High school notebook: Ground game keying Green Sea Floyds’ strong start

Tony Sullivan made a joke about his ring tone during the preseason, and a room full of people generally had no clue what the Green Sea Floyds coach was talking about.

The comment about his cell phone – set to Johnny Cash’s “Get Rhythm” – may not have been laugh-inducing. But the way the Trojans have run the ball so far, it surely makes more sense. Through two games, Sullivan’s squad has generated plenty of rhythm.

Green Sea Floyds has put up 555 yards on the ground while averaging 6.39 yards per carry. More importantly, a team that was 0-10 in 2014 and 1-9 in 2013 is heading into Friday’s contest at Aynor with a 2-0 record.

“I don’t want to say I’m arrogant, but I want to be truthful. I figured it was going to help us. I didn’t foresee it as being as good as it is,” Sullivan said in advance of The Sun News’ Game of the Week. “I don’t want to say it’s great. There are still a lot of things we have to learn. But we’ve been successful.”

The switch to the double-wing offense has produced solid numbers all the way around. In addition to the wins and the team rushing totals, several individuals are getting some notoriety for what they’ve done when it’s their turn to the carry the ball.

Wyatt Upchurch is second in the area with 203 rushing yards; Anthony Wilson is fourth with 134; and Mahammud Graham is ninth with 84.

Sullivan pointed out that some of that was a culmination of so many rushing attempts – similar to what Aynor does or what Socastee had while it was a triple-option team.

At the same time, neither Upchurch (13.5 yards per carry) nor Wilson (16.5) have accumulated more than 15 carries.

“I think it’s a combination of scheme and a combination of personnel,” Sullivan said. “They complement each other. It’s a running scheme, but you’ve got to have good personnel to run the football. We’ve got four or five guys we feel like we can throw in there at any minute.”

He may have to rely upon all of them Friday.

The Trojans haven’t beaten Aynor since 2009. Only one game since was determined by fewer than three touchdowns. Two of those games prevented 3-0 starts for Green Sea Floyds. That’s something the Trojans haven’t accomplished since 2007, their last winning season and last trip to the playoffs.

Instead of concentrating on any of that – or the roster differential his team will face in the next three weeks against Class AA programs – Sullivan said he’s only looking internally at what Green Sea Floyds can do to start winning on a more consistent basis.

“There’s been a reputation,” he said of his school. “But I don’t know that we’ve had tradition.”

HTC GAME OF THE WEEK

HTC has announced its matchups for its next three games of the week.

The cable provider will head to Aynor this Friday for the Blue Jackets’ game against Green Sea Floyds. Next week, HTC will be at Myrtle Beach-Socastee. Those two games will be broadcast solely on HTCConnect.com.

On Sept. 18, the games will return to live television on HTC Channel 4 when Carolina Forest-Myrtle Beach is featured. That game, as well as the rest of them this season, will also be available through the webcast.

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 4:06 PM with the headline "High school notebook: Ground game keying Green Sea Floyds’ strong start."