The sixth annual Fourth of July Shootout, a 7-on-7 high school football passing tournament hosted by Myrtle Beach, was held Friday at Doug Shaw Stadium. The 10 teams that competed were Myrtle Beach, Conway, Carolina Forest, Socastee, St, James, Loris, Aynor, Manning, Marion and Hoggard (N.C.).
The host Seahawks, behind the arm of highly touted quarterback Everett Golson, grabbed the tournament title. The Seahawks beat Manning in the finals after beating Conway in the semifinals. Loris beat Conway for third place after falling to Manning in the semifinals. The complete results are at the bottom.
The event was originally set for 12 teams, but Wilson had doublebooked itself and opted for the other tournament while Carvers Bay was a no-show. The strong thunderstorm that swept through the area on Friday delayed the 6 p.m. start to 7:15 p.m.
Some random thoughts on Friday night's action:
>>It's worth pointing out that there is a major difference between 7-on-7 and full-squad, contact football. If you haven't been to one of these, think fast-break basketball like UNLV under Tarkanian in the late '80s and early '90 or even Loyola Marymount of that day. The action is fast. The game was divided into two 10-minute halfs, with one team holding possession of the ball for an entire half. A team gets six points for a TD and three for an interception. A team starts at the 40 going in and has four plays to reach the 20 and four more to score. If a team can't gain the yardage in four plays, they go back and start over at the 40. The action is single-hand touch, and penalties can be called, although it didn't seem very many were. If you have the ball in the first half, you want to score as much as you can because who knows how many the other team may score. There are a lot of deep throws into the end zone from the 40, but there are also plenty of slants, bubbles and outs that are thrown.
>>Loris was the biggest surprise of the night. The Lions earned the No. 2 seed after round-robin play, which consisted of five games.
``We came here two years ago and didn't win a game,'' Loris coach Jimmy Longerbeam said.
Longerbeam said the Lions have about 65 kids, excluding incoming freshman, expected out for the team.
The Lions' defense looked pretty stout. The secondary and linebackers were quick to the ball and came in with a little swagger. It's been awhile since the Lions have had much success on the football field, but with Longerbeam getting more and more kids out, the Lions should have more talent than they have had in the recent past.
Longerbeam pointed out several guys he thinks will be key contributors for the Lions, including free safety Quincy Brown, wide receiver Phillip Johnson and senior quarterback Adam Peterson. Peterson split time at quarterback last season for the Lions. He doesn't have the prettiest delivery, but he did appear to have a decent arm.
>>Golson looked as good as advertised -- it was the first time I had seen him live, although I have seen video and the game on HTC last year. He even impressed post-event with a one-handed grab on a deep throw as he practiced his skills as a receiver. Although new Seahawks coach Mickey Wilson said don't expect to see Golson freelancing at other positions, including defense.
Golson throws an unbelievable deep ball, laying it in to his receivers like a loaf of bread. It's just looks smooth and easy. The biggest difference between Golson and every other quarterback at Doug Shaw on Friday was the amount of effort in their motion. Most of the QBs were either overthrowing, thinking too much or even nervous while Golson looked like he was an outfielder flipping a baseball back to the infield.
>>Wilson said this is the first time Myrtle Beach has won the event since the first year it was held in 2004. Hoggard had won the event the past two years.
>>Myrtle Beach junior wide receiver Donte Sumpter and junior tight end Jerrod Jackson both had some impressive plays. Wilson said Sumpter could be the team's go-to wideout. Sumpter could be the one to replace the athleticism of Jamere Valentine. Jackson has moved from slot to tight end and will join Steven Cobb to give Myrtle Beach an explosive set of offensive ends. Cobb will also be back at middle linebacker, where he will be counted on to lead a revamped defense.
>>I was handed this piece of wisdom from someone at the event: ''It's hard to tell how good teams really are at these things, but it is usually obvious which teams are going to struggle.'' If that's the case, Aynor could be in for another tough season. The Blue Jackets scored just 30 points in the event, although half of those did come against Myrtle Beach. The Blue Jackets looked small and young.
