An improved St. James hopes this is the year it finally beats Myrtle Beach

St. James is ready for the day when it doesn’t have to answer questions about its not-so-great mile markers.

The football program has yet to have to a winning season in 11 years of varsity play. It’s made the playoffs just twice, with one of those times coming in spite of a 2-8 regular season.

But while the Sharks’ struggles have come under different head coaches with different players and against some opponents that were better than others, one team has had as much to do with St. James’ losing ways over the years as anyone.

Myrtle Beach.

The Seahawks have been one-part Everest, one part white whale.

“As an entire athletic department, we’re so close to gaining respect all the way around. The goal in Class AAA was to beat Hilton Head, which has won the cup,” said St. James Athletics Director Paula Lee, referring to the South Carolina High School League’s all-sports trophy. “For us to beat Myrtle Beach, I think it would take the whole school and this whole athletic department to the next level.”

The reason is clear: St. James, heading into its 12th meeting all-time against the perennial region-title contenders on Friday, is 0-11 against Myrtle Beach. And until Mickey Wilson’s team won last year’s game 38-31, the annual matchup had a reputation for not even being all that close. The first 10 were all decided by 22 points or more, and Myrtle Beach won seven of them by at least 40 points.

That history added up to become a bit of a road block in itself. It was, after all, hard to find confidence going into a game against Horry County’s best team over that stretch when the final scores were so lopsided each time out.

Even now, with St. James having arguably its best squad to date, the figures are impossible to ignore. Senior receiver Jackson Hurston said he and other players know, although he may have stronger memories than most.

His father, Billy, was the team’s coach during its first seven seasons. Jackson was either in the stands or on the sidelines to witness it firsthand.

“Whenever my dad was coaching, I remember getting beat by them year after year after year,” Jackson Hurston said. “We all know that we’ve never beaten Myrtle Beach. Coach [Robby] Brown always tells us not to worry about that. We’re focused on getting to 2-1 in the region. It would be a huge win for us. But it sticks in the back of my mind.”

Yet, previous losing ways against other teams have already shown not to be debilitating this year. The Sharks opened the season with their first win over Loris in six tries. They also capped the non-region portion of the schedule by defeating S.C. 707 rival Socastee for just the third time in 14 games.

Lee, the players and even opposing coaches say the Sharks’ 4-3 start and 1-1 region record may have has much to do with Brown as anything else. The calm coach set three goals for the beginning of the season (beat Socastee, earn a winning record and make the playoffs), but he’s been able to find a way to convince his team that it can’t accomplish those final two in a single game.

So while he’s stressing week-by-week concentration, he’s certainly not worried about losing streaks.

“It doesn’t come up around us. I haven’t ever talked like that because there’s a team in the past we haven’t beaten,” he said. “Either you’re a winner – you believe in yourself and what you’re doing – or you’re not.”

The Sharks have looked much more like the former this season.

There were the victories over Loris and Socastee, and Saturday’s 31-8 blowout victory over Wilson on the road equated to its biggest margin of victory in a region game in school history.

Quarterback Zach Werba has developed into one of the area’s top passers while remaining extremely efficient. Hurston, after leading the basketball program to an unprecedented season last winter, is among the Grand Strand’s top receivers. Jay-Mion Pressley and Jamarius Faulkner have combined to form a solid one-two punch out of the backfield behind a line that was adjusted for some injuries early on.

And the Sharks’ defense has come together to allow fewer than 19 points per game.

The total package has mimicked the complete feel of the rest of the school’s varsity teams, which have had plenty of local and statewide successes of their own.

“Last year, without winning a state championship, at every level, it seemed like we were so close,” Lee said. “We were all over the state of South Carolina in the playoffs. After a while, I think it caught on.

“I feel like this is the year. And I tell Coach Brown that all the time. … I think it is going to be one of the most exciting trips to Myrtle Beach in that our kids believe they can win.”

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 5:31 PM with the headline "An improved St. James hopes this is the year it finally beats Myrtle Beach."