WHAT WE SAW: No. 2 Fort Dorchester 21, No. 6 Beaufort 6

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Playing in his first game of his final season, Fort Dorchester senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='89345' first='Zolten' last='Osborne'] got off to a good start in 2022, leading his Patriots to a 21-6 win over Beaufort. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Osborne threw only when needed, completing 14-of-19 passes for 197 yards. He tossed a touchdown pass and ran for one score while expertly leading his offense to a solid opening night win. His touchdown pass was a beautifully thrown 26-yarder to <strong>D'Artre Ham</strong>, who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch. Osborne later had a similar 42-yard connection to <strong>Mul-ti Snider</strong>. Osborne is as good as they come on deep balls with touch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Nice to have a guy like him on a team with so much youth,” Fort Dorchester head coach Steve LaPrad said. “We didn't play that great. We made a lot of mistakes. We have to get better.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Osborne has been playing varsity football since his freshman season and threw for more than 3,500 yards and 38 touchdowns as a junior. The 6-2, 205-pounder is holding offers from the likes of South Florida, Georgia Southern, East Tennessee State and Miami of Ohio but is not close to any sort of commitment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I need to take some visits, take some time to learn more about each school,” the 2021 all-state performer said. “Hopefully I can see some places during the season.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Osborne is the clear marquee player on the Fort Dorchester offense but the unit will have an effective run game this fall. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='91350' first='Davian' last='Brown'] (5-7, 200), who starred the last three seasons at SCISA First Baptist with more than 2,000 rushing yards, has transferred to Fort Dorchester for this season. His impact was felt from the start as he finished with 88 yards rushing on 20 carries, scoring on a three-yard run, and also caught five passes for 33 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior <strong>Zion Reynolds</strong> (6-2, 220) also was effective, rushing for 79 yards on eight carries, all in the first half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fort Dorchester's top receiver, senior <strong>Tre Ryan</strong>, had four catches for 40 yards as Osborne spread the weatlth to several receivers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On defense, tackle <strong>Jordan Evans</strong> is a handful and safety <strong>Brice Carpenter</strong> is an undersized but physical safety.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Beaufort's top playmakers offensively this season will be senior tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262689' first='Michael' last='Dennison']</strong> (6-6, 230) and senior receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='336146' first='Kacy' last='Fields']</strong>. Both players had solid outings in the loss. Fields finished with more than 100 yards receiving and is the big play threat. Dennison caught five passes for about 60 yards and is sure-handed and physical.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254143' first='Samari' last='Bonds']</strong> had a few first-game mistakes but will definitely be a guy that coach Bryce Lybrand can win with this fall. During Beaufort's lone scoring drive, Bonds completed six-of-seven passes for 77 yards, utilizing both Dennison and Fields effectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Beaufort defensive end <strong>Jack Sumner</strong> and safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='336140' first='Colton' last='Phares']</strong> are solid players. Phares is a verbal commit to Appalachian State. West Virginia commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='89341' first='Eamon' last='Smalls']</strong> (6-3, 320) had a few plays at tackle but also struggled in the first half with several offside penalties. Smalls had his moments against Fort Dorchester's huge offensive line but was affected by the heat and humidity of the night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We had a lot of penalties, that's on me,” said Beaufort coach Bryce Lybrand, a former assistant at Fort Dorchester. “We didn't play great. We lost to a good football team. I want to play teams like Fort Dorchester. We showed that we have some growing up to do but I was really proud of the effort. We didn't lay down.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->