Ian Guerin on high schools: Socastee focused on keeping ball

Socastee coach Tim Renfrow wasn't thrilled that his team lost again Friday night, especially considering three turnovers played a role.

But Renfrow can take two things away from the loss to Ashley Ridge, a Class AAAA school. First, the game does zilch to derail the Braves' chances of making another trip to the playoffs.

"What we're trying to do is get ready for region," Renfrow said. "We need to concentrate on getting better each week. And I think we have."

Secondly, one of the more dynamic players in a Socastee uniform not only returned to the lineup, he came back and proved he was going to be a force.

Junior Michquan Brown, who started as a sophomore, rushed for 206 yards in his first game since breaking his right hand - the hand he primarily uses to carry the ball - over the summer.

"It gives us some speed," Renfrow said. "The guys we've had have done a good job. But he's got some speed."

Brown's return pushes the Braves' triple-option offense back to full strength. Along with fellow running back P.J. Brave and quarterback Jordan Renfrow, Socastee should only continue to look more stable in the coming weeks.

However, that adjustment period will include a home game against another Class AAAA school, Conway, this week. The three backfield players will be focusing specifically on holding on to the football.

The Braves had three turnovers against Ashley Ridge, and Renfrow knows controlling the clock and moving the chains is as important to his team as scoring points.

Long, time-consuming drives with that offense can demoralize opponents when it's at its best. Socastee has a little under four weeks to make that happen.

The Braves open Region VIII-AAA play Oct. 1 at home against North Myrtle Beach.

Overwhelmed

Excuse Georgetown coach Bradley Adams if he was a little hard to get in touch with over the weekend.

After the Bulldogs won their first game in the Adams era with an 8-6 victory over Andrews, the first-year coach had to make a late-night executive decision.

"My phone blew up. I had so many calls I finally had to turn it off," Adams said. "People have been so supportive of me since I've been here. Ninety percent of the people have continued to believe."

It wasn't, he said, the easiest thing for those fans to do. Georgetown lost to Mullins by 20 points in Week 0 before falling to Carvers Bay 22-0 in Week 1.

Heading into the game against Andrews, Adams joked that his team was "30-point underdogs."

"Nobody gave us a chance," he said. "We knew we had a chance."

The staff knew after a film session the week before the game. During the session, Adams said he could see something clicking in his players' eyes.

It showed against Andrews, especially on the defensive end. It also showed Monday morning during the team's first practice after the victory.

"The kids, it would have been a lot harder to get them out here at 7:30 this morning if we didn't win," Adams said. "The kids, you can tell, they have a little more bounce in their step. They started to believe a little bit."

They'll have to carry those feelings over for a while. The Bulldogs are off this week before returning to play Waccamaw on Sept. 17.