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Fort Dorchester’s Zolten Osborne was named The Post and Courier's All-Lowcountry offensive player of the year for the 2021 season. Grace Beahm Alford/Staff

This position breakdown is the third in a series that will be featured over the summer as we prepare for the upcoming 2022 high school football season. In the following weeks, we will highlight the top wide receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs.

The difference between a good football team and a great football team is often the quarterback. From the pee-wee ranks through the highest levels of the NFL, a team that gets consistent, solid quarterback play wins more often than not.

For the 2022 Lowcountry high school season, two veteran senior quarterbacks will direct two of the better teams in the Lowcountry. Wins are not automatic, but rest assured that if Fort Dorchester and Goose Creek lose many games this season, it probably won’t be due to poor quarterback play.

The top quarterback in the area this season is fourth-year varsity performer Zolten Osborne, named The Post and Courier’s offensive player of the year in 2021. Last season, Osborne passed for 3,512 yards, accounting for 38 total touchdowns while completing 69 percent of his pass attempts.

As a freshman, Osborne was a lanky kid with a great arm. Hard work in the weight room has pushed the 6-3 Osborne to about 210 pounds, and he has added some ability to run the football as well.

Osborne’s performance in summer camps has blossomed his recruiting. He started out with offers from smaller schools like Wingate, Mercer and Benedict, but the offers are getting more impressive. Osborne recently landed offers from South Florida and Kent State.

Goose Creek senior Drew Moore also landed an offer from Mercer in the last two weeks and made his verbal commitment to the Bears last week. The 6-3, 180-pound Moore threw for more than 2,500 yards last season and will be a third-year starter for head coach Jason Winstead.

Moore was getting a lot of interest from schools such as Appalachian State, Furman, Wofford and Limestone, but Mercer began a serious push this spring.

“Honestly, Mercer kind of came out of nowhere,” Moore said. “I didn’t think they were super high on me going into the summer. I ended up going to camp and had a pretty good day. They (the coaches) told me they really liked me and about two weeks later I received a call. The biggest thing I liked was they were always honest with me through the process.”

A third highly regarded senior signal caller is Woodland’s Suderian Harrison. Wolverine head coach Eddie Ford calls Harrison, “the best dual-threat quarterback in the state. Hands down. I’ll put him up against anyone.”

Harrison, an outstanding student, stands only 5-10 but has a cannon arm and is as athletic as any quarterback in the state. He also could end up as a receiver or defensive back and rates as one of the state’s top baseball talents.

Oceanside Collegiate senior Devon Yard (6-3, 205) transferred from Wando where he started most of the games last fall. Junior Ed Reidenbach also should get plenty of snaps after a productive summer.

There are a bevy of underclassmen directing offenses in the area as well.

James Island’s Braxton Scott is among the most athletic threats in the backfield as a junior. Scott is generally regarded as one of the top prospects of 2024 in the state. He threw for more than 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Stratford’s Jalen Barry, also a junior, is 6-3 with a big arm. Barry won the Class AAAAA state championship in the javelin in May. He topped 1,000 passing yards last season and will have even more opportunities in the passing game this fall.

Baptist Hill’s Harold Gathers (6-2, 220) threw for nearly 2,400 yards with 30 touchdowns as a sophomore. Timberland junior Kylen Brown will be a third-year varsity starter this season as well.

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