WF football beats Myrtle Beach for 1st time (2024)

IAN GUERIN

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — With its star receiver crumbled on the turf and head coach Mickey Wilson getting dragged off the field by one of his assistants while getting flagged by the officials, the reality of a painful night started to come into view for Myrtle Beach.

Wednesday’s 25-21 loss to West Florence at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium dealt the perennial region contender Seahawks a huge blow.

How it happened only added to Wilson’s frustration.

On the final meaningful snap of the game, Myrtle Beach sophom*ore John Simmons was reaching the ball toward the goal line when he was ruled to have fumbled the ball inside the 1-yard line. West Florence’s Tyler Brantley recovered, brought it out of the end zone and allowed the Knights to kneel out the final seconds of the game after an injured Simmons was helped off the field

Wilson was much more reserved in a post-game interview than he was during the final minute of the fourth quarter.

“It looked to me like he stretched the ball over the goal line,” Wilson said of his view from the sideline. “I’ll have to check it out on the camera.

“I was very disappointed in some things that happened in the game. Very disappointed. Very, very disappointed. I’m just going to leave it at that.”

While evidence of the Simmons play wasn’t clear-cut either way, this was one of those games in which Wilson already had reason to question the officials. Whether some of the calls during the first 47 minutes balanced out or not—that’s up for each team and its fans to debate—the officials played a huge role in the feel of the game.

Overall, the 14 penalties that were counted weren’t abundant but did seem to happen in big moments. Even without flags, other times gave both head coaches reason to argue.

At one point in the second half, when West Florence quarterback Deuce Hudson looked like he was about to break a long touchdown run, an official got caught in no-man’s land, ran into the senior and allowed Myrtle Beach to make a tackle.

What happened with Hudson on the previous drive was even bigger.

The quarterback was attempting to hit a receiver on an end-around on an obvious backward pass—video evidence showed it wasn’t even close to being considered forward—when officials immediately blew it dead as Myrtle Beach as a Myrtle Beach player was about to recover it.

At the time, Myrtle Beach was leading 21-18 and would have had the ball just outside the Knights red zone with a little over 9 minutes to play.

Instead, Hudson took over. He connected with Bryson Graves on a 47-yard pass and four players later ran it in himself from 14 yards out to give his team a four-point lead.

They ended up being the last points of the night and re-established how valuable Hudson is to now 6-0 West Florence.

“We had that fumble and he didn’t give any effort,” Knights coach Jody Jenerette said of a second-quarter turnover. “That’s just not like him. We had to get on him a little bit at halftime and challenge him. He’s a dude. He’s a winner. He knew if we had the ball it was going to be in his hands. He found a way to win.”

Hudson finished with 11 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another 86 yards while completing half his passes.

He was complemented by another stellar outing from tailback Darren Lloyd, who ended the game with 183 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Those three trips to the end zone and a Sam Spence field goal gave West Florence its first win over the Seahawks during their 11-game history. More importantly, Jenerette’s team continues to be among the front-runners in a region that might change week-to-week—even one when all six teams had to move up their games due to the expected weather issues caused by Hurricane Ian.

In the end, West overcame the short week better than the Seahawks.

“If you’re going to play for a state championship, you have to win a game like this along the way,” Jenerette said. “Myrtle Beach has won a bunch of those. Maybe it’s our turn.”

For the Seahawks, the loss means they have some work to do to get out of a spot they’ve so infrequently found themselves in. No Myrtle Beach team in Wilson’s 13 seasons has finished worse than in a tie for second place in region play.

With ranked Class 4A opponents Hartsville and South Florence on deck the next two weeks, the Seahawks’ chances to keep that streak going will be even more difficult after the loss to West Florence.

“Our kids played extremely hard. Man, we’re getting so much better,” Wilson said. “To lose a close one like that to the No. 3-ranked team in the state at home, it’s a tough, tough pill to swallow.”