2016: Grand Strand programs awaken echoes of past glory

For most, the high school sports season ended back in May.

But before the academic calendar officially turns over to 2016-2017 on Friday, we should take some time to look back at the biggest news items and happenings of the past 365 days for the local programs. The most noticeable items ran the gamut from the S.C. High School League as a whole down to singular schools, teams and individuals.

There were plenty of high-profile moments that shouldn’t be forgotten any time soon, and others that will usher us into the next year of athletics.

SCHSL EXPANDS TO FIVE-CLASS SYSTEM

So much of the conversation just before the start of the 2015 fall slate had nothing to do with the current school year. But oh, were people talking.

Over the course of the past decade, coaches and athletics directors from around the state have been pursuing a plan to finally add another classification. Many felt having north of 50 schools competing left too much of a gap between the haves and have nots in each division.

To a degree, they got their wish with an early August decision.

The SCHSL Executive Committee sided with those pushing for the change, adding a fifth class starting in 2016-2017. Like everything else, the immediate focus was the impact it would have on football, although every sport was about to be affected. And while an outspoken minority wished for six divisions, the move to five seemed to be a plausible adjustment for the time being.

Locally, the change essentially pushed every team (but Green Sea Floyds and Georgetown) up a class, although many of those divisions will have a similar feel to the ones in place for much of the past several seasons. But trimming off 10 to 12 schools per classification was a step in enrollment equality that was almost universally desired.

ST. JAMES AND CONWAY FOOTBALL FIND NEW LIFE

After back-to-back nine-loss seasons, it was apparent that Chuck Jordan’s Conway football team was going to be much improved.

Few expected the turnaround to be as good as it was.

The Tigers won nine regular-season games, finished second in Region VI-AAAA and earned a home playoff game for the first time since 2008. Conway fell to Westwood in the opening round, but with much of its nucleus returning, many believe Jordan’s bunch was only making the initial steps toward bringing the Tigers back to their glory years.

Meanwhile, a rise for Horry County’s southernmost program came seemingly out of nowhere for those who had not been paying attention. After a four-win campaign in 2014, second-year coach Robby Brown led the Sharks to six regular season wins, a postseason victory over Marlboro County – the first playoff win in school history – and the program’s first winning season.

Much like Brown, the Sharks weren’t flashy or arrogant; they did, however, find ways to get the job done.

EDWARDS’ ELECTRIC CAREER COMES TO A CLOSE

Bryan Edwards burst onto the area’s football scene as a freshman when he caught a touchdown pass in the opening game of the 2012 season. Over the course of the next four years, fans, media and college coaches alike knew better than to take their eyes off No. 4 any time he was on the field.

In 41 career games, the Conway receiver caught 188 passes for 2,562 yards and 32 touchdowns. He was named to the Army All-American Bowl and the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. He was also a finalist for S.C. Mr. Football honors. Unfortunately, Edwards was forced to miss the two all-star events and the final three games of the season after he suffered a knee injury that required surgery.

It could not erase everything he had accomplished to that point; nor did it stop him from accepting a scholarship to the University of South Carolina, where he quickly rose up the Gamecocks’ spring depth chart in advance of his 18th birthday.

MYRTLE BEACH GIRLS BASKETBALL RETURNS TO COLUMBIA

For the first time since 2011 – when the Seahawks won the state title – an area team made it all the way to last day of the SCHSL basketball season when Myrtle Beach earned a match-up against Dreher in the Class AAA finals.

Coach Jennifer Dennison, who had returned from offseason health issues to lead the Grand Strand’s most dominant team, continued to find ways to push her squad to new heights. There were signs the Seahawks were special as early as December. It was then that they won a pair of games in the CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational and then rolled to the Region VII-AAA crown with little resistance.

In the playoffs, Myrtle Beach peaked. It defeated Lakewood, Stall, Crestwood and Wilson, the latter two of which were also among the best in the state in terms of the S.C. Basketball Coaches Association rankings.

Dreher ended the Seahawks’ dream season one victory shy of the ultimate trophy, but the loss at the Colonial Life Arena came with the knowledge that a repeat trip next season was very much a possibility.

ADAMS DEPARTS GEORGETOWN

The writing had been on the wall with Bradley Adams for some time. The now-former Georgetown football coach had applied for outside jobs and was sought after by other schools numerous times within years being hired.

All those opportunities came for a reason. In six seasons, all Adams did was become the winningest football coach in program history (40-27), lead the Bulldogs to unprecedented playoff success and essentially make Georgetown relevant again after years of being a local region doormat.

Eventually, someone was going to pull him away, and Union County did just that in early March, offering him a significant pay raise at a school with a strong football tradition.

Adams was immediately replaced by Ken Cribb, a coach with tons of experience and wins of his own. But the former Hemingway head coach and then-current Georgetown assistant stepped into a dramatically different job than the one that existed before Adams arrived.

CAROLINA FOREST’S BIG THREE MAKE PRESENCE FELT

For so long, Horry County’s largest high school fought the stigma that its programs didn’t produce at a level consistent to the population of its student body.

In 2015-2016, the Panthers’ three most prominent teams showed they were no longer fodder for the rest of the county – or the state.

Marc Morris’ football program qualified for the playoffs for the first time since moving to the state’s top class in 2008 by winning five games in an ultra-competitive regular-season schedule. Then, Brian Brunson’s boys basketball team finished second in Region VI-AAAA and advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the first time in school history.

Baseball coach Jack Jolly and his squad kept it going in the spring, winning the region crown and advancing to the Lower State finals.

It was by all accounts the best season in the school’s eight years of top-class sports.

AYNOR BASEBALL BRINGS AREA SIXTH TITLE OF THE YEAR

The final high-school action of the 2015-2016 season for the area couldn’t have ended on much more of a high note.

A young Aynor baseball team book-ended the three-game state finals against Strom Thurmond with victories, including the championship clincher at historic Riley Park in Sumter. It was just the second state title for an Horry County baseball program, chasing St. James’ in 2011.

It was also one of six championships, regardless of sport, for area programs throughout academic year. Waccamaw (girls cross country, girls track, boys golf) had three; St. James added one in girls golf, and Myrtle Beach did the same in girls tennis.

Of those, Aynor and coach Chad Sarvis had maybe the most unlikely run. The Blue Jackets were young, and as such were frequently overlooked by others in the region and Lower State. When push came to shove, though, there was Aynor, hoisting its trophy in Sumter.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 7:57 PM with the headline "2016: Grand Strand programs awaken echoes of past glory."