Area prep football players honored

Mitch Campbell had heard the goals of his coach in the preseason.

The Myrtle Beach backup quarterback, his coach hoped, would be rewarded for enough of his play in garbage time this year to earn a spot on the SCADA North-South All-Star Football Game. Still, Campbell wasn't exactly all that optimistic.

"No way," Campbell said. "No way that I was going to do that. But everything fell into place. I just took advantage of what I got."

Campbell's selection to the all-star game - the rosters were announced Tuesday - certainly wasn't the most direct path. The quarterback took over for an injured area star Everett Golson in the second week of the regular season, started eight games and tallied nearly 2,300 yards and 30 touchdowns passes.

The Seahawks won all eight games he started. Golson resumed his role as the team's starter last week as the playoffs began, but it was clear the North-South committee hadn't forgotten about Myrtle Beach's "other" quarterback.

"Mitch has had an opportunity with Everett getting injured to show what he can do," Myrtle Beach coach Mickey Wilson said. "He played himself into an all-star game. It's a great compliment to our program."

Campbell is one of five area players to be named to the North-South rosters. He's joined by teammate Alex Holloman (defensive back), Conway defensive back Emmit Kelly, Andrews offensive lineman Michael Mabry and Carvers Bay defensive lineman Terrence Jenerette. All five players will represent the South team against their counterparts from the Upstate.

Each team was allowed a maximum of two players on the North-South roster.

At Conway, coach Chuck Jordan was happy to see Kelly placed on the roster. Jordan called the senior "the glue" to a Tigers defense that has been rearranged almost weekly by injuries.

Throughout the year, Kelly played cornerback, safety and outside linebacker.

"He's fulfilled a lot of roles, and it takes a special kid to do that," Jordan said. "We've had a lot of injuries back there, and we've had to patch people in there."

The game is set for noon Dec. 11 at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach. Tickets are $15 at the gate with two children under the age of 7 admitted free with an adult.

Shrine Bowl redux

Two Myrtle Beach players were selected for South Carolina's other postseason game, the Shrine Bowl.

The rosters for that event were announced last week, with Golson and teammate Donte Sumpter (receiver) being named to the South Carolina team. The Shrine Bowl gets first pick among the postseason all-star events and is a matchup of the top seniors from South Carolina against the top seniors from North Carolina.

Golson, who had played essentially two halves of football this year when he was selected last week, was a tad surprised by the pick.

"It's my understanding they based it on my career, not just a season," Golson said. "I didn't think I was going to get nominated for it, because I was hurt all this season. I guess they kind of looked out for me."

The 74th annual Shrine Bowl is scheduled for 1 p.m. Dec. 18 at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg.

Region VIII-AAA honors

Myrtle Beach cleaned up when it came to the All-Region VIII-AAA awards that were also announced Tuesday. Myrtle Beach won its five region games by an average of 54 points per contest.

Campbell was named the player of the year, while Seahawks running back Daiquone Ford was named the athlete of the year after racking up 20 touchdowns. Wilson was named the coach of the year in the region.

The Seahawks also led region teams in total players being named to either the first or second teams with 13.