Carolina Forest set to take on one of state’s best in Fort Dorchester
Marc Morris isn’t arguing with what is expected to be a pretty lofty state ranking for his team’s opponent this week.
Fort Dorchester will head to Carolina Forest on Friday, and the Patriots are almost assured of staying at No. 2 in the Class AAAA polls after winning by more than three touchdowns in Week 0.
“I’d go with them, too,” Morris said. “The only reason I’d go Spartanburg No. 1 is because of that tailback up there.”
While Spartanburg’s Tavien Feaster – a Clemson commitment – is stirring up plenty of headlines, Fort Dorchester isn’t exactly chopped liver. The Patriots have a number of players making recruiting waves of their own.
Offensive lineman John Simpson has already picked up an offer from Alabama (and plenty of others); running back Datron James has a pair of NCAA Division I offers; and sophomore quarterback Dakereon Joyner has already picked up offers from many of the Southeast’s Power Five programs, South Carolina and Clemson included.
Those three and many more were part of a Patriots squad that defeated Carolina Forest 46-7 a year ago. They’ll also be in tow on Friday when they play the Panthers in The Sun News’ Game of the Week.
And Morris said even if his team can pull the upset, he considers the Patriots one of the top squads across the state.
“When the smoke clears 10-11 weeks from now,” he said, “they’ll be one of the teams we’re talking about – one of the teams that can win a ring.”
HTC high school football game of the week
HTC will head to Loris this week for its High School Football Game of the Week.
The Lions will be playing regular non-region rival North Myrtle Beach in a matchup of teams that have split the last two games. Loris won last year, while the Chiefs took the 2013 game. Both of those wins were by the road team.
The game will be broadcast live on HTC Channel 4, as well as HTCConnect.com.
Ian Guerin: ian@ianguerin.com, @iguerin
This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Carolina Forest set to take on one of state’s best in Fort Dorchester."