Week 4’s Top Games Along The Coast

Week 4 of the football slate shifted considerably on Monday, with games in the Grand Strand, Pee Dee and Lowcountry coming and going like the wind. Three managed the first day of potential gut punches. A prime SCISA game in Florence will pit two of the state’s best. One of the state’s best defenses is playing a Class 3A program unafraid to play anyone. A key region-opening contest has remained true to the original plan. <strong>First Baptist (3-1) at Trinity Collegiate (3-0)</strong> A year ago, First Baptist got the better of Titans, winning 24-15. You better believe Trinity Collegiate has payback on their minds, and the weapons to pull it off. Behind [player_tooltip player_id="91178" first="Reggion" last="Bennett"], [player_tooltip player_id="200708" first="Tre" last="McLeod"] (pictured) and <strong>Daishone Small</strong>, the Titans can overwhelm most opponents in a hurry. After all, this is a team that dropped 74 points two Fridays back. Bennett is the biggest reason why. The Buffalo commit went off for 396 yards of total offense against Pinewood Prep, scoring four touchdowns in the process.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> <strong>Beaufort (3-0) at Oceanside Collegiate (1-3)</strong> No one is going to accuse Oceanside coach Joe Call of playing a soft schedule. The Landsharks (1-3) are about to play their third top-five ranked opponent in four weeks. And against the Eagles and their high-octane defense, running back [player_tooltip player_id="89344" first="Vaughn" last="Blue"], quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="91220" first="Colby" last="Shirey"] and a slew of receivers are going to have to be better than they’ve been all season. That will be much easier if Oceanside’s offensive line, including [player_tooltip player_id="89337" first="Monroe" last="Freeling"] and [player_tooltip player_id="59486" first="Jacob" last="Ashley"], can withstand the pressure from talented counterparts [player_tooltip player_id="89341" first="Eamon" last="Smalls"] and [player_tooltip player_id="200665" first="Alvin" last="Wilson"] at Beaufort. <strong>Hartsville (0-3) at North Myrtle Beach (2-0)</strong> Hartsville’s defense is clearly struggling during the early going, but the Red Foxes’ offense certainly isn’t. While Jeff Calabrese’s team is winless, it’s averaging 37 points per game thanks to a strong rushing attack from <strong>J’Shawn Anderson</strong> (345 yards, five touchdowns) and <strong>Carmello McDaniel</strong> (268, five) and just enough balance from quarterback <strong>McKendrie Douglas</strong> (24-27-0, 400 yards, three touchdowns). The Chiefs will counter with their own explosive offensive running game, one led by [player_tooltip player_id="91208" first="Elijah" last="Vereen"] (385 yards, eight touchdowns) and [player_tooltip player_id="200765" first="Tavarius" last="Hooks"] (272, two). North Myrtle Beach’s defense is more polished right now, but the start of Region VI-4A play could lead to some nerves, too.