How Myrtle Beach responded against pesky Hartsville with state championship berth on line
How far can Myrtle Beach go without star senior quarterback Luke Doty?
Well, there’s only one game remaining to find out.
The Seahawks defeated Hartsville in the S.C. Class 4A Lower State championship 28-21 Friday night at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium to earn the opportunity to defend their 2018 4A state championship.
Myrtle Beach (13-0) will face Wren (12-2) in the 4A state championship game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. Wren defeated Ridge View 34-19 Friday in the Upper State final.
“I’m just so glad to be a part of a state championship team,” Myrtle Beach senior receiver Darius Hough said. “We’ve got a chance to make history. We have one more game and we can make history, so we’re chasing another ring. But it feels special. It’s a very special moment.”
Sophomore Ryan Burger started his third consecutive game in place of Doty, a South Carolina commitment and Shrine Bowl selection who injured his right thumb early in the playoff opener, and completed 10 of 22 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns.
Burger completed all four of his passes in the second half, including one for a touchdown and two for third-and-8 conversions on Myrtle Beach’s final drive to help the Seahawks leave Hartsville with just 44 seconds remaining on its final desperate possession, which began at its 20.
“It’s the next man up. You have to be ready for anything, that’s what we train and work hard for,” Hough said. “. . . [Burger] has stepped up to the plate. He stepped up when we needed him most. Our receivers, they stepped up to the plate too, and he didn’t fold under pressure.”
The Seahawks followed their successful playoff script Friday, albeit a risky one: they fell behind by double digits for the fourth consecutive playoff game.
“We’ve been down in every playoff game. It’s been a little crazy, but we’ve come back, we’ve faced adversity,” Myrtle Beach head coach Mickey Wilson said. “Our seniors have done a great job with our leadership. I’m just really proud to go to Columbia with Luke Doty not playing in the playoffs.”
The Red Foxes (10-4), who fell to Myrtle Beach 42-21 on Oct. 5 in Region VI-4A play, saw a vulnerable team on Friday night and jumped on the Seahawks, scoring touchdowns on their opening two possessions on a 2-yard run by Darian McMillan and 37-yard catch by running back J.D. Pendergrass, who was a force all game and finished with 165 yards rushing on 19 carries.
The Seahawks tied the game at 14 with a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter.
Myrtle Beach called on its power Rhino package after the offense gained just one first down in its first four drives, and Xayvion Knox carried the ball five consecutive plays for 48 yards and a TD on a 14-yard run through traffic in the middle of the line.
Burger hit J.J. Jones for a sliding 18-yard TD reception near the back of the end zone with 1:43 left in a first half in which Hartsville suffered a couple key losses. Junior linebacker Bailey Carraway was ejected for a personal foul and starting junior quarterback Owen Taylor left with a leg injury early in the second quarter when the Red Foxes held a 14-7 lead.
He was replaced by sophomore Roddi Morris, who was playing wide receiver, so both teams were down to their backup sophomore quarterbacks from that point on.
Myrtle Beach took the lead 3 minutes into the second half on a 47-yard Jones TD reception that followed an interception at midfield by Shedrick Pointer, who caught a pass that came up short over the middle as Morris was rolling to his right away from pressure. The Seahawks intercepted Morris on two of his seven pass attempts, with T.J. Auston getting the other pick on a deep pass late in the first half.
“[Morris] fought his tail off. He just hasn’t had a lot of snaps,” Hartsville coach Jeff Calabrese said. “So it’s just kind of tough to get your big indoctrination, but I thought he showed a lot of class and character and confidence. He made some mistakes but that’s kind of what you can expect.
“The bottom line is in football you have to be able to adapt and overcome, and we tried and we fought and we almost did it.”
After Hartsville tied the score at 21 on a 10-yard Pendergrass run, a 46-yard Burger pass to Adam Randall down the right sideline to the Hartsville 6 set up Knox’s 6-yard go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter.
The Seahawks held on by forcing a pair of punts in the fourth quarter, including one from midfield with about 6 minutes left following a Quamil Spells sack on third down. Myrtle Beach was nearly able to run out the remaining time on its ensuing possession.
“What a great team win,” Wilson said. “Being without Luke for four weeks now, I’m really proud of our players, our coaches, just stepping up. Our defense has stepped up, Xayvion Knox has stepped up, Ryan Burger has stepped up, J.J. Jones, the list goes on and on. It’s just a great team win.”
Wilson is still hoping Doty can return for the state title game and said he will be evaluated again this week. “We’ll send him to the doctor again,” Wilson said. “I know he’s getting tired of going to the doctor, but our training staff will evaluate and we’ll see where he’s at.”
Summary
Hartsville 14 0 7 0 -- 21
Myrtle Beach 0 14 14 0 -- 22
First quarter
H – Darian McMillan 2 run (kick good)
H – J.D. Pendergrass 37 pass from Owen Taylor (kick good)
Second quarter
MB – Xayvion Knox 14 run (Sullivan Hardin kick)
MB – J.J. Jones 18 pass from Ryan Burger (Hardin kick)
Third quarter
MB – Jones 47 pass from Burger (Hardin kick)
H – Pendergrass 10 run (kick good)
MB – Knox 6 run (Hardin kick)
Individual leaders
Rushing – Hartsville: J.D. Pendergrass 19-165; MB: 19-57
Passing – MB: Ryan Burger 10-22-0–204
Receiving – MB: J.J. Jones 3-100, Adam Randall 2-62
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 10:06 PM.
