2 weeks Ago
First-year Fort Dorchester football coach Shaun Lorenzano credited his squad for two intangible qualities after extending its win streak to 11 games in a series with Goose Creek. “Grit and determination,” he said after the hard-fought 21-20 victory on the road. “Goose Creek is a very good team.
They played tough. They played hard. We rep these types of situations in practice and the kids are executing in the fourth quarter.
” Fort Dorchester quarterback Kevin Johnson’s 75-yard pass to Malquan Pimentel with just over five minutes left and the all-important extra point by kicker Zach Woods lifted Fort Dorchester to the win Friday, Aug. 30. The Patriots improved to 2-0 and the Gators dropped to 1-1.
Moments before Pimentel went off to the races, Jalen White’s blocked extra point after Goose Creek running back Meliq McGowan scored on a 5-yard run 36 seconds earlier kept it 20-14. The Patriots made two defensive stands in the closing minutes and picked off a desperation heave as time expired to secure their second tight victory in as many games. “We are super young,” said Lorenzano, whose team won 28-21 over Beaufort a week earlier by scoring a touchdown in the last 30 seconds.
“We make a ton of mistakes, but in the end they’re pulling it out because they’re physically tough.” The Gators used their own determination to take a 14-0 lead in the first half, helped out by defense and special teams. McGowan scored on an 8-yard run with 5:03 left in the second quarter after teammate Andrew Joseph’s fumble recovery at the Patriots’ 21.
However, the extra point was no good and Goose Creek led just 6-0. Goose Creek’s Malachi Washington then blocked a punt on Fort Dorchester’s ensuing possession and Joseph was again there to make a play, scooping it up and returning it five yards for a touchdown. A pass to McGowan for the 2-point conversion gave the Gators a two-touchdown lead with 2:49 remaining in the first half.
Fort Dorchester kept plugging away, though, scoring on its sixth possession. Running back Ryan Campbell reached paydirt around the left side on a 15-yard run with 46.8 seconds remaining in the first half.
Woods made the extra point to cut Fort Dorchester’s deficit in half and gave the Patriots some momentum. The Patriots received the second-half kickoff and went 55 yards to score the equalizer on a 3-yard run by quarterback Banks Wickersham, who raced around the right side and was tackled as he knocked over the pylon with 8:13 left in the third quarter. Woods’ extra point evened it 14-14.
It stayed that way until midway through the fourth quarter. Goose Creek used a pass interference and late hit out of bounds to take the lead on McGowan’s second touchdown run. Two plays later, Fort Dorchester was back on top, doing what it normally does.
“It’s ingrained in them,” Lorenzano said. “When you expect great things of yourself, great things are going to happen. It’s been coached into them for years and years and years.
You can see that in these young kids.” Fort Dorchester hosts Stratford on Sept. 6, while the Gators go to James Island.
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