Myrtle Beach shows no signs of slowing down in playoff opener

Myrtle Beach’s sizzling streak continued on Friday night as the Seahawks cruised to a 48-7 win over Beaufort in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.

Junior running back Jermani Green rushed for 121 yards and four touchdowns, and senior quarterback Lawson Cribb was 12-for-23 passing for 251 yards three touchdowns for the Seahawks (7-4), who travel to Lower Richland next week in the second round.

The win continues a torrid pace for Myrtle Beach, which has averaged 64.25 points per game during a four-game win streak and appears to have rounded into form at the right time, winning five of its last six games – including two wins over 5A teams Conway and Carolina Forest, both of which won first-round playoff games on Friday.

“We were young, we were inexperienced, and we played a really tough schedule, a lot of 5A schools,” Myrtle Beach coach Mickey Wilson said. “I think it’s benefited us, we’ve learned from it, and our kids have handled that adversity extremely well, and we’re getting better.”

Beaufort (8-3) won the coin toss, but deferred, and Myrtle Beach made the Eagles pay with a 12-play, 77-yard drive capped by a three-yard touchdown run by Green.

The Eagles fumbled the ball away on their first possession, setting up Cribb for a 20-yard touchdown scoring strike to Marcus Grissett.

Another Beaufort fumble gave Myrtle Beach another short field and led to Green’s second touchdown, this time from two yards out, to give the Seahawks a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

Myrtle Beach added two more scores in the second quarter, first on an 20-yard run from Green, then on an 18-yard connection from Cribb to DaRon Finkley following another Eagles fumble for a 35-0 lead at the break.

“We did a good job of getting the ball out defensively,” Wilson said. “We’ve really been concentrating on us as a team not turning the ball over, and the defense did a great job of getting some turnovers as well.”

Green’s fourth touchdown was a 1-yard run, and Cribb connected with Finkley on a 45-yard tochdown pass to close scoring for the Seahawks.

The Eagles’ only score came in the fourth quarter when Jeffery Smyth found Jamon Graham on a 70-yard catch and run with 9:34 left.

Myrtle Beach rolled up 419 yards of offense as Cribb connected with six different receivers and five different players rushed the ball.

Beaufort’s Kyleik Middleton, who had rushed for more than 1,200 yards during regular season, was held to just 40 rushing yards on 14 carries, and the Eagles had 239 yards of total offense.

Turning point

Already trailing 7-0, the Eagles fumbled for the first time, setting Myrtle Beach up with a first-and-goal at the Beaufort 25. After a defensive penalty, Lawson Cribb hit Marcus Grissett for a 20-yard touchdown, and the Seahawks never slowed from there.

Key performers

Jermani Green, Myrtle Beach: 18 carries for 121 yards and four TDs and two catches for 45 yards.

Lawson Cribb, Myrtle Beach: 12-23-0 passing for 251 yards and three TDs.

DaRon Finkley, Myrtle Beach: four catches for 120 yards and two TDs.

Jeffery Smyth, Beaufort: 11-27-0 passing for 167 yards and a TD, and 15 carries for 30 yards.

By the numbers

4

First-half fumbles committed by Beaufort. Myrtle Beach scored on three of the four ensuing drives.

64.25

The points per game for Myrtle Beach during the four-game win streak.

5-1

Myrtle Beach’s record after starting the season at 1-3.

They said it

“We started the season off with a pretty tough schedule, and we’ve got a lot of young guys [on defense], and they’ve really grown up and matured. A lot of sophomores and juniors that are in the first year on the field, and it’s really nice to see those guys grow up and get better, gain some experience,” Myrtle Beach coach Mickey Wilson on his team’s improvement in the second half of the season.

“I really feel good about our weapons. We’ve got some guys that can stretch the field [in Finkley, Grissett, Luke Doty and Wyatt Roach]… and Jermani out of the backfield is a tough matchup for anybody.” – Wilson on his team’s offensive performance.

Up next

Beaufort: season over

Myrtle Beach: at Lower Richland

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 11:36 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach shows no signs of slowing down in playoff opener."