Prep Talk

Schedules for local holiday hoops tournaments

Schedules for several local basketball tournaments have been released. The Beach Ball Classic for boys and the Crescent Bank Holiday Invitational for girls each feature 16 teams from around the country while the Shootout by the Sea hosted by North Myrtle Beach brings in eight boys and eight girls teams mostly from the Carolinas

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Myrtle Beach football notes

Right around 24 hours until gametime. Here are some random notes on the game, the Seahawks as well as my prediction. 

>>Clinton is 11 with its three losses coming by a combined five points. The Red Devils entered the postseason as a No. 4 seed and have won four straight road playoff games, including last week's 35-28 upset of previously unbeaten Daniel.

Big day almost here for Myrtle Beach football team

Random notes on the Myrtle Beach Seahawks, who will play for the Class AAA state championship at 6 p.m. Saturday against Clinton.

Two Carolina Forest baseball players sign to play in college

Two Carolina Forest baseball players signed National Letters of Intent to play college baseball during the fall signing period.

Keeping up with the Seahawks' run to the state title game

The Myrtle Beach Seahawks are preparing for the Class AAA state championship game on Saturday. They are practicing after school each day, but with the rain rolling into the area Wednesday, coach Mickey Wilson said he may have to alter his initial schedule. Wilson said the team may move inside for Wednesday's workout and he planned to check the availability of Coastal Carolina's facilities for Thursday's practice.

Myrtle Beach state championship football game tickets go on sale Tuesday

Advance tickets for the Class AAA state championship football game between Myrtle Beach and Clinton will be available at the Myrtle Beach High School athletic office from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the gate. The game is at 6 p.m. Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.

Region VIII-AA All-Region picks released

The All-Region VII-AA selections have been released. Loris coach Jimmy Longerbeam earned the region’s coach of the year. The Lions missed the playoffs on an unfavorable  tiebreaker but posted a 6-4 mark after back-to-back 2-8 seasons. There was only a first team released, but it included more than the typical 11 that make up a unit.

S.C. and N.C. prep football playoff scores/schedule

High School football playoff scores/schedule

(Seeding in parentheses)

SOUTH CAROLINA

Class AAAA, Division I

(Division seeded 1-16)

Friday's Second Round

Dorman (6) 14, Irmo (3) 0

Gaffney (7) 35, Summerville (2) 28

Byrnes (1) 69, Mauldin (9) 28

Spartanburg (13) 28, Sumter (5) 14

Golson’s big night not quite a state record

According to the South Carolina High School League's Palmetto's Finest Record Book on schsl.org, Myrtle Beach quarterback Everett Golson's eight passing touchdowns against North Charleston on Friday night tied a state record for the most touchdown passes thrown in a game.

That is now known to be inaccurate.

Friday night pick' em: Week 13

And then there were two. Myrtle Beach and West Brunswick (N.C.) are the only area teams left playing football.

Region VII-AAA football postseason honors handed out

The Region VII-AAA all-region football selections have been released. Region champion Myrtle Beach took the top honors with first-year coach Mickey Wilson earning coach of the year while junior quarterback Everett Golson was the region’s player of the year.

S.C. Basketball Coaches Association preseason honors released

The South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association has released its preseason polls and honors for high school basketball and the Grand Strand picked up some recognition.

Michigan offers Golson

Myrtle Beach junior quarterback Everett Golson received an official offer from Michigan on Thursday, Seahawks coach Mickey Wilson said.

 

Friday night pick' em: Week 12

The biggest game on this week's slate is the huge rivalry down in Hemingway. Carvers Bay lost the regular-season matchup 7-6 when Hemingway drove 90+ yards in the final four minutes and scored with under 10 seconds left. That game was stopped at halftime due to heavy storms and resumed on Saturday. There wasn't much offense on either side. Hemingway was able to move the ball on that final drive because it went to its passing game, which caused Carvers Bay trouble. That situation is exactly when the return of Clayton Geathers could really help. Geathers has returned in full form on offense but he hasn't been used on defense much as he is being handled carefully by coach Nate Thompson. The Bears looked like the better team for most of the contest during the regular season matchup, but that loss is why they are at Hemingway on Friday instead of hosting this game.

Myrtle Beach is facing a pretty good team in Midland Valley, who is 9-2 with its losses to undefeated Airport and 10-1 North Augusta. Myrtle Beach needs to be focused for this one. It has been awhile since the Seahawks had to have their A-game to win easily, but they better be ready or it could end up a lot closer contest than most would expect.

West Brunswick hasn't played anyone out of the area, so it will be interesting to see how they stack up against Chapel Hill. The Trojans have the horses on defense to win a game or two in the playoffs, but they may not have enough offense to compete against the better teams.

Socastee and Conway appear to be way overmatched in their games.

Below are my picks this week (last week 5-2, overall on season 91-29):
Carvers Bay 20, Hemingway 7
Marlboro County 35, Socastee 7
Myrtle Beach 42, Midland Valley 14
North Augusta 56, Conway 21
West Brunswick (N.C.) 21, Chapel Hill (N.C.) 14

 

Here are my picks from last week, listed with my pick first and the actual score in parentheses:
w-Conway 56, Carolina Forest 14 (Conway 31, Carolina Forest 14)
l-West Brunswick 28, South Columbus 6 (South Columbus (N.C.) 21, West Brunswick (N.C.) 20)
w-Myrtle Beach 56, Lake Marion 12 (Myrtle Beach 56, Lake Marion 7)
l-Socastee 23, Hilton Head 20 (Hilton Head 35, Socastee 28)
w-North Charleston 47, North Myrtle Beach 27 (North Charleston 38, North Myrtle Beach 21)
w-Cheraw 34, Waccamaw 7 (Cheraw 42, Waccamaw 28)
w-Carvers Bay 20, St. John's 18 (Carvers Bay 35, St. John's 7)

Conway, West Brunswick learn playoff fate

Playoff pairings for South Carolina Class AAAA and all of North Carolina have been released. Conway and West Brunswick (N.C.) both earned spots while South Columbus (N.C.) and Carolina Forest were left out.