2021 Season Preview: Myrtle Beach Seahawks

A receiver committed to Clemson. A quarterback committed to Appalachian State. An offensive line rolling in four starters from last year’s Lower State runner-up squad. Yeah, Myrtle Beach is probably going to put up some points. “There are some unknowns there at the other skill positions. We’ve got to really establish some other receivers as we go,” Seahawks coach Mickey Wilson said. “We feel good about those guys, but they’re definitely inexperienced. We’ve got to have someone step up for us and take the heat off of Adam.” [player_tooltip player_id="59464" first="Adam" last="Randall"], among the best receivers in the country, is verbally committed to Clemson. And even though he’s healthy after playing banged up for most of 2020, he also won’t have [player_tooltip player_id="59293" first="JJ" last="Jones"] lining up on the other side. Those two took considerable heat off the other last fall, allowing them to be a great 1-2 outside punch for quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="59494" first="Ryan" last="Burger"] (pictured). Randall will be seeing more double and even triple teams now that Jones is at North Carolina, but if the Seahawks can bridge that gap, the sky could be the limit thanks to the the make-up of the offensive line. Four starters return, including left tackle [player_tooltip player_id="146376" first="Wade" last="White"], center <strong>Cooper Abernathy</strong>, right guard <strong>Mac Walters</strong> and right tackle <strong>Vinny Calvacante</strong>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> “I’m super excited, as much as I love to throw the ball, for those guys,” Wilson said. “That will be the strength of our team to start with. It’s probably been a while since I’ve said that.” More than likely, Myrtle Beach is going to be one of the top-ranked Class 4A teams - if not the No. 1 squad - entering the year, especially with some of the defensive pieces that will also be back.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="146360" first="Cam" last="Ward"] will contend for the region’s defensive player of the year honors. Defensive ends [player_tooltip player_id="153241" first="Tre" last="Phillips"] and <strong>Dalton Epps</strong> can squeeze opposing offenses. Defensive backs <strong>Josh Gunn</strong>, <strong>Jordan Chestnut</strong> and <strong>Tyron Miles</strong> combined for 90 total tackles. Expected first-year starters <strong>Malachi Washington</strong> (running back), receiver <strong>Issac Brigillo</strong>, defensive back and receiver <strong>Michael Gillard</strong>, linebacker <strong>Ricky Escobar</strong> and defensive lineman <strong>Mantee Harrison</strong> could also make a huge difference. This is a squad that may lose a game or two along the way since Seahawks play only 5A squads (Carolina Forest, Conway, Socastee and Fort Dorchester) in the non-region slate. Of course, no one would be surprised if Myrtle Beach is 5-0 heading into the bulk of region play when it heads to West Florence on October 1, either. Or if Myrtle Beach made its six state championship game appearance since Wilson took over in 2009. “That’s where you want to be. You want to be at the top,” Wilson said. “Now, we’ve got a long way to go. But we’ve got a chance to be a really good football team come November or December.”