Thought I would throw a new format out there. I have listed some of Friday night's top offensive performers and then added just a few comments about some of the games. I didn't throw any defensive performers in the list because I don't have a lot of defensive stats this soon after the game, but if I left anyone off that you think should be on there, give them a mention in the comments section.
This week's top area performers:
>>Loris running back R.J. Brown: 22 carries for 251 yards and 2 touchdowns
>>North Myrtle Beach running back Timmane Bellamy: 17 carries for 146 yards and 2 TDs rushing and 2 catches for 40 yards and a score receiving
>>Georgetown running back Leonard Leak: 23 carries for 205 yards and a touchdown
>>Myrtle Beach quarterback Everett Golson: 18-for-25 passing for 253 yards and 4 touchdowns without an interception
>>Green Sea Floyds running back Lassan Reaves: 20 carries for 201 yards and a touchdown
>>West Brunswick running back Maverick Pate: 34 carries for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns
>>Myrtle Beach wide receiver Donte Sumpter: 8 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown
>>Myrtle Beach wide receiver Morgan Byrd: 2 catches for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns receiving and four carries for 94 yards and a touchdown rushing
>>Carolina Forest wide receiver Ronnie Moses: 5 catches for 110 yards and a score
>>Socastee quarterback Zack Elliman: 8 carries for 77 yards and 4 touchdowns rushing and 4-for-9 passing for 54 yards
Random thoughts from Friday:
>>Who locally is better than the Tigers? Conway was drilled by Marlboro County, 52-0. It was 49-0, which means Marlboro County kicked a field goal for its final points. That's something I bet Conway coach Chuck Jordan will remember. But as soundly as the Tigers were beaten by the out of area school, is there anyone other than Myrtle Beach that should be considered better than Conway in the area. The Tigers rolled past Socastee a week ago, and the Braves are thought to be a much improved squad. Should South Columbus, West Brunswick, Loris or Carvers Bay be ranked ahead of Conway? As good as the Lions and Bears have looked so far, could they really beat the Tigers? What do you think?
>>Lions defense a force: Loris pitched its second shutout in a row. In their season-opening 14-6 loss to North Myrtle Beach, the Lions gave up a kickoff return for a score and a 9-yard touchdown pass after an interception return inside their 10. So three of their four games, the Lions' defense has controlled their opponent. Limiting Waccamaw to 21 yards rushing has to be the most impressive. The Warriors have some talented running backs, but they couldn't get anything going against Loris. Next up for the Lions are road games at Hannah-Pamplico (a game that they probably should win) and at Marion (which is winnable, but not a given) before coming back home to host Cheraw. They could be 5-1 when they head home to host the perennial AA power, which is having a down year by its standards.
>>Blue Jackets talking trash! Apparently Aynor was taunting St. James before the game Friday. Not sure what the motivation was for the Blue Jackets, but they did come out ready to play against the Sharks. It's surprising that the bigger Sharks would need a late interception return to win that game.
>>News flash, Myrtle Beach is pretty good: How good does Byrnes have to be? Myrtle Beach has soundly beaten Dillon and Hartsville in the past two weeks and were absolutely manhandled by Byrnes. I don't know if the Byrnes game propelled them to the solid performances the past two weeks, but the loss definitely didn't hurt them like some may have feared.
