The Dorman Cavaliers take the field at home on August 21st against Hillcrest to kick-off head coach Jake Morris’ fourth season. Year 3 featured a 10-3 season that ended at the hands of Dutch Fork in the upper state championship game. The Cavs went from 3 wins, to 6 wins, to 10 wins in Morris’ tenure, and 2026 hopes to be another step closer to a state championship for a program that has won two titles but hasn’t played for one since 2019.
The 2026 schedule is a loaded one, and not just due to playing in what Morris calls maybe the toughest region in the state. In non-region, the Cavaliers will play Hillcrest to start the season, followed by another home game against Byrnes on August 28th. Following a bye, Dorman’s first road game is against another former region opponent in Gaffney. Then the Cavs come back home to play Irmo on September 18th and wrap non-region play at Sumter on September 25th.
“It’s harder and harder to find games, the guys you see on our schedule are the guys that agreed to play us,” Morris said. “If you’re not in a four quarter ballgame [early] you won’t be ready for the playoffs, that’s what makes it fun.”
Over the ten games on Dorman’s schedule for 2026, all of them made the Division 1 or Division 2 playoffs last season, two of them matched up for the Division 2 state championship, two more played in the quarterfinals, and 5 more played in the second round.
The marquee returners on the 2026 squad feature RB Nick Means and WR Dai’shion Watkins-Hymes on offense, and DB Jabez Thomas. Means returns for his senior season as Dorman’s leading rusher last year, Watkins-Hymes as a top wideout, and plenty of starting experience between the two. Thomas held down the secondary last season with 10 interceptions and 33 tackles on the year.
“Juice [Watkins-Hymes] was a freshman starter for us, Menas played as a freshman for us,” Morris said. “Both of them have had big offseasons.”
Elsewhere on defense, ECU-committed DL James Porter and Harvard-committed Olamide Salami shore up the line of scrimmage. Issac Tate switched sides of the ball over the offseason and is now expected to contribute at linebacker next to recent ETSU-committed Antwone Tarrence Jr. The Cavaliers defense allowed just 12.3 points per game last season over 13 games, with 104 out of 161 of those points coming in the only three losses of the season.
“Our defense is relentless, that’s how they play and that’s how they’re coached,” Morris said.
Meek Slydell graduates at the quarterback spot, and for 2026 the next Dorman quarterback is expected to be junior Cooper Patterson. Patterson featured on the varsity for a handful of games last season but has seen most of his starting experience come on the junior varsity since his freshman year. Patterson will slide in to operate in offense with plenty of experience coming at the skill positions in Means and Watkins-Hymes. RB Carter Nash also figures to work into the rushing attack for Dorman alongside Means in the backfield.
“He’s got a strong arm and can make some throws that maybe we haven’t been able to make in the past,” Morris said. “He’s a guy that wants to study and wants to learn, the staff feels confident in Cooper and the guys feel confident in Cooper.”
2026 Schedule
August 21st – Hillcrest (H)
August 28th – Byrnes (H)
September 11th – Gaffney (A)
September 18th – Irmo (H)
September 25th – Sumter (A)
October 2nd – Fort Mill (A)
October 9th – Northwestern (H)
October 16th – Boiling Springs (A)
October 23rd – Rock Hill (A)
October 30th – Spartanburg (H)
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