North Myrtle Beach loaded, sets sights on special season

Football coaches are often judged in terms of success and long-term potential after their third year with a program.

Blair Hardin has an opportunity to create a whole lot of believers.

Nearly everything on paper says North Myrtle Beach is primed for a big season. The Chiefs return significant talent to a team that has been getting better consistently since Hardin took over prior to 2014.

Putting everything he has installed together – not teaching the basics – now becomes his challenge.

“Our guys have heard the same thing for two years now. The phrase I’ve been using the most is ‘fine-tuning,’ ” Hardin said. “We’ve lost a lot of games over the last two years by a touchdown or less. To me, it’s about the small details.”

There were six such games that fit into that category during Hardin’s first two seasons at the helm. And some of those were head-scratchers, especially last year. The Chiefs suffered a loss to two-win Socastee one week after a thrilling upset of Carolina Forest. And the flood-induced Tuesday game against Georgetown – in which North Myrtle Beach looked as flat as it had all season – was sandwiched between the lone region victories of the year.

Hardin then watched as his squad dropped games against St. James and Myrtle Beach before getting booted from the playoffs by Hartsville in the opening round.

But unlike last year, the first full year in his option offense, that side of the ball doesn’t need to tinker or even replace many players. Tailback Kered Class will be back in tow after rushing for 1,127 yards and 10 touchdowns, all while averaging better than seven yards per carry. Quarterback Ronnie Bass will be returning with 15 starts under his belt. And receiver Tyler Gore, the team’s leading receiver from last year, provides the Chiefs some balance against the run.

There were flashes of all that coming together in 2015. Now, the offense and its nine returning starters thinks it can take a big step forward.

“We’re pushing each other,” Class said. “We’re still learning the plays, and the coaches are more aggressive about teaching. Last year, we were trying to learn what to do with it. This year, we’re going to keep going with it.”

Hardin’s riches are alive on defense, too. There, North Myrtle Beach brings back seven starters from a squad that is starting to take significant ownership of its own fate.

Where that path leads is up the players, but with so much of the base a year older, the Chiefs think they have every right to be in the mix for the Region VII-4A title at the end of the year.

“I believe we can. We’ve been very close the last two years,” he said. “Our region is very balanced and very tough, but that’s one of our goals, to compete for a region championship every single year.”

This season, the pieces are certainly there to make that a realistic goal.

This story was originally published August 7, 2016 at 5:07 PM with the headline "North Myrtle Beach loaded, sets sights on special season."