Carolina Forest battles, but falls short against state power Fort Dorchester

A few weeks back, Dyverse Simmons sounded like a mad man when he said that Carolina Forest was one of the best teams in the state.

The Panthers haven’t consistently won against Class AAAA competition, let alone some of the best in the state. After Friday, Simmons – and teammates who have repeated similar mantras in recent weeks – looks slightly less crazy.

Carolina Forest took Fort Dorchester, the No. 2 team in the state, to the wire before eventually falling 36-28. Considering the Patriots have defeated the Panthers by at least 20 points in each of the past three seasons and dropped 64 points on fellow Region VI-AAAA team South Florence a week ago, few outside the Carolina Forest community expected this result.

Had it not been a pair of Aaron Mouzon interceptions in the final quarter, folks may have been talking about the upset of the season.

Second-year coach Marc Morris and quarterback Matt Beale wanted none of the “moral victory” talk.

“I know everyone thought that’s what we were out here to do – to keep it close. But that’s not what we were out here for. We were out here to win,” Beale said. “I think we could have gotten it.”

Beale’s second interception of the fourth was picked off at the 3-yard line after an improbable set of circumstances had the Panthers on the cusp of overcoming a two-touchdown deficit in the final four minutes.

After Fort Dorchester’s Datron James scored his third touchdown of the game to put the Patriots up 36-21, Beale drove his team downfield, mostly on a 47-yard pass to Xavier Lynch. The sophomore quarterback then had a 1-yard run to make it a one-score game.

James’ fumble on the next series – returned by Ismael Garcia to the 20 – kept Carolina Forest in the game. Three plays later, the upset fell short.

Maybe no one was as impressed by Carolina Forest’s effort than Fort Dorchester coach Steve LaPrad.

Like many before him, LaPrad believed he could plug backups into the game and still get out with a win. He sat regular starting quarterback Dakereon Joyner, a sophomore with plenty of major offers, in order to rest him for upcoming games.

LaPrad learned his lesson in time.

Midway through the second quarter, with the Patriots’ offense stalling, he inserted Joyner into the game. In three series, he led Fort Dorchester to a pair of touchdown drives, neither of which required more than a minute.

Joyner finished the game 15-of-23 for 212 yards and two touchdowns in about two-and-a-half quarters.

“They out-played us. We won because we had more talent. That was the only reason,” LaPrad said. “They took it to us. It was like a tragedy tonight. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

“We couldn’t even run a play the first quarter because we couldn’t get a snap. I’m glad we won. Our kids found a way to win. But if we play like this, we won’t win another football game.”

The Patriots were a noticeably different team with Joyner on the field. James – who rushed for 247 yards and seven touchdowns against South Florence a week ago – had only 18 yards prior to Joyner getting on the field.

The Panthers were able to concentrate on the talented tailback. It didn’t last, and Morris partially blamed himself for a number of play calls that didn’t go his team’s way.

“Our defense came in and we thought we had a good game plan against them,” Morris said. “We felt like we executed early. … They flew around the football, making tackles. Our football program has come a long way. We’re going to keep trying to make them better.

“We had opportunities in the game to push that score up. I didn’t get it done as a coach.”

Simmons finished with 149 yards and two touchdowns. Beale put up 202 yards passing and added two rushing scores.

Receiver Victory Woods ended the night with seven receptions for 121 yards. It helped put a scare into Fort Dorchester, even if it wasn’t quite enough to finish the job.

“I think we are one of the best teams in the state,” Beale said. “I think we could have beaten them.”

This story was originally published August 28, 2015 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Carolina Forest battles, but falls short against state power Fort Dorchester."