Myrtle Beach survives after Socastee pushes game to the brink

The Socastee Braves showed they are growing up while the Myrtle Beach Seahawks proved they still have plenty of work ahead of them to reach the heights many saw in their future to begin this season.

Myrtle Beach, the fourth-ranked team in Class AAA, had to stop a late two-point conversion attempt to hold off the winless Braves for a 34-32 victory on Friday night.

“I couldn’t be more proud of a bunch of young men that battled toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the state,” Socastee coach Doug Illing said. “We had a chance to tie it up at the end and possibly win it. … I am very proud of their effort. I like our boys. They are competitors.”

Trailing 34-26, Socastee (0-4) took over at its own 10 with 3:53 left in the game and quickly went to work. Senior quarterback Brandon Goswick found senior Dalton Jonas for a 43-yard gain on the first play. That same combination ended the 8-play, 90-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown with 1:41 on the clock as Jonas pulled in the pass over a Seahawks defender as he was falling into the end zone. Goswick’s pass on the two-point attempt failed, and the Seahawks recovered the onside kick to run out the clock.

As positive as the night was for Socastee, it may well serve as a wake-up call for the Seahawks.

“I am real disappointed,” Myrtle Beach coach Mickey Wilson said. “I feel like we didn’t play well tonight. We didn’t execute well. We got to play better football. We are very capable, but we have to start executing and listening better, and performing better on Friday nights all across the board – coaches, players, everybody.”

Myrtle Beach (2-1) built a quick 14-0 lead behind the running of Brandon Sinclair. After Seahawks quarterback Drayton Arnold threw an interception on the first offensive play of the game, Socastee went three-and-out, but went for it on a fourth-and-1 from its own 37. A quick screen pass failed to get the first, and Myrtle Beach took over from the Braves’ 21 after a 15-yard penalty on Socastee. It took Sinclair two runs to get Myrtle Beach on the board. Sinclair then made it 14-0 Seahawks with a 23-yard run midway through the opening quarter.

The first sign that Socastee would make it a game came on the ensuing kickoff when Jonas broke free for a 96-yard return for a touchdown. It was the first of five plays of 30 yards or more for the usually grinding Braves. Goswick had touchdown throws of 73 and 36 in the second quarter as Socastee took advantage of one-on-one coverage by the Myrtle Beach defense.

“That is what they were giving us,” Illing said. “They put eight or nine guys in the box, man-to-man on the outside, and we like who we got out there. We thought we had some good matchups and took advantage of it. The quarterback did a great job making the throws, and the receivers did a good job running routes.”

Goswick had a big night, completing 19-of-24 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 33 yards and a score. Taylor Karnap was Goswick’s top target with six catches for 137 yards and a touchdown.

“He is a senior quarterback in only his fourth varsity game,” Illing said of Goswick. “… As he gets more comfortable under the lights and 11 different jerseys coming after him, he is getting better and better. He showed tonight a lot of tough skin to sit in there and make some tough throws under some tough situations.”

Sinclair added a third rushing touchdown in the first quarter and finished the opening quarter with 117 yards on the ground on 11 carries. In all, Sinclair carried 29 times for 287 yards and five touchdowns. He had three scores called back for penalties, although on two of those he scored later in the same drive.

“Brandon has worked extremely hard in the offseason, and he has gotten bigger, faster, and stronger,” Wilson said. “He is a tough guy to tackle. He was very impressive tonight. He is carrying us right now for sure.”

While Sinclair starred, the Myrtle Beach aerial attack struggled as Arnold threw for 90 yards and completed seven of his 15 pass attempts along with the early interception.

“We are struggling throwing the football right now, and that is unusual for us,” Wilson said. “… We got to figure it out. I don’t know if it is receivers, quarterbacks, or what, but we got to get to work and figure it out in a hurry.”

While the first half had a lot of scoring, it was also filled with several significant calls by the referees.

Late in the first quarter, Socastee stopped Myrtle Beach on a fourth-down play from the Braves’ 26, but a late flag for sideline interference on Socastee gave Myrtle Beach a first down. Before the next snap, Illing was flagged for arguing and a few seconds later was flagged again. The two unsportsmanlike penalties meant the third-year coach was ejected from the game. Assistant coach Steve Hodge took over for Illing the rest of the way.

Midway through the second quarter, Karnap’s 36-yard touchdown reception from Goswick pulled Socastee within 21-20, but a two-point conversion pass attempt failed. On the ensuing kickoff, Socastee tried a short pooch kick that the Braves recovered just inside Myrtle Beach territory. But the Braves were called for being offsides and had to kickoff again. Socastee tried the same short pooch kick, and as a Myrtle Beach player waved for a fair catch, a Braves player snatched the ball out of the air before the Seahawks could field it. A flag was thrown for fair catch interference and negated the Braves’ recovery.

Neither coach wanted to comment on the officiating after the game, although Illing did commend Hodge and his other assistants.

“The old option guy came out and started throwing it,” Illing said of Hodge. “I put them in a tough spot. … They did a fantastic job to put our kids in successful situations and to give them a chance to win at the end.”

Despite the loss, Illing believes his young team has big things ahead.

“We have gotten better each and every week,” Illing said. “We knew if we kept grinding and kept working hard that this team was going to make a turn for the good. They are going to be in competition for a championship when it is all said and done. People are going to count us out, and that is okay. We know what we got, and we know where we are at and the progress we have made. … We are not there yet, but we get closer every week. I really believe this team is going to make a run.”

Myrtle Beach will host Carolina Forest next week while Socastee will travel to North Myrtle Beach.

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 12:45 AM with the headline "Myrtle Beach survives after Socastee pushes game to the brink."