Prep notebook: Myrtle Beach, Byrnes to renew football rivalry this fall

From 2009 to 2011, Myrtle Beach and Byrnes held at least a small claim as the most dominant football programs in the state in their respective classes.

Myrtle Beach reached the state finals twice and won a championship. Byrnes played for three and won twice. Earlier in each of those seasons, the teams faced off in some of the more hyped games of the non-region slates across South Carolina.

This fall, the two regular state title contenders will re-launch a two-year series when the Rebels come to Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium to open the 2016 season.

“It makes you better, win, lose or draw,” Myrtle Beach coach Mickey Wilson said. “No matter what the scoreboard says, it makes you a better at the end of the day. I would like to think we’re one of the better programs in the state of South Carolina. When you’re one of those programs, you have to play a team like Byrnes.”

The first game of the home-and-home series will be played on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 6 p.m. It will then move to Duncan, outside Spartanburg, in 2017.

Playing Byrnes again was an avenue Myrtle Beach began exploring prior to the start of the 2015 season when it became apparent that the 10-team Derrick Law Firm Carolinas Clash was coming to a close after four years. The event, originally known as the Surf and Turf Kickoff Clash, eventually matched five South Carolina programs against counterparts from North Carolina.

However, the state vs. state idea never took off, especially when the games weren’t particularly competitive. Thirteen of the 16 contests in the Clash were decided by double digits. More importantly, low attendance prevented the schools or organizers from making the money necessary to make the effort worth it.

Myrtle Beach High School, the City of Myrtle Beach and Horry County Schools all elected not to renew their contracts, opening a week in the schedule for the Seahawks to find something else. It led them back to Byrnes, a team they had varying levels of productivity against during the last three-year run.

Byrnes crushed Myrtle Beach 65-14 in 2009. It was one of two losses for Wilson’s inaugural team that year, the other coming in the state finals to Clinton. Byrnes won the 2010 game 21-14. That one was probably better known as the night Everett Golson suffered hand and foot injuries, costing him eight regular-season games before he returned to lead Myrtle Beach to a state title.

The 2011 game was maybe Myrtle Beach’s biggest non-region victory in recent memory. The Seahawks’ 28-21 win came against a Byrnes team ranked No. 8 in the country in the USA Today Super 25 poll.

When the teams meet in August, each will have moved up one class. Byrnes will be a part of the first-year Class AAAAA, while Myrtle Beach will be AAAA.

In addition to that game, the Seahawks have a one-year deal to play New Hanover, one of the North Carolina teams that had previously blocked off a weekend for the Carolinas Clash. Wilson’s team will also play regular opponents West Florence, Socastee, Carolina Forest and Conway, four teams that will also be in the new Class AAAAA starting in the 2016-2017 school year. Beginning this fall, all South Carolina High School League teams will play 10 regular-season games.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Several Grand Strand hoops programs have already locked up playoff bids, while others are attempting to do enough in the final week of the regular season to punch their tickets.

Entering this week’s games, boys programs Carolina Forest, Waccamaw and Carvers Bay had already clinched a spot, courtesy of a strong first four weeks of region play. Local girls teams Conway, Socastee, Myrtle Beach, St. James, North Myrtle Beach and Carvers Bay had done the same.

Several teams are also fighting for a coveted first-round home playoff game, a reward for finishing in the top two in a region. So far, the Myrtle Beach and Carvers Bay girls teams had already assured themselves of a top-two finish.

The most convoluted region entering the final week of the regular season is no doubt the boys’ side of Region VII-AAA. St. James, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Wilson were all tied atop the division, standing at 5-3 heading into Tuesday’s games. Lake City was two games back at 3-5, with only Georgetown (1-7) having been eliminated from the playoff picture.

The region’s tiebreaker scenarios use head-to-head first, and then a points system awarding more credit for wins over teams at the top. Some of that could be sorted out after Tuesday’s games (Georgetown at Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach at Lake City and St. James at Wilson). However, more than likely, a multi-team tiebreaker could be necessary, including one that leads to an additional game. That happened in 2013, when Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach each finished the regular season with 9-1 region records.

HTC GAME OF THE WEEK

The final HTC Game of the Week program will take place this Friday at Conway for the Tigers’ basketball doubleheader against Carolina Forest.

The girls teams will tip off at 6 p.m., with the boys game to follow. Both will be shown live on HTC Channel 4 and livestreamed at HTCConnect.com. Each will then be re-broadcast multiple times next week.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Myrtle Beach, Byrnes to renew football rivalry this fall."