Keefer resigns as football coach at Southmoreland; Frazier hires Shannon

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, January 27, 2022 | 6:45 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Southmoreland is looking for a new football coach after Dave Keefer resigned.

The Southmoreland School District’s board accepted his resignation at a meeting Jan. 20.

Keefer had coached four seasons at Southmoreland and led them reach the WPIAL playoffs twice.

The 2021 team played in its first home playoff game, falling to East Allegheny, 36-11, and the 2019 squad was the first team since 1979 to reach the playoffs.

The Scotties were 19-19 in his four seasons.

“I took some time at the end of the season and felt it was the right time to step away,” Keefer said. “I’ve been coaching for 31 years, and now I get to do some of the things I missed out on: vacations, golfing and hunting.

“I enjoyed it. You never know. I may come back and coach middle school or midgets. I feel whoever gets the job will have players to work with.”

Southmoreland athletic director Dan Boring said Keefer had indicated late in the season that this might be his last season.

“It was a little bit of a surprise,” Boring said. “He’s been teaching for 30 years and he felt it was time to step away.

“We are thankful for what he has done with the program. He’s leaving the program in a good position.”

Boring said the search for his replace is ongoing. The deadline for applications is Monday.

“Right now we have three worthy candidates,” Boring said. “We’re going to start the interview process next week.”

Keefer will remain as the school’s track coach.

Frazier hires coach

The Frazier School District’s board hired Mike Shannon, a social studies teacher at the high school, as its new football coach after an 0-9 season under Greg Boggs.

The Commodores were 7-21 under Boggs in three seasons.

Shannon, 37, coached previously for Mike Steeber at Frazier and was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Hampton, for two seasons.

He returned to Frazier in 2021 and served as an assistant for Boggs as a line coach.

“Some of the seniors wanted me to come back last season,” Shannon said. “I felt it was right for me to come back. I wish we could have had a better season for them.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to be the head coach. The community loves football, and I want to bring the program back. We already are lifting, and some players who didn’t play the past few seasons are back.”

Shannon already has started hiring a staff, and he is excited about the team’s new conference, which includes Clairton, Jeannette, Leechburg, Greensburg Central Catholic, Riverview and Springdale.

“One of my biggest jobs is getting the numbers back up,” Shannon said. “We finished with around 20 players last season. I’m going to the middle school and youth teams to make sure we get kids excited about playing.”

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Southmoreland