Fort Dorchester quarterback Dakereon Joyner was the player most Lowcountry coaches dreaded facing the most over the last few years, which is just one reason he is the Summerville Communications Male Athlete of the Year.
Joyner is a unique athlete with impressive speed, agility and instincts. He is an accurate passer, but is such a dangerous runner that many teams went to great lengths to force him to beat them with his arm, which he often did. While keeping him contained was priority one for many a defensive coordinator facing Joyner, he still managed to find ways to rack up rushing yards.
In December, Joyner received what is widely considered the most prestigious individual award available to high school football players in the state. During halftime of the Touchstone Energy North-South All-star Game in Myrtle Beach, Joyner was presented with the South Carolina 2017 Mr. Football trophy.
Despite his success, the QB remains humble and quick to share credit for the success he had at Fort Dorchester and the many honors it brought him.
“My teammates help me get these things and our coaches deserve a lot of the credit,” Joyner said. “I’m definitely proud of what I did at Fort Dorchester and Coach Steve LaPrad is like my godfather.”
Joyner, who graduated early and enrolled at the University of South Carolina so he could participate in the Gamecocks’ spring football practice, is a four-year letterman for the Patriots who began seeing a lot of playing time as a freshman. As a three-year starter at quarterback, he had a 40-3 record and led the team in rushing three straight seasons. In 2015, he helped the Patriots to their only football state championship.
As a senior this fall, Joyner completed 133 of 205 pass attempts for 2,376 yards and 31 touchdowns while being intercepted only five times. He also carried the ball 149 times for 980 yards and 18 touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 13-1 season. Fort Dorchester was eliminated in the semifinals with a 24-14 loss to Dutch Fork, which went on to claim the 2017 5A football state championship.
Joyner was also one of only three quarterbacks selected to play for South Carolina during the 2017 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas all-star football game.
