LITTLE RIVER, S.C. — Beach boasting rights are staying in Myrtle Beach, as for the fourth year in a row the Myrtle Beach Seahawks knocked off the North Myrtle Beach Chiefs, this time in a 55-21 final from North Myrtle Beach High School on Friday night.
The Seahawks were able to rebound from last week’s defeat in Wilson and finish their regular season at 5-5 (3-3 in region) with the victory while North Myrtle Beach (6-4, 2-4 in region) dropped their fourth consecutive contest after starting the season a perfect 6-0.
Head Coach Mickey Wilson thought this was the best game the Seahawks played all season from start to finish. With Myrtle Beach’s four prior wins coming by a combined 19 points, it was a welcome dsight for Wilson to see a total team effort for all 48 minutes.
“Just really proud of our guys, we played a complete game tonight,” Wilson said. “All year long we’ve been playing great in spurts but haven’t taken advantage of playing great for all four quarters, and I thought we did that tonight.”
If you like a lot of points, this was the game for you with seven total touchdowns and 49 points scored between the two teams in the first 24 minutes. The Seahawks led 28-21 at the break.
Myrtle Beach won the opening coin toss and elected to receive, which proved to be a good decision. They marched 80 yards down the field in under two minutes to get on the board first, with JJ Brown’s 48-yard touchdown catch proving to be the biggest play of the series.
North Myrtle Beach wasted no time answering back. Jayden Wilson had carries of 30 and 13 yards on the drive, the latter of which was the touchdown that tied the game at 7 less than four minutes later.
After then forcing a Myrtle Beach punt, the Chiefs continued to stack momentum, going another 77 yards to the end zone on their next offensive possession to take a 14-7 lead. This drive took two plays: a 76-yard run by Wilson and a 1-yard touchdown run by Evan Barrett.
As if according to script, the Seahawks would answer back in short order, thanks mainly to a 15-yard penalty against the Chiefs and a 42-yard touchdown pass from Camden DeBruhl to Amare Brown that evened the score at 14 apiece. That would be the score at the end of the first quarter.
The Seahawks were then able to force a quick Chiefs punt and score yet again. They successfully dinked and dunked their way down the field, then hit a big 30-yard pass play to JJ Brown before a 5-yard touchdown run by Amare Brown gave them their first lead since the opening minutes.
After forcing another North Myrtle Beach punt, the Seahawks extended their advantage, with a little help from an interception getting wiped out by a defensive interference call. Outside of that play, a 49-yard touchdown pass from DeBruhl to JJ Brown doubled Myrtle Beach’s lead up to 28-14 with 2:17 left in the half.
The Chiefs were finally able to put a good drive together just before the break. After getting good field position (their own 46-yard line), Reo Stevenson had a 33-yard carry, Wilson had a 13-yard tote, and a penalty against Myrtle Beach on a field goal attempt encouraged the Chiefs to go for on it on 4th & goal from the 3-yard line, which Wilson made good on to make it 28-21 at the intermission.
The start of the third quarter immediately had a 14-point swing of events that set the tone for the rest of the game. North Myrtle Beach returned the opening kickoff all the way to Myrtle Beach’s 8-yard line, but they went backwards in a hurry and eventually turned the ball over on downs.
The Seahawks instantly made the Chiefs pay, marching 84 yards to paydirt to restore their two-touchdown advantage. JJ Brown’s 18-yard touchdown catch was his third of the night.
After a first half that was a shootout, the Seahawks’ defense really stepped up in the second half by shutting the Chiefs out completely. That first series was a great example of them making plays when they needed to, which is something Wilson was encouraged to see.
“They’ve been getting better all year, not quite as fast as we would like but you can see those guys getting better on that side of the ball as a unit,” Wilson said. “They played well tonight, just really proud of them.”
Myrtle Beach continued to control the game, forcing another Chiefs punt, which was downed at the Seahawks’ 1-yard line. Any thoughts of good field position for the Chiefs ended on the first play, with Amare Brown ripping off a 57-yard run and eventually scoring from three yards out to make it 42-21.
Things didn’t get any better for North Myrtle Beach after that. They turned the ball over on downs and allowed another touchdown to JJ Brown, this one from 39 yards out that put them up to 49 points on the night and up by 28.
An interception by Makhi Shaw that was returned to the Chiefs’ 33-yard line set up the Seahawks well again. Jamori Davis did most of the work down to the 4-yard line, while Amare Brown cashed in on the ground from there, his fourth score of the game, to make it 55-21 just as the final frame got underway.
The SCHSL playoffs begin next week on Nov. 6. Both teams will now wait to see if they will be a part of the festivities and who they might match up against.