A crash wrecked their routine. How did that help lead to NMB’s first half explosion?

Heavy traffic caused by a wreck Friday afternoon on the way to Florence’s Memorial Stadium already had Matt Reel a bit antsy.

The notion his North Myrtle Beach team was taking its opponent that night, Wilson, a tad too lightly only worsened his mood.

“Right now, I don’t see the fire we had those first seven games. I don’t see it,” he said to his team. “That’s a good team over there. If you take them lightly, you’re going to be headed home with your first loss. You have 30 minutes to get yourselves together.”

Apparently the pregame tongue lashing struck a chord.

Reel probably couldn’t have written a better script for the Chiefs to open the game as they scored 35 points in the first half.

Their defense set the tone by forcing a Wilson fumble on the second play of the game, with defensive lineman Mikel Stevenson scooping it up for an 8-yard return for a touchdown. It wouldn’t take long for the North Myrtle Beach offense to get in on the act as Kered Class took his first carry of the night 65 yards for a score.

“Guys did a really good job early of jumping on them and getting some points on the board,” Reel said. “Defense causing turnovers, causing 3-and outs, it really helped us toward the latter portion of the ballgame.”

As fate would have it, the Chiefs would need every point. Courtesy of a fourth-quarter rally, Wilson made them have to sweat out a 45-35 result.

The Tigers scored each of the game’s final 19 points, with a large share of them coming through the air. For the game, Wilson quarterback Jacob Quillen threw for 547 yards — by far the most North Myrtle Beach has given up all year.

According to Reel, the team’s offense could have done a better job of giving its defense a breather, particularly in the second half.

“You get to where you stall out or try not to do too many things that will put yourself in a bad situation,” he said. “… We had a few drives where we sputtered a bit. We had three or four holding penalties, three or four first downs were called back on holding penalties.

“That hurt us bad, and we have to be better in that area. But we have to keep our defense off the field. When you’re out there with the likes of their receivers and that quarterback, bad things are going to happen when you can’t get them off the field.”

Nevertheless, the win assures North Myrtle Beach (8-0, 2-0 Region 7-4A) a ticket to the Class 4A playoffs. Already with wins over Myrtle Beach and Wilson, the Chiefs need only one win to sew up the top spot in Region 7-4A.

North Myrtle Beach makes a trip to Marlboro County on Friday night.

Let’s get it on!: Guess Sumter and Conway might as well make what is likely their final meeting as league foes one to remember.

Ranked seventh and eighth in the latest Class 5A prep media poll, the powerhouses will match wits at Sumter’s Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

A Sumter win gives it the Region 6-5A crown. Conway needs a victory and a Carolina Forest loss to claim a league championship.

Conway last beat Sumter in 2012, the Tigers claiming a 34-24 win.

Georgetown also finds itself in a high-stakes matchup on Friday night, the Bulldogs paying a visit to perennial powerhouse Dillon.

Since starting 0-3, Georgetown has won five straight games, three of them coming in Region 6-3A play. To make it six in a row, the Bulldogs will have to get a win at Dillon Memorial Stadium, one of the toughest venues in South Carolina to leave with a victory.

A Georgetown win gives it the Region 6-3A title. Should Dillon leave victorious, it would need a Lake City loss to walk away with the league championship.

Beat ‘em like they stole something: They may not admit it, but Friday’s game against Marlboro County meant a little extra to the Myrtle Beach football team.

A 56-55 loss at Marlboro County in 2016 ended the Seahawks’ pursuit of a perfect season. The bad mojo carried into the following week, when the Seahawks bowed out to A.C. Flora in the first round of the playoffs.

With the Bulldogs making the trip to Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium this time around, Myrtle Beach made sure to return the favor.

The Seahawks turned a crucial Region 7-4A matchup into a laugher, dumping Marlboro County 62-14. With the win, the team guaranteed itself a spot in the Class 4A playoffs.

Myrtle Beach led 55-7 at halftime. In two quarters of play, Jermani Green scored four touchdowns — three rushing, another on an interception return.

Heading into a bye, the Seahawks will rest up and prepare for their season finale at Wilson, a game with potential to create its share of fireworks. Though not likely to play a role in deciding a league title, the winner will host a first-round playoff game.

Tall task ahead: The playoff hopes of a pair of area football teams were dealt a significant blow as a result of this week’s action.

Socastee’s 4-1 start has become merely a memory, this after dropping its third straight in a 50-27 loss to West Florence.

Missing top target Devin Stamp — suspended for a violation of team rules — Braves quarterback Hunter Illing was limited to 139 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Now 0-3 in league play, Socastee’s likely pipeline to the postseason is a fragile one, dependent upon who a Lower State 5A committee deems worthy of an at-large bid.

Equally daunting is the task ahead for Green Sea Floyds following a 24-12 loss to East Clarendon.

In addition to falling to a winless opponent, the Trojans now must beat a pair of ranked teams in Hemingway and Hannah-Pamplico to ensure its spot in the postseason. Otherwise, it must hope for an at-large bid from the S.C. High School League.

In Class A, at-large teams are decided by region winning percentage. If two or more teams have the same region win percentage, a series of tiebreakers will be used to determine the two wild card entries.

This story was originally published October 15, 2017 at 12:15 AM with the headline "A crash wrecked their routine. How did that help lead to NMB’s first half explosion?."