How living on the edge finally doomed Myrtle Beach in the state championship game
The clock struck midnight on Myrtle Beach’s perfect season on Saturday, as the Seahawks fell 35-23 to a powerful Wren team.
As they have all playoffs, the Seahawks (13-1) trailed in the contest, falling behind 7-0 and then got down as many as 18 in the game. Wren’s (13-2) powerful offense, led by Georgia State commit Joe Owens, piled up 407 offensive yards with 306 coming through the air. With his team fighting to come back, coach Mickey Wilson saw determination and guts that defined his team all season.
“It’s tough and emotional right now,” he said. “We’re disappointed, I know our seniors are and our coaching staff. I’m just super proud of them for continuing to battle and grind. We really dug ourselves in a hole early in the game, but we fought back. I’m proud of our guys, it was a tough loss. To win a state championship, you’ve got to have the ball bounce your way some and it didn’t tonight. You’ve got to be healthier than we were tonight. I’m just proud of our guys, they did a great job of getting here without Luke Doty. … It was a tough loss.”
Playing without Doty would be a theme of the playoffs, as the four-star quarterback was knocked out of the Seahawks’ first-round contest against Lakewood. He described his injury as a broken thumb in which he could not grip a football. He quickly had surgery to place a plate and screws to stabilize the hand, but wasn’t able to recover enough to play again for Myrtle Beach.
“We were close; I just couldn’t get back in time. That’s how it goes sometimes,” said Doty, a South Carolina recruit. “I’ll be healthy soon. It’s bittersweet to come back and lose the state championship and for it to be my last game. I couldn’t be more proud of my guys for fighting and getting back here. We fought and there were a few things that didn’t go our way. I know they’ll be back.”
Replacing Doty in the backfield was sophomore Ryan Burger, who played well enough to get the Seahawks to the state championship game. In the game, the right-hander threw for 214 yards and a score on a 30-yard dart to JJ Jones, but couldn’t shake a pesky Wren defense that challenged him to complete long passes.
“We got off to a slow start, which was my fault,” Burger said. “I’ve got to make better decisions, go through my reads, and get us down the field to score. We got into their territory, but we’ve got to finish off drives with points. They did a great job against our short game and made us push the ball down the field. They dropped so many in coverage and made us have to complete tough plays.”
Jones, the second-leading receiver on the night for Myrtle Beach, summed up the game, saying “We made a few mistakes that cost us, but football is a game of momentum and they seemed to have momentum for a lot of this game.”
The momentum started with the Seahawks, who forced Wren into a turnover early and had a chance to take control of the game. However, Wren’s defense made the Seahawks punt and then the offense struck for a long touchdown from Owens to Hayden Willimon, where the receiver shook a Myrtle Beach defender and took off for a 49-yard score. From there, the Seahawks would get the equalizer on a Burger touchdown pass before Owens exploded for another two touchdowns to end the first quarter with Myrtle Beach down 21-7.
Owens would keep the Seahawk defense on its heels for much of the second quarter, but only mustered a single touchdown in the quarter. Myrtle Beach scored 10, but squandered an opportunity to cut the deficit to a single possession before halftime, ending its final drive in Hurricanes’ territory but too far out for a field goal try.
Switching between its traditional Air Raid offense and the powerful Rhino package all game, Myrtle Beach would find success with Xayvion Knox and the Rhino for a pair of scores, one from 83-yards out. But, the Seahawks’ final score would come midway through the fourth quarter, as they looked to try and throw their way back into the game with Burger and Wren worked to run out the clock with Logan Simmons toting the rock. Simmons would score in the third quarter and end the game with 95 rushing yards, only being tackled for a loss one time.
“It was a long road to get here, but that was our goal and it’s heartbreaking to have taken the loss,” Jones said in the locker room following the loss. “We worked hard to get to this point, but we wanted to finish it off with a title. Now, us young guys are going to get back to the grind in the weight room and on film so we can get back here next year and come out with a victory.”
The Seahawks will now return a quarterback with a playoff run under his belt, two of their leading receivers in Jones and Adam Randall, and a team with a bitter taste in its mouth.
“We start Monday to get going for next year,” Burger said. “This one will motivate us, we know what it’s like to lose now and it’s heartbreaking. I’ll think about this one for a long time.”
Wren competed for and won its first state championship in its 60-plus year history with the win over Myrtle Beach.
MB 7 10 6 0 – 23
WR 21 7 7 0 – 35
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
WR – Joe Owens 51-yard pass to Hayden Willimon (Wilson Garand kick good) 7:57
MB – Ryan Burger 30-yard pass to JJ Jones (Sullivan Hardin kick good) 5:18
WR – Owens 6-yard pass to Eli Wilson (Garand kick) 3:02
WR – Owens 16-yard pass to Tyler Cherry (Garand kick) 00:14
Second Quarter
MB – Hardin 35-yard field goal 9:55
WR – Owens 38-yard pass to Cherry (Garand kick) 9:34
MB – Xayvion Knox 2-yard run (Hardin kick) 5:12
Third Quarter
MB – Knox 83-yard run (two-point play failed) 7:42
WR – Logan Simmons 9-yard run (Garand kick) 6:13
Statistical Leaders
Passing
MB – Ryan Burger 18-35-214-1-2
WR – Joe Owens 22-37-306-4-0
Rushing
MB – Xayvion Knox 16-162 2TDs
WR – Logan Simmons 15-95 TD
Receiving
MB – Adam Randall 6-102
WR – Tyler Cherry 8-114 2TDs
This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 9:57 PM.