Cam Shorey used to go to Orono to watch University of Maine football games.
He never envisioned himself playing on that field.
After all, he was from Calais, where basketball has always been the No. 1 sport.
But Calais High School added varsity football when he was in high school, and he wound up earning a full scholarship to play for the University of New Hampshire.
He has already played on Morse Field at Alfond Stadium. In 2013, he and the Wildcats beat UMaine 41-27 in an Football Championship Subdivision playoff game.
On Saturday, Shorey returns for what could be his final college game as UNH takes on rival UMaine in their mutual Colonial Athletic Association regular-season finale at 1 p.m.
Both teams must win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Wildcats have made 12 consecutive FCS postseason appearances.
“It’s always exciting to play Maine,” Shorey said. “My family and friends are going to be there. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. I won’t have any trouble getting up to play Maine.”
Shorey has carved out an impressive career in Durham.
He was fifth in the CAA and tops on his team in sacks (7.5) and tackles for losses (12.5) last season and he was involved in 42 tackles. His stats aren’t as good this fall, but he feels he is a better player.
“I may have had better stats last year, but I feel I’ve had more of an impact this year, particularly stopping the run,” the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Shorey said. “I did a lot of work in the offseason and I’ve gotten stronger, which has enabled me to be more physical at the point of attack and handle blockers who are bigger than me.”
Shorey has been getting some reps in the interior line as well as at defensive end.
“He has done nothing but gotten better week in and week out, year in and year out,” UNH head coach Sean McDonnell said. “He is an athletic kid who can run and track people down and rush the passer. And he has become a physical defensive end.
“I’m proud of the way he has improved over his 4½ years here. He is one of the great ones we got out of Maine,” McDonnell added.
Shorey has been resilient throughout his career.
A torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee suffered during Calais’ first varsity season nearly ended his football career. He missed the basketball season that same year but returned to play basketball during 2009-2010 and earned Bangor Daily News All-Maine second-team honors.
He transferred to Phillips Exeter Academy to enhance his chances of playing Division I college basketball. But he also discovered he missed football.
He sent out videos of him playing football and basketball and he received a lot of positive feedback from football coaches. So he attended several collegiate football summer camps and returned to the football field after a two-year absence.
He earned all-conference honors at Phillips Exeter and chose UNH over UMaine and Villanova.
Shorey’s father, Kevin, was a tight end at Columbia University. Thus, Cam was introduced to football at age 9 in Canada and played four years there. At Calais, he was a star running back.
Cam Shorey has been coached at UNH by former Bangor High School star and University of Massachusetts captain Peter McCarty, who is the Wildcats’ defensive line coach.
“He’s a great coach,” Shorey said. “He has a lot of knowledge. I love him.”
Shorey and the Wildcats hope to keep the Brice-Cowell Musket, which is awarded to the winner of the annual UMaine-UNH game, in Durham. UNH has won the last six meetings.
But he knows it it be a fierce battle.
“They are doing some different things offensively this year,” Shorey said, noting the new coaching staff has changed things up. “They’re pretty strong up front. They do a decent job running the ball and their quarterback (Dan Collins) will throw the deep ball. He’s also doing a little bit of running. We’ve got to stop the run and force them into (difficult) third-down situations where our speedy guys (in the secondary) can go after (interceptions).”