What We Saw: Myrtle Beach’s Dynamic Duo Too Much For Oceanside
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When Oceanside’s [player_tooltip player_id="153224" first="Rico" last="Harrell"] brought back the second-half kickoff 99 yards to give the Landsharks their first lead against Myrtle Beach, it looked like Joe Call’s team was getting the type of momentum to pull the upset.
Then, the Seahawks’ two studs took over.
Receiver and Clemson commitment [player_tooltip player_id="59464" first="Adam" last="Randall"] went off for nine receptions for 205 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another 80 yards on eight carries. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="59494" first="Ryan" last="Burger"] (pictured), verbally committed to Appalachian State, threw for 335 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another 66 yards.
It resulted in a 34-31 Myrtle Beach victory in the team’s season opener.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>
Burger and Randall were the obvious storyline. But they weren’t the entire picture. There was a lot going on Friday in this non-region game at The Citadel.
<strong>RUNNING BACK DEVELOPMENT</strong>
Oceanside junior [player_tooltip player_id="89344" first="Vaughn" last="Blue"] and Myrtle Beach’s <strong>Malachi Washington</strong> are still works in progress. And while Vaughn is still the more developed of the two - he’s a year older and has a full season of varsity experience under his belt - these are two backs who have a similar upside catching the ball out of the backfield.
Washington finished with five catches for 57 yards. Blue only had one reception (for 10 yards), but he’s fluid moving horizontally out of the backfield, something that will likely help add to a seemingly low reception total through four games for the Landsharks.
<strong>DEFENSIVE FRONT SEVENS FLEXING</strong>
Part of the reason both of those backs failed to reach the 100-yard mark as a tandem is because of how good the opposing lines played. These units were disruptive from the get-go, as they teamed up to record three sacks in the first eight minutes and eight overall in the game.
Oceanside’s <strong>Timmy Castain</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id="59472" first="James" last="Deveaux"] each got into the act early, and after handful of Myrtle Beach players snagged one early, linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="146360" first="Cam" last="Ward"] had a big second-quarter stop that lost the Landsharks eight yards and led to a punt.
<strong>THIS AND THAT</strong>
*Oceanside quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="91220" first="Colby" last="Shirey"] was a perfect 10-of-10 in the second half until his final throw - one that was intercepted by Myrtle Beach junior defensive back <strong>Josh Gunn</strong>. Shirey, a transfer from Summerville, finished the game 21-of-27 for 206 yards, two touchdown and an interception.
*Shirey’s accuracy was no doubt helped by his team’s love of the shovel pass. Oceanside ran it nine times against Myrtle Beach, including once to <strong>Jace Kraftchick</strong>, who took it 40 yards for a score.
*Among the younger players at Myrtle Beach to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is receiver <strong>Jake Doty</strong>. The junior (and brother of current University of South Carolina quarterback <strong>Luke Doty</strong>) has been getting a ton of reps in the slot, a position that has typically been a key cog in the Seahawks’ offense stretching back to current head coach Mickey Wilson’s first years as offensive coordinator in the early 2000s.
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