Patrick Fogarty Jr. was a standout offensive lineman during his high school career at Benedictine and was a senior in the first season that Danny Britt took over as the head coach of the Cadet program.
Fogarty went on to play college ball at Stetson University, and then came back to coach at Benedictine, before returning to the college level to coach at Stetson. He followed with a coaching stint at Bowling Green, where he earned a Masters degree. He then moved north to Michigan where he served as the tight ends coach at Wayne State University for two seasons.
He returned to Benedictine this year as the offensive line coach for the Cadets and is preparing his unit for the biggest game of the year as BC faces off with Creekside for the Class 4A State Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with kickoff set for Monday, Dec. 15th at 7 p.m.
Benedictine has won four state titles in 15 seasons with Britt at the helm, but the team hadn't reached that level when Fogarty Jr. played. During his four years at BC, the Cadets went 16-25 and didn't reach the playoffs until his senior year under Britt.
"I was on Coach Britt's first Benedictine team and I remember him being very organized," Fogarty Jr. said. "He was very intense and focused, too. He brought a lot of energy to our team and the players started to believe in each other. I could see he had a vision for the program, and we've come a long way since then."
The offensive line has improved with the experience of each game this season, and the Cadets have won 11 straight games since opening with losses against Colquitt County and Buford, currently the top-ranked team in the country by the USA Today Network.
The unit's coachability has been a big factor and Fogarty Jr. said working in the college ranks and under Britt has helped his development on the sideline.
"I've coached in college and Coach Britt is a college coach working at the high school level with the way he runs the program at Benedictine. It's been a learning experience and I've found out that you have to have a good mix as a coach," said Fogarty Jr., 31. "You have got to be hard on them, and coach them tough, but you also have to develop a good relationship with your players. You don't want to become too buddy/buddy, but you have to care about them as people. You want them to become better players, but also become better men."
Britt said Fogarty Jr. was a standout player, who was known for his toughness in the trenches — and now he brings that same work ethic to the table as a coach.
"Coach Fogarty has done a great job with the line this year," Britt said. "He has that college mentality and that young energy that helps him relate well with our players. He is with them in every single minute of practice, he's got the guys working on some aspect of their game — he has them constantly honing their craft."
The Cadet offensive line started the season with just one returning starter in Carlton Hall, who had actually missed the past two seasons after a knee injury cut his junior year short and a transfer forced him to sit out his sophomore year. Hall, a 6-foot-4, 296-pound right tackle, recently signed to play at Liberty University and is the leader of the unit. He was named the Region 1-4A Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Junior Noah Brainard starts at right guard, and sophomore Reef Leonard is the starting center. Junior Turner Walker is at left guard, with junior Collyn Ward the starter at left tackle.
"I'm really proud of Carlton because he has gone through so much adversity with his knee injury and not playing the last two years to get where he is today," Fogarty Jr. said. "He has become a great leader and has a bright future."
Fogarty said each starter on his unit plays a unique roll.
Ward is very physical, has a nasty disposition on the field and plays with an edge, Fogarty said. He was an All-Region first-team selection.
Brainard is devoted to the team and getting better with every start, while Leonard has a high football IQ and is making all the right calls on the line despite being just a sophomore, Fogarty Jr. said.
Turner is undersized, but makes up for it with his effort. Fogarty Jr. said that Everett Nelson, Erin Brown, Caleb Ruiz, David Ongiri, Finn Kelly and Cooper Maxheimer have also been key pieces on the unit with their play in practices and games.
"It's been an amazing experience playing for Coach Fogarty," said the 6-foot-2, 290-pound Ward. "I think the fact that he's coming from the college level to coach us helps. He is constantly pushing us every day and he never lets us slack off. I love the level of aggressiveness that he coaches with — he knows how to motivate us."
