Senior quarterback Charles Watson will be missed at Fort Dorchester next season.
By Roger Lee
North Charleston – Fort Dorchester Football is going through more changes, but how high the bar will be set for the program will likely remain high.
Last week, Dorchester School District 2 announced Fort Dorchester's new head football coach is Shaun Lorenzano from Lake Howell High School in Florida. Lorenzano had a 6-5 record last season, according to MaxPreps. He also was head coach at Cypress Creek in Orlando for four seasons.
In an X message, Lorenzano said the move was in the best interest of his family and he is looking forward to his new position.
“The past six years at Lake Howell High School have been a great experience for me and my family,” he said. “The relationships we have built will last forever. … This is a bitter sweet time. Leaving Lake Howell is a hard decision and one I do not take lightly. I am extremely excited to lead one of the top football programs in the state of South Carolina. Thank you for the opportunity. We look forward to meeting our new Patriot family.”
He takes over for interim coach Josh Smith, who led the Patriots to a 7-4 record last season after replacing longtime coach Steve LaPrad. Fort Dorchester finished as the Class 5A Lower State Champion in LaPrad’s final season at the helm.
Fort Dorchester’s 2023 season ended Nov. 10 with a loss in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. White Knoll played well in all three faucets of the game as it handed Fort Dorchester a 50-7 loss.
Fort Dorchester forced three fumbles and recovered two but was unable to turn either recovery into points.
The Timberwolves intercepted a pass on the Patriots’ second possession and then found the end zone on the 50-yard pass to take a 14-0 lead early in the opening quarter. Fort Dorchester got on the board with a TD run early in the second quarter for a 20-7 score. Both offenses stalled for a bit, but then White Knoll blocked a punt to set up a TD with six minutes remaining in the half. That gave the Timberwolves a 20-point lead and White Knoll never looked back.
For Fort Dorchester, the loss is not indicative of the type of season it had. The Patriots had multiple wins over quality opponents. All of the team’s losses came to strong teams with a strong tradition.
The wins came over Beaufort, Berkeley, Ashley Ridge, Goose Creek, Stall, West Ashley and Socastee. The other losses came to Grayson, Ga., Gaffney and Summerville.
A strong group of seniors led Fort Dorchester so the Patriots do have some rebuilding to do.
Quarterback Charles Watson passed for more than 1,200 yards and 19 TDs this season. Fellow senior Bennett Riffer split time with Watson and also did a good job leading the offense.
Mul-Ty Snider finished the season with more than 700 receiving yards and seven TDs. Monty Johnson finished with more than for 500 receiving yards and seven TDs. Jalen Barry had eight TD catches so they will all be missed.
Senior running back Davion Brown topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark and senior Naz Ridley also made big contributions out of the backfield. Seniors Preston Murphy and Ty’rik Deas were big contributors on the offensive line.
Senior defensive linemen Jayden Acevedo, Landon Whitlock, Davion Kinlaw and Cam Hawkins and senior linebacker Marcus Moon also had large roles in the team’s success.
While the Patriots will lose more than 20 athletes to graduation, it does stand to return some key athletes.
Sophomore running back Ryan Campbell proved to be a dynamic player this season and should have several offensive linemen returning to help next season.
Defensive end Malachi Watson and defensive back Jalen White, who are both juniors, helped anchor the Patriots defense this season.
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