Back healthy, Myrtle Beach has eyes on state championship

Less than two years removed from a state title, Myrtle Beach is used to expectations.

The Seahawks are expected to be one of a handful of top contenders for the championship this year. Already, the players have heard it.

In many ways, the talk never really stops.

“It’s nothing new,” tailback Brandon Sinclair said. “We’re all part of a big program. We know what kind of target is on our back.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Myrtle Beach has had plenty of fuel to help prepare it for the 2015 season. The end of 2014 came with quarterback Drayton Arnold on the sideline with a cast on his throwing hand and another team celebrating on the Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium fieldturf.

In the nine months since Marlboro County’s lopsided victory, the Seahawks have thought about what could have been.

Myrtle Beach was ranked No. 2 in the state at the time, but with Arnold (and back-up Jake Deskins) shelved with injuries, the Seahawks’ shot at a repeat championship evaporated quickly.

“It definitely drives me and it’s driving our seniors and our guys who played a lot last year,” seventh-year coach Mickey Wilson said. “It was very difficult to accept. I don’t know that I’ve really accepted it.

“I’ll have days when I look back at that as a coach … and would have like to have seen it play out a little different. That was tough. That is something you think about.”

Back in present day, Myrtle Beach has an opportunity to end this season on a much more successful note.

Six offensive starters – Arnold, Sinclair and four linemen – should be more than enough to help the Seahawks to a hot start. Arnold, despite playing just 10 and a half games, led the area with 2,884 passing yards and 37 touchdowns.

Sinclair has led the team in rushing all three years he’s been on the field, and a third consecutive 1,000-yard season isn’t just a possibility – it’s expected. The Seahawks will be replacing all of their primary receiving positions after standouts Kyle Belack, Malik Waring and Kelton Green graduated. But finding receivers at Myrtle Beach has never been an issue.

Defensively, players like Chase Brill, Keyonte Sessions and Quan Ludley were responsible for some of the team’s biggest plays throughout 2014. Brill will make the move from defensive end, where he’s been starting since he was a freshman, to the other inside linebacker spot alongside Ludley. Sessions will be the team’s new starting free safety after playing cornerback a year ago.

Myrtle Beach opens in Week 1 against Charlotte Christian (N.C.) in the prime game of the Derrick Law Firm Carolinas Kickoff Clash. If the Seahawks win that one, it stands to reason they’d have a viable shot at an undefeated run through the regular season.

Wilson and his team know nothing is guaranteed. It’s a lesson Myrtle Beach learned the hard way last November.

But it hasn’t stopped them from aiming high once again.

“Our goals are to win championships,” Wilson said. “Those will always be in play. Whether they’re region titles or state titles, that’s what we want to do.”

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Back healthy, Myrtle Beach has eyes on state championship."