The Dorman Cavaliers are back for year three under head coach Jake Morris, and feature a team that is loaded with returning defensive talent. After a 6-3 regular season and 4-2 region record that tied the Cavaliers for 3rd in Region 2-5A, Dorman was blanked its first playoff game at home to Boiling Springs by a final score of 32-0. We caught up with Morris last week on Open Mic to talk about the 2025 Cavs and preview the season.
Defense
Dorman’s defense should be the strength of the team, and the player at the center of it all is returning senior linebacker Kentavion Anderson. Anderson committed to Clemson in May, and is viewed as the second-best senior in the state by 247 Sports.
“He’s a generational talent,” Morris said. “He’s unreal with what he can do on the field, as well as a great person.”
Morris is excited about the entire defensive front, which when at its best last season wrecked havoc on games. Dorman’s marquee win of 2024 came on the road against a undefeated-at-the-time Gaffney Indians team, holding an offense that averaged nearly 26 points per game in the regular season to just seven points.
Jabez Thomas and Jaylen Farrington return to be a part of the secondary and round out the defense.
Offense
The Cavaliers welcome back junior rusher Nick Means coming off of a great offseason, and bringing in tons of experience. Means ran for over 700 yards last season and will once again figure to be the focal point of the attack.
At quarterback, Morris has two players fighting for the starting position. Meek Slydell is a senior transfer from Asheville (NC) High School where he threw for over 1000 yards last season, and a rising sophomore Cooper Patterson has a bright future. Morris wants to go with one player getting a majority of the snaps, something that he could not afford to do last year playing mostly a two quarterback system.
“We’ve lacked spots on the offensive line the last few years,” Morris said of his trench unit, but in 2025 the Cavaliers bring back lots of experience. Names to look out for include Nathan Chhoy, Nate Gambrell, and Jessie Rosales
Dorman begins its season on the road against Greenville in Week 0, gets its home opener a week later on August 29th with another 5A non-region opponent in Catawba Ridge, and wraps up non-region play with a home game against Greenwood. Following its bye week, September wraps up with Riverside at home followed by a road game in Byrnes’ new Nixon Field.
October’s schedule ramps up on the 3rd with a home game against the team that ended their season in 2024 in Boiling Springs, and also features road games against Spartanburg and Wede Hampton, senior day at home against Gaffney, and the regular season finale on Halloween night at Eastside.
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