Shrine Bowl, North-South and big hopes for Loris

In case you missed it, this morning's paper included a story on the seven area players who were selected to either the SCADA North-South or the Shrine Bowl All-Star rosters.

And while during the preseason most of us had our guesses as to who would be included, there's still some questions to be answered when it comes to a few decisions. Essentially, here's my viewpoint on a few area players who either were included or left off the post-season all-star rosters.

* Everett Golson, QB, Myrtle Beach -- Let's face it, had Golson been healthy all season, making the Shrine Bowl roster would have been a given. He's a certifiable star on the high school level, and the college interest he's pulling certainly proves that. The idea of the Shrine Bowl is to get the best players in the game, and while he had played basically just two halves of football when he was selected, when healthy, he's the best player in this area.

* Mitch Campbell, QB, Myrtle Beach -- Campbell doesn't have the chops of the guy ahead of him on the depth chart, but there may not be a more deserving player in the area to make an all-star game. He's one of the most respectful kids area reporters have to deal with -- shown by his maturity throughout months of answering questions about Golson -- and it just so happens he's got some skills.

* Emmit Kelly, DB, Conway -- Chuck Jordan's comments about Kelly in this morning's paper probably didn't do the player justice. One of the drawbacks of QB Mykal Moody's ankle injury early in the year meant Robert Nelson, the back-up, was done playing defense. That put a tremendous amount of pressure on the guys left on that side of the line. Kelly was one of the guys who put Conway in position to keep winning games.

Now, coaches don't like to point out players specifically, but a few guys in the area more than passed the eye test this year and could have easily been included. Not trying to upset anyone, but there are always some other players who are worthy of consideration.

* Denzell Strayhorne, FB, Loris -- R.J. Brown, Markeise Jackson and Fred Bryant were all recipients of Strayhorne's blocking. The kid leveled more than his fare share of defensive linemen and linebackers this year. He wasn't too shabby carrying the ball, either. From either his normal spot at full back or the times when he slid back and played tailback, Strayhorne led the team in rushing several times this season.

* Daiquone Ford, RB, Myrtle Beach -- For everything Golson and Campbell are able to do passing the ball in Mickey Wilson's offense, Ford could very well turn out to be the player of the year among area teams. Some of his 20 touchdowns this season came catching the ball out of the backfield, something that he may be better at than any other tailback locally. However, with a two-player per team limit on the all-star rosters, Ford was left out.

* Domnique Chatman/Kendrick Evans, DBs, Conway -- For all those problems Conway had filling holes on both sides of the line, Chatman and Evans often turned out to be the wild cards that opposing quarterbacks couldn't overcome. The two players took over in a huge win against Marlboro County in September. Did we mention that Evans doubled as a part-time punter and Chatman returned kicks and punts?

* Mark Timmons, RB, Carolina Forest -- Timmons was one of the biggest reasons the Panthers were able to win seven games this season. During the early season turmoil of Carolina Forest getting acclimated to changing quarterbacks in July, it was Timmons who pushed the Panthers to several non-conference victories. He ran for more than 1,000 yards, and he twice set the school record for yards in a single game.

* P.J. Brave, RB, Socastee -- Much like Texas Tech quarterbacks and the Heisman, the biggest knock on Brave is that he's a "system running back." The triple option offense at Socastee stresses the run, and it's expected to chew up yards. The only problem with that theory is that while the Braves didn't win many games, it wasn't the fault of an offense that put up 40 points in three of Socastee's final four games.

***

In Tuesday's notebook, I included a note on the rebuild that Loris coach Jimmy Longerbeam is looking at during the offseason.

There's no doubting what the outgoing crop of seniors did in turning around the football team.

"The biggest thing is what this group of seniors has accomplished," he said Tuesday afternoon. "When we took over -- and when I say we, I mean the players, too -- this program was in shambles."

And while that is good for this season, next season won't be easy. The Lions are going to lose 16 seniors, most of whom are regular contributors, on a team of about 40 kids. Still, Longerbeam isn't pushing the panic button.

"We had a bunch of younger kids who got a chance to play this year … They’ve had success," Longerbeam said. "We’re going back to work. We’ll start working out on Monday, and we feel we have a chance to be just as good next year as we were this year. We don’t think there will be that much of a drop off."

