High school notebook: Playoff spots up for grabs for many area football teams

With no more than two games remaining for every area football team, we’re already starting to pin down which teams will be playoff bound, which are still alive and which teams can try to finish strong and move on to 2016.

Heading into Week 10 games, Conway and Myrtle Beach have punched their tickets. The Tigers (8-1 overall, 3-0 Region VI-AAAA) can finish no worse than third in the division. A win over Sumter on Friday would also give Chuck Jordan’s team the region championship.

Myrtle Beach has already accomplished that in Region VII-AAA. The Seahawks (6-3, 4-0) will be a No. 1 seed when the Class AAA playoffs open on November 13.

As for the rest of the area, nothing is written in stone.

In Class AAAA, both Carolina Forest and Socastee are still mathematically alive for the postseason. The Braves would have to win both games and receive some help. Carolina Forest, should it not finish in the top three, could possibly earn an at-large spot, although that would also require some help if the Panthers don’t win out.

The area Class AAA teams (other than Myrtle Beach) are all in the thick of an interesting scenario. North Myrtle Beach, St. James and Georgetown are all 2-2 and tied for second place in Region VII along with Lake City. Each of the four teams has a head-to-head tie-breaker over at least one of the other three, with St. James and Lake City playing this week. Two of those four teams are guaranteed a berth, and third team will likely qualify as an at-large.

Loris, Waccamaw and Aynor aren’t quite on equal footing; the first two have two remaining region games while the Blue Jackets have just one. That also means they have an additional chance to pick up a much-needed win. For Loris, a win over Aynor on Friday and Marion next week would earn the Lions a spot.

Waccamaw, which plays state powerhouse Dillon on Friday, needs to win its game next week against Mullins and probably get some help from either the Auctioneers or Marion.

Aynor must win at Loris to keep its slim postseason hopes alive.

The Class A points system favors teams who finish higher in their respective regions. That means Carvers Bay, currently in third place in Region VIII-A and with a decent points total given games against several teams from larger classes, could all but lock up a berth with a win Friday against Hemingway. Green Sea-Floyds is currently fifth in the region. However, the Trojans aren’t out of the race just yet. If they are able to pull off an upset over Latta on Friday, it may be just enough to qualify Tony Sullivan’s team.

HTC GAME OF THE WEEK

The HTC Game of the Week will head to Little River this week for North Myrtle Beach’s home game against Myrtle Beach. The game will be broadcast live on HTC Channel 4 and online at HTCConnect.com.

It will then be re-broadcast twice on Monday.

The provider has also announced it will be at Conway in Week 11 for the Tigers’ regular-season finale against Carolina Forest. That game will be also aired on television and the internet feed.

PRESEASON HOOPS EVENT TO BEGIN

The success of the annual CNB Kickoff Classic football event has inspired a similar precursor to this year’s basketball season.

The Myrtle Beach Sports Center will host a 20-team field on November 21. It will include the boys and girls teams from the nine Horry County high schools and one additional boys and girls team from a yet-to-be-determined program.

The games will be 20-minute scrimmages.

“We got all the coaches in the room at the same time, and they decided it would be a good idea,” said Mark Beale, the marketing manager of the Myrtle Beach Sports Center. “I think it will last. … As long as the coaches like it, I think it will keep going.”

At least for now, the event is being called the Buddy Rogers Shootout, as it will coincide with the monument ceremony for the late Myrtle Beach, Socastee and Coastal Academy coach. Rogers died in 2005 after becoming one of the most influential sports personalities on the Grand Strand.

Beale said the organizers are still searching for a title sponsor to help cover some of the costs. However, with at least 18 teams locked in, the event is a full go. The plan began begin discussed over the summer and materialized quickly with the support of area coaches.

On November 10, a news conference and luncheon formally announcing the event will take place. At that time, the actual draw for games will be conducted.

An all-day ticket will be $6, and they will be available through the Sports Center and the individual participating schools next month.

SOCASTEE HALL OF FAME CLASS

Socastee has released its four inductees for its 2015 Athletics Hall of Fame class.

The list includes two former coaches who started their careers at the school in the 1960s – Horace Huggins and Bill Smith – one of the best tennis players in state history in Page Bates Nash, and former standout football running back Randy Sinclair. They will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on Nov. 6, prior to the football team’s regular-season finale against Sumter.

Sinclair, one of the more memorable running backs, still holds single-season and career rushing records at the school before graduating in 1994. He originally signed a scholarship with the University of South Carolina, where he played defensive back.

Bates Nash graduated from Socastee in 1988 after finishing her tennis career with a 63-0 all-time record. Smith, who graduated from the school in 1956, went on to coach multiple sports from 1962-’78.

Huggins also coached multiple sports between 1966-’73.

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 2:39 PM with the headline "High school notebook: Playoff spots up for grabs for many area football teams."