Myrtle Beach’s opponent still up in air as Broome files second appeal to SCHSL

The Myrtle Beach football team is one step closer to facing Dreher to open the playoffs.

On Tuesday, an appeal to the South Carolina High School League that would have bumped Dreher for fellow Upper State program Broome was denied by the Executive Committee. Broome had filed paperwork stating that it, and not Dreher, should have held the final at-large berth from the Upper State.

However, the committee sided with the original selection conducted by the region coordinators that was officially finalized and released Saturday morning. The (Columbia) State newspaper reported that Broome will have a second appeal in front of the SCHSL appellate panel at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Either way, the Seahawks and coach Mickey Wilson are going forward with the thought that Dreher will be the team playing Myrtle Beach at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.

“Saturday, we exchanged film with Dreher,” Wilson said. “Sunday around lunchtime we got a phone call saying Broome was going to appeal. We came in Sunday and prepared for two ball teams, which is really tough to do. There is a lot of preparation that goes into that. You’re playing teams that you haven’t played in the past.”

According to online records, Myrtle Beach and Dreher have never played each other. The Seahawks did play, and beat, Broome once before, in the 1981 state finals.

This year’s playoffs are configured differently, though, which is what opened the door for Broome’s appeal.

In Class AAA, 17 Upper State teams and 15 Lower State teams qualify for the playoffs. Each portion is given three at-large spots, with those based off a points systems that rewards teams for more difficult strengths of schedule.

This year, the additional Upper State school took the place of what would have been Region VI-AAA’s fourth-place finisher, based on the points system, and was paired with Region VII-AAA champion Myrtle Beach in the opening round.

According to The State, which was on site for the proceedings, Broome was challenging language in the Class AAA handbook regarding the use of a mark-off game toward the overall points system. The language in the handbook is not clear, although the practice of marking off one game has been used since the division began using it in 2012.

“We’ll continue to prepare for Dreher, but we understand there’s an appeal process,” Wilson said. “We’ll keep our Broome stuff just in case.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach’s opponent still up in air as Broome files second appeal to SCHSL."