Loris won seven games this season, the first time the team's accumulated that many since 2001. And while guys like Strayhorne, Brown, OL/LB Cody Stevens and OL/DL Ethan Grainger are out of eligibility, Longerbeam stresses the fact that others -- Bryant, Jackson, QB Kentrez Hilton, for example -- are returning with plenty of experience under their belts.

* Everett Golson, QB, Myrtle Beach -- Let's face it, had Golson been healthy all season, making the Shrine Bowl roster would have been a given. He's a certifiable star on the high school level, and the college interest he's pulling certainly proves that. The idea of the Shrine Bowl is to get the best players in the game, and while he had played basically just two halves of football when he was selected, when healthy, he's the best player in this area.

* Mitch Campbell, QB, Myrtle Beach -- Campbell doesn't have the chops of the guy ahead of him on the depth chart, but there may not be a more deserving player in the area to make an all-star game. He's one of the most respectful kids area reporters have to deal with -- shown by his maturity throughout months of answering questions about Golson -- and it just so happens he's got some skills.

* Emmit Kelly, DB, Conway -- Chuck Jordan's comments about Kelly in this morning's paper probably didn't do the player justice. One of the drawbacks of QB Mykal Moody's ankle injury early in the year meant Robert Nelson, the back-up, was done playing defense. That put a tremendous amount of pressure on the guys left on that side of the line. Kelly was one of the guys who put Conway in position to keep winning games.

Now, coaches don't like to point out players specifically, but a few guys in the area more than passed the eye test this year and could have easily been included. Not trying to upset anyone, but there are always some other players who are worthy of consideration.

* Denzell Strayhorne, FB, Loris -- R.J. Brown, Markeise Jackson and Fred Bryant were all recipients of Strayhorne's blocking. The kid leveled more than his fare share of defensive linemen and linebackers this year. He wasn't too shabby carrying the ball, either. From either his normal spot at full back or the times when he slid back and played tailback, Strayhorne led the team in rushing several times this season.

* Daiquone Ford, RB, Myrtle Beach -- For everything Golson and Campbell are able to do passing the ball in Mickey Wilson's offense, Ford could very well turn out to be the player of the year among area teams. Some of his 20 touchdowns this season came catching the ball out of the backfield, something that he may be better at than any other tailback locally. However, with a two-player per team limit on the all-star rosters, Ford was left out.

* Domnique Chatman/Kendrick Evans, DBs, Conway -- For all those problems Conway had filling holes on both sides of the line, Chatman and Evans often turned out to be the wild cards that opposing quarterbacks couldn't overcome. The two players took over in a huge win against Marlboro County in September. Did we mention that Evans doubled as a part-time punter and Chatman returned kicks and punts?

* Mark Timmons, RB, Carolina Forest -- Timmons was one of the biggest reasons the Panthers were able to win seven games this season. During the early season turmoil of Carolina Forest getting acclimated to changing quarterbacks in July, it was Timmons who pushed the Panthers to several non-conference victories. He ran for more than 1,000 yards, and he twice set the school record for yards in a single game.

* P.J. Brave, RB, Socastee -- Much like Texas Tech quarterbacks and the Heisman, the biggest knock on Brave is that he's a "system running back." The triple option offense at Socastee stresses the run, and it's expected to chew up yards. The only problem with that theory is that while the Braves didn't win many games, it wasn't the fault of an offense that put up 40 points in three of Socastee's final four games.

***

In Tuesday's notebook, I included a note on the rebuild that Loris coach Jimmy Longerbeam is looking at during the offseason.

There's no doubting what the outgoing crop of seniors did in turning around the football team.

"The biggest thing is what this group of seniors has accomplished," he said Tuesday afternoon. "When we took over -- and when I say we, I mean the players, too -- this program was in shambles."

And while that is good for this season, next season won't be easy. The Lions are going to lose 16 seniors, most of whom are regular contributors, on a team of about 40 kids. Still, Longerbeam isn't pushing the panic button.

"We had a bunch of younger kids who got a chance to play this year … They’ve had success," Longerbeam said. "We’re going back to work. We’ll start working out on Monday, and we feel we have a chance to be just as good next year as we were this year. We don’t think there will be that much of a drop off."

Loris won seven games this season, the first time the team's accumulated that many since 2001. And while guys like Strayhorne, Brown, OL/LB Cody Stevens and OL/DL Ethan Grainger are out of eligibility, Longerbeam stresses the fact that others -- Bryant, Jackson, QB Kentrez Hilton, for example -- are returning with plenty of experience under their belts.