South erupts for five late touchdowns to win high school all-star game in Myrtle Beach
For nearly three quarters Saturday, it appeared the North all-stars might pitch a shutout in the 71st Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.
The South squad had 43 yards of offense and two first downs in the first half, and trailed 10-0 late in the third quarter in the annual South Carolina high school all-star game.
But the South erupted for 35 points in the final 14 minutes to earn a 35-13 win.
Though it was more complicated than simply catching passes, a big part of the comeback was the South receivers avoiding the drops that plagued them in the first half.
“We caught it. Our receivers had a rough first half and I told them at halftime we can’t play any worse,” said South coach Ken Cribb of Johnsonville. “We caught it all week. I said, ‘You’re going to start catching it in the second half,” and once we started catching the ball we got into a rhythm and got some momentum and things went for us from there.”
The Most Valuable Players for the South team were quarterback Ty Olenchuk of Dutch Fork, who completed 13 of 27 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns, and Fort Dorchester defensive end Emmanuel Johnson, who had a team-high eight tackles including 3.5 sacks.
The North’s MVPs were tight end Eli Wilson of Wren, who had six receptions for 84 yards including a 33-yard one-handed catch over the middle, and Calhoun County defensive back Michael Brunson Jr., who had four solo tackles.
South receiver Nanders Lawrence of Airport had eight receptions for 97 yards and scored his team’s first points on a 4-yard run on a reverse, and North receiver Omarion Dollison of Gray Collegiate had two catches for 104 yards including a 95-yard TD from Wren’s Tyler Cherry in the second quarter.
The South was outgained 234-43 in the first half but amassed 290 yards on 35 plays in the second half, and was aided by defense and special teams. The defense had three interceptions in the game, including May River defensive back Terry Fields’ touchdown on a 20-yard interception return, and Johnson blocked a punt to create a short field for the offense.
“This is one of the things, like I told them, when you’re a little boy you dream of these weeks and we got to live a dream this week,” Cribb said. “They did it the right way and I’m glad they were rewarded with a win.”
Abbeville kicker Dylan Beauford kicked field goals of 18 and 25 yards to help the North hold a 13-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
But the South scored four touchdowns in the final 10 minutes. D’Vonte Allen of Marion scored on a 30-yard reception from Olenchuk, De’Shareoh Williams of Wade Hampton scored on a 4-yard run, Rakim White of Bluffton scored on a 6-yard pass from Olenchuk and Fields scored on the interception with 46 seconds to play.
The South squad included five Grand Strand representatives: Myrtle Beach linebackers Kenny Byrd and Shedrick Pointer, North Myrtle Beach running back Ramsey Lewis, Waccamaw wide receiver Tyree Funnye and Green Sea Floyds defensive back A.J. Campbell.
Lewis had 14 yards on two carries, Funnye had a 71-yard reception to set up a touchdown, and Campbell had four solo tackles a week after winning the Class A state championship with his Green Sea Floyds teammates.
“It’s the best two weeks of football I’ve had,” Campbell said. “I knew it was coming to an end so I was able to take it all in and enjoy it.”
Pointer had a sack and was active in pass coverage, and Byrd tied for second on the team with seven tackles, nearly intercepted a pass by undercutting a route over the middle, and set up an interception when he batted a pass into the air at the line of scrimmage that was caught by defensive tackle Brandon Johnson of Fort Dorchester.
