Honoring a former Seahawk, Waccamaw's offseason plan and Week 12 picks

Myrtle Beach's game Friday against Cane Bay is the Seahawks' final home game of the 2010 season, regardless of how many more teams they win.

And coach Mickey Wilson is taking advantage.

At halftime of the second-round playoff game, the school will honor former player J.D. Melton. The quarterback threw for 3,071 yards and 34 touchdowns as a senior in 2004. That year, he also tied the state's record for most touchdown passes in a game (8). He was honored with by being named South Carolina's Mr. Football that season.

Melton attended and played a year of baseball at Wofford for a year before transferring to the Naval Academy. There, he finished up his final three years of eligibility, pitching in 80 total games (between Wofford and Navy) and batting .277 in 126 at-bats.

He graduated from the academy in May, and he now serves as a second lieutenant in the Navy.

At Friday's game, Melton will receive a framed game jersey, and a plaque signifying his accomplishments will be hung in the school's Hall of Champions.

***

Tyronne Davis has one goal for the offseason.

To get his Waccamaw football team bigger, faster and stronger.

The Warriors had a disappointing 2010 season, Davis' first as head coach after coming over from Georgetown. The team finished 3-7 overall and 0-5 in Region VIII-AA. Injuries played a factor, as did a tough region slate.

But in the end, Davis saw his team worn down in too many games. Players were struggling in the fourth quarter, and by the end of the season, that observation was even more noticeable.

"The second half of the season, I felt like we just tried to maintain," Davis said this week.

Davis said that most of his players are already practicing with either the basketball or wrestling teams. The rest are being encouraged to take on offseason conditioning on their own.

"The others who aren’t doing anything, we’re trying to get in the weight room," Davis said. "If we don’t get better in the weight room, it’s not going to matter what we do it August."

***

I have this growing suspicion that I'm not going to catch Sports Editor Shane Bowen on the picks this year. My season goal was to hit 85 percent of the games. Guess I'll just have to do more research next year.

On to this week's picks:

Goose Creek 37, Conway 28
Myrtle Beach 60, Cane Bay 12

Here were last week's picks, with actual score in parentheses; correct picks are bold-faced:

Conway 31, Carolina Forest 30 (Carolina Forest 46, Conway 42)
Myrtle Beach 51, Brookland-Cayce 14 (Myrtle Beach 70, Brookland-Cayce 0)
Airport 34, Socastee 21 (Airport 42, Socastee 40)
Midland Valley 45, St. James 10 (Midland Valley 21, St. James 0)
Lake City 28, Loris 20 (Lake City 28, Loris 14)

WEEK 11: 4-1. OVERALL: 74-30

At halftime of the second-round playoff game, the school will honor former player J.D. Melton. The quarterback threw for 3,071 yards and 34 touchdowns as a senior in 2004. That year, he also tied the state's record for most touchdown passes in a game (8). He was honored with by being named South Carolina's Mr. Football that season.

Melton attended and played a year of baseball at Wofford for a year before transferring to the Naval Academy. There, he finished up his final three years of eligibility, pitching in 80 total games (between Wofford and Navy) and batting .277 in 126 at-bats.

He graduated from the academy in May, and he now serves as a second lieutenant in the Navy.

At Friday's game, Melton will receive a framed game jersey, and a plaque signifying his accomplishments will be hung in the school's Hall of Champions.

***

Tyronne Davis has one goal for the offseason.

To get his Waccamaw football team bigger, faster and stronger.

The Warriors had a disappointing 2010 season, Davis' first as head coach after coming over from Georgetown. The team finished 3-7 overall and 0-5 in Region VIII-AA. Injuries played a factor, as did a tough region slate.

But in the end, Davis saw his team worn down in too many games. Players were struggling in the fourth quarter, and by the end of the season, that observation was even more noticeable.

"The second half of the season, I felt like we just tried to maintain," Davis said this week.

Davis said that most of his players are already practicing with either the basketball or wrestling teams. The rest are being encouraged to take on offseason conditioning on their own.

"The others who aren’t doing anything, we’re trying to get in the weight room," Davis said. "If we don’t get better in the weight room, it’s not going to matter what we do it August."

***

I have this growing suspicion that I'm not going to catch Sports Editor Shane Bowen on the picks this year. My season goal was to hit 85 percent of the games. Guess I'll just have to do more research next year.

On to this week's picks:

Goose Creek 37, Conway 28
Myrtle Beach 60, Cane Bay 12

Here were last week's picks, with actual score in parentheses; correct picks are bold-faced:

Conway 31, Carolina Forest 30 (Carolina Forest 46, Conway 42)
Myrtle Beach 51, Brookland-Cayce 14 (Myrtle Beach 70, Brookland-Cayce 0)
Airport 34, Socastee 21 (Airport 42, Socastee 40)
Midland Valley 45, St. James 10 (Midland Valley 21, St. James 0)
Lake City 28, Loris 20 (Lake City 28, Loris 14)

WEEK 11: 4-1. OVERALL: 74-30