Prep notebook: Myrtle Beach football standouts also starring in spring
Mickey Wilson saw his 2014 football season at Myrtle Beach come to an end with arguably his most influential player off the field.
He’s much happier Drayton Arnold is going to miss at least half of spring practice.
The Seahawks’ baseball team, with Arnold starting at third base, made a dramatic four-game run in the district playoffs after losing its postseason opener to qualify for the Class AAA Lower State tournament. Myrtle Beach opened the double-elimination bracket Monday and is guaranteed at least two games, meaning Arnold won’t be putting on football pads until at least next week.
The way Wilson sees it, it would be great if Arnold misses all of spring ball.
“I try to tell our younger kids, I want them playing as many sports as they can,” Wilson said. “They only have a short window. They have a four-year career before it’s all over. We want our guys out there competing, whether it’s track or basketball or baseball.”
Arnold is one of five Myrtle Beach football players who have had an impact on the diamond this spring. It’s gotten him back into the rhythm of competitive sports after he injured the thumb on his throwing hand in the Seahawks’ playoff opener last November against Gilbert.
Myrtle Beach won that game and a second-round contest with backup quarterback Jake Deskins before he was also knocked out with a similar injury and the Seahawks lost in the third round.
Coincidentally, Deskins, a starter for the Myrtle Beach soccer team, has played a significant role in the Seahawks’ run in that sport. Myrtle Beach is playing St. James in the Class AAA Lower State finals Tuesday at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.
Arnold will eventually return to the football team, but Wilson isn’t worried about the time he’ll miss in the coming days or even weeks. Arnold has already started 25 football games, and the long-term prospects also include offers from Akron, Ohio, Charlotte and Old Dominion.
“With Drayton being a senior and being a three-year starter, he’s pretty polished,” Wilson said. “From our team standpoint, it’s a good time to get some of those younger guys a lot of reps.”
Conway’s Edwards selected for Nike ‘Opening’
Conway receiver Bryan Edwards didn’t simply show up in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday for the Nike Opening Regional.
He made waves.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound rising senior performed well enough to earn an invitation to The Opening Finals, a premier event that takes place July 5-10 at the Nike world headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. The invite list is restricted to 150 of the top players across the country, selected from 13 regionals.
In March, Edwards verbally committed to South Carolina over Georgia and Florida, among others. In three seasons at Conway, Edwards has put up more than 1,500 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Spring game schedules
Several Grand Strand football teams have already announced dates for their spring games:
▪ Aynor, May 21
▪ Waccamaw, May 21
▪ St. James, May 27/28 (tentative)
▪ Conway, May 29
▪ Myrtle Beach, May 29
▪ Socastee, May 29
▪ Carolina Forest, May 30
All-State soccer
Seven area boys and three local girls were honored as All-State selections by the South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association.
The list included two players each from the boys teams at Myrtle Beach, St. James and Waccamaw and two girls players from Waccamaw.
The local girls selected were Myrtle Beach’s Cassidy Posma and Rachel Thornton and Jessica Preedom from Waccamaw. Boys players included Marquel Bellamy (Loris), Waccamaw’s Zac Benton and Todd Mauney, Myrtle Beach’s Alopho Aguilar and Franc Lamcja and St. James’ Quadarius Grate and Joey Simpson.
Not only did all of those players’ teams reach the playoffs, they all made it to at least the second round in their respective classes. The SCHSSCA list is recognized as the official all-state honors.
All-Region VII-AAA soccer
St. James’ Grate and Drew Pavy were named the Region VII-AAA boys player and coach of the year, respectively, while Posma and North Myrtle Beach’s Lori Gorman-Ruggieri earned the same honors on the girls side, the region announced.
The high-scoring Grate and Pavy led the Sharks to a region runner-up finish, courtesy of a tiebreaker scenario with top finisher Myrtle Beach. Posma was instrumental in the Seahawk girls’ undefeated region run that eventually resulted in a pair of playoff victories. Gorman-Ruggieri’s Chiefs finished third in the region, also making a trip to the third round of the playoffs.
On the girls side, three Myrtle Beach players joined Posma on the first team. They were Kathryn Wylie, Gracie Stevens and Gabby Moore. North Myrtle Beach also had four first-team selections – Ingryd Garcia, Shelby Carr, Hannah Rowles and Brooke Kennedy. St. James’ Stephanie Cumez and Bethany Goodrich and Wilson’s Tatjana Washington rounded out the first team.
On the boys side, Grate was one of five Sharks named to the first team. The others were Keaton Zimmer, Luke Williams, Simpson and Haywood Brandon. Myrtle Beach had three – Aguilar, Jarvin Ramirez and Brandon Harrington, while North Myrtle Beach’s Chance Smith and Dallas Fields and Wilson’s Travis Dias completed the first team honors.
Toast of the Coast nominations
Nomination instructions for boys soccer, girls soccer and softball for this year’s Toast of the Coast spring honors from The Sun News have been sent.
If you have not received them, please contact Ian Guerin immediately.
Forms for the remainder of the spring sports will be sent within the next two weeks.
Contact IAN GUERIN at ian@ianguerin.com.
This story was originally published May 11, 2015 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Myrtle Beach football standouts also starring in spring."