>>Conway coach Chuck Jordan said the Tigers have three players auditioning for the starting quarterback position. The Tigers are looking to replace Dakota Derrick. Jordan didn't name the three, but said two of them are young while the other is a veteran. Jordan said the one adjustment the Tigers would make for a young signal-caller would be to keep the offense a little more simple early in the season.
The Tigers throwing it around on Friday looked like they had a lot of potential. Conway's biggest problem appeared to be its receivers dropping passes.
>>Carolina Forest senior quarterback Marlon Horton looked good when I saw him. Horton, a converted wide receiver, is entering his second season as the Panthers starter at QB. Horton also looked like a playmaker at safety on defense. If Horton continues to improve, the Panthers shouldn't have any problems snapping their winless streak.
>>It is kind of hard to judge Socastee at one of these things. The triple-option doesn't work when you can't run the ball. But the Braves do return quarterback Zack Elliman, P.J. Brave and Jake Fullwood this season. I was surprised Elliman didn't lead the Braves to a little better showing.
>>I saw St. James play twice and they didn't look good against Myrtle Beach or Conway, giving up a total of 51 points and scoring six. But the Sharks did rally to beat Carolina Forest and Socastee to take fifth place. Still, the skill position guys didn't look very in-sync.
<strong>The results</strong>
<strong>Game 1</strong>
Myrtle Beach 33, St. James 6
Conway 18, Aynor 9
Loris 30, Socastee 12
Manning 27, Marion 0
Carolina Forest 6, Hoggard (N.C.) 0
<strong>Game 2</strong>
Myrtle Beach 27, Carolina Forest 15
Conway 18, St. James 0
Loris 18, Aynor 0
Manning 18, Socastee 9
Hoggard (N.C.) 2, Marion 0
<strong>Game 3</strong>
Myrtle Beach 42, Marion 12
Carolina Forest 18, Conway 15
Loris 42, St. James 12
Manning 39, Aynor 0
Hoggard (N.C.) 15, Socastee 6
<strong>Game 4</strong>
Myrtle Beach 21, Socastee 12
Conway 18, Marion 18, won in OT
Loris 18, Carolina Forest 12
St. James 24, Manning 6
Hoggard (N.C.) 12, Aynor 6
<strong>Game 5</strong>
Myrtle Beach 24, Aynor 15
Conway 21, Socastee 3
Loris 27, Marion 3
Manning 15, Carolina Forest 12
Hoggard (N.C.) 12, St. James 0
<strong>Standings</strong>
Myrtle Beach, 5-0, 147 PF, 60 PA
Loris, 5-0, 135 PF, 39 PA
Manning, 4-1, 105 PF, 45 PA
Conway, 4-1, 90 PF, 48 PA
Hoggard (N.C.), 4-1, 42 PF, 18 PA
Carolina Forest, 2-3, 63 PF, 75 PA
St. James, 1-4, 42 PF, 111 PA
Socastee, 0-5, 42 PF, 105 PA
Marion, 0-5, 33 PF, 117 PA
Aynor, 0-5, 30 PF, 111 PA
<strong>Seed in parenthesis</strong>
<strong>Championship bracket</strong>
<strong>Semifinals</strong>
Myrtle Beach (1) 21, Conway (4) 18
Manning (3) 24, Loris (2) 3
<strong>Third-place game</strong>
Loris 15, Conway 9
<strong>Championship</strong>
Myrtle Beach 21, Manning 0
<strong>Consolation bracket</strong>
<strong>Semifinals</strong>
Socastee (8) 12, Hoggard (N.C.) (5) 9
St. James (7) 27, Carolina Forest (6) 18
<strong>Seventh-place game</strong>
Carolina Forest 18, Hoggard (N,C.) 12
<strong>Fifth-place game</strong>
St. James 24, Socastee 12
<strong>Ninth-place game</strong>
Marion 9, Aynor 6
<strong>Final standings</strong>
1. Myrtle Beach
2. Manning
3. Loris
4. Conway
5. St. James
6. Socastee
7. Carolina Forest
8. Hoggard (N.C.)
9. Marion
10. Aynor
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