight end Russell Pytlak (Yough) and senior lineman Aaron Bowen (Norwin).

Other area players to watch in the PSAC West:

Cal: Sean Knight (Jr., OL, Hempfield), Jalen Page (So., DB, Greensburg Salem).

Clarion: Nathan Roby (Jr., RB, Hempfield), Mark Mizerak (Jr., OL, Greensburg Central Catholic).

Edinboro: Toby Cline (Jr. DB, Jeannette), CJ Waldier (Jr., LB, Yough), Tristan Waldier (So., LB, Yough).

IUP: Tanner Krevokuch, R-So., TE, Norwin), Cole Weightman (So., DE, Belle Vernon).

Seton Hill: Tanner Queen (Sr., DB, Hempfield), Pete Billey (Jr., LB, Mt. Pleasant), Luke Hauger (Sr., K, Mt. Pleasant), Paul Newill (Sr., OL, Hempfield), Ryan Thomas (Sr., TE, Greensburg Salem).

Slippery Rock: Connor Chrisman (R-So., WR, Norwin).

IUP, the defending PSAC champion, begins the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason coaches’ poll.

Football

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats are glad to have one of their top players returning … kicks and punts.

Senior Molayo Irefin, arguably the most dangerous return man in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, received third-team preseason All-America honors from D3football.com.

He is the first player in SVC history to receive the distinction.

Last season, Irefin was an All-American as a return specialist as he led the PAC in kick return (27.2 yards) and punt return average (15.8). The punt-return mark is a program record.

He had a memorable, 100-yard kick return touchdown in a win over Waynesburg for the longest play in SVC history.

He also had the longest punt-return TD by any Bearcat with an 85-yard score against Stevenson.

Irefin also was a productive receiver last season, pulling in 62 receptions for 732 yards and eight touchdowns. His 1,335 all-purpose yards ranked second in the PAC.

Saint Vincent opens the season at 1 p.m. Sept. 2 in Latrobe.

Washington & Jefferson: Senior linebacker Justin Johns (Franklin Regional) is a nominee for the William V. Campbell Trophy, presented annually by the National Football Foundation and recognizes the player who excels in football, academics and community service.

Johns, who has a 3.89 cumulative grade-point average as an economics and business administration major, was an All-PAC First Team and All-Region 2 Third Team player last season when he led the conference in tackles with 102.

Women’s lacrosse

Seton Hill: The university hired Dina Cifelli to coach the team. She is a former assistant at St. Leo University (Fla.), Tampa and Holy Family.

While at Tampa, the Spartans won their first ever SSC Championship in 2019 and earned the top seed in the NCAA South Regional while winning a program best 14 games. The Spartans were the fourth best scoring offense in Division II in 2019.

Cifelli was a record-breaking, four-time All-PSAC player at West Chester and was the conference rookie of the year in 2014.

She owns the PSAC record with 222 assists. For her career, she also had 83 goals for 305 points, and 97 draw controls.