Shawnee Grad Dalton Short Ready for When Football Returns at Monmouth
Dalton Short was at his next destination, preparing for a college football season he hoped will be played. Short is a 2020 graduate of Shawnee who has earned a football scholarship to Monmouth.
He had been there for two weeks working out with his new teammates, but on Monday, Monmouth announced that it was canceling all fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s rough, but the whole thing has been difficult,” he said.
While his career will be delayed a year, Short doesn’t take for granted earning a scholarship and he eventually wants to pick up where he left off at Shawnee.
“It feels really good,” he said about earning a scholarship. “Football is a big part of my life and setting myself up down the road, and hopefully coming out of college with that degree will kick me off in the right direction.”
Short was a major part of one of South Jersey’s top programs. He was full-back linebacker this season and a three-year starter on defense.
During his three varsity seasons, Shawnee won three South Jersey Group 4 championships. This past season the Renegades competed in South Jersey’s top conference, the West Jersey Football League American Division with heavyweights such as South Jersey Group 5 champion Williamstown and finalist Lenape, not to mention Central Jersey Group 5 champ Cherokee.
Those were tough teams but facing that type of competition, helped Shawnee in the postseason.
“That was a good division and we played a rough schedule but in the long run it helped us,” Short said.
A ball-hawking linebacker, Short recorded 111 tackles as a senior. He also rushed for 197 yards and three touchdowns while also being among the key leaders on a veteran Renegades team.
Short committed to Monmouth in the early signing period last December. In his case, first impressions meant a lot.
“They were my first school I visited and the first to offer me,” he said. “When it came time to decide, I wanted a school that believed in me first.”
He said the culture of Monmouth reminded him of Shawnee, where coach Tim Gushue has built a South Jersey powerhouse. Gushue is 262-122-6. The Renegades went 10-3 in 2019.
Monmouth is guided by Kevin Callahan, the only head football coach in school history. He is entering his 28th season. His 163 wins ran seventh among active coaches at the FCS (formerly 1-AA) level.
“The way coach Gushue runs our program, it revolves around culture and when I visited Monmouth, it was the same thing with a long-term head coach,” Short said.
What Short will remember most about Shawnee is being able to three-peat as champion.
“Winning three championships in a row was pretty sweet,” he said. “We did it with a different group of guys every time.”
Short, who says he plans to major in business, said he was hoping to get on the field as a freshman.
That could happen, but it would have to be as a redshirt freshman since there will be no season this year. Still, football will continue to play a major role in his life.
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“My long-term goal is to be successful at life and hopefully playing football will help with that.”
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“My long-term goal is to be successful at life and hopefully playing football will help with that.”
© SouthJersey.com 2020. All rights reserved. This article or parts thereof may not be reprinted or reproduced by any other party without the express written consent of SouthJersey.com. For more information, please call 856-797-9910.
To receive special deals directly from SouthJersey.com, subscribe here.
For more Local Sports features, visit our South Jersey Sports page.
Author: Marc Narducci
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