WHAT WE SAW: 2022 CNB Kickoff Classic

The Grand Strand is in for some change.   If the CNB Kickoff Classic was further indication of how much turnover 10 of the teams in the northeastern portion of the state have had. It was also a sneak peak of much of what we'll see in the regular season and beyond.   Aynor's slightly re-tooled offense. Myrtle Beach moving on from the Ryan Burger/Adam Randall era. Loris and all that speed.   Yes, we saw some previews of what is to come, all at Coastal Carolina's Brooks Stadium on Friday night.   Game 1: Myrtle Beach 14, Socastee 7   Myrtle Beach's revamped offense includes six new starters, but the Seahawk offense - even one that was pieced together somewhat Friday - had their best night of its three scrimmages. Likely backup quarterback Wyatt Cannon took over the starting job for transfer [player_tooltip player_id='58826' first='Trey' last='Dunn'] (injury). And while Cannon might not have the biggest of arms, he was extremely comfortable in and out of the pocket. Some of his best throws (namely to receivers [player_tooltip player_id='336119' first='Jake' last='Doty'], [player_tooltip player_id='272701' first='John' last='Simmons'] and Kenny Brown) came while scrambling.   Socastee, meanwhile, showed the 2022 version of its offense was going to wrap around [player_tooltip player_id='139313' first='Rocco' last='Wojcik'], Quadir Scott and [player_tooltip player_id='340389' first='Caden' last='O'Keefe']. The three-headed monster isn't as simple as quarterback, receiver and tailback. O'Keefe (pictured), the starting running back, showed he's got some acumen catching the ball out of the backfield. And Wojcik (the starting quarterback) and Scott (a starting receiver) flipped positions late in the scrimmage and even picked up a nifty first down of a slant route.   That dynamic keeps these two players front and center, with O'Keefe holding down the fort.   Game 2: Conway 10, Waccamaw 7   Waccamaw fans already know all about quarterback Jaret Yonker. He was the team's starter last year and put up more than 1,300 total yards and 10 touchdowns. But what the Warriors saw, even in a losing effort, was how much he was able to spread the ball around with ease.   Yonker connected with brothers AJ Grate and Andre Grate (more on them later Saturday), Colin Behney and a number of others. It's by design as most of the defenses in the Warriors' region have the type of defenders who can shut down one-dimensional passing games.   Conway, meanwhile, was able to get carries for players who normally back up starting running back Rodney Huggins, who was out Friday. Justin Hill and Cedric Rogers both had opportunities.   Of course, the rushing attack is secondary to what the Tigers do well, which is allow quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='208332' first='Devin' last='Grainger'] to make plays. Time and again, Grainger connected with [player_tooltip player_id='997250' first='Derek' last='Grant'], Chris Quick and Aiden Brantley. Grainger wasn't perfect, but he was effective in his biggest action without last year's star receiver, Carlton Terry Jr.   Game 3: Carolina Forest 14, Loris 6   As much emphasis has been placed upon the passing game that Carolina Forest has been developing for the past 12 months, the strength of this team will be much aligned with the approach that has been the Panthers' bread and butter in the Marc Morris era.   Tailbacks [player_tooltip player_id='267465' first='Kalil' last='Johnson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='272722' first='Zion' last='Gilbert'] appear to be the top two options there, and Gilbert's touchdown with 106 seconds remaining gave Carolina Forest their first lead. Jamauri Davis then cemented the action with a 56-yard pick-six.   Loris, though, is going to be trouble this year. Even against the much bigger Panthers, the front seven in particular was showing off a motor that allowed it to neutralize Carolina Forest's size through most of the session. On top of others we've mentioned in the past, keep an eye on outside linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='208345' first='Jordan' last='Vancise'].   Game 4: St. James 14, North Myrtle Beach 13   Coaches and players have been raving about St. James senior running back and linebacker Markey Faulkner since spring ball. In an instant Friday, he backed up all that faith. Midway through the session, Faulkner took an option pitch, weaved through traffic and found his way into the end zone for among the biggest highlights of the night. (It didn't hurt that he dove and touched the ball against the pylon.) With more plays like that, he keeps some of the heat of dual-threat quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='91513' first='Connor' last='Schwalm'], himself a prominent runner.   North Myrtle Beach may have been the biggest eye-opener of the evening. The Chiefs lost more than 50 players from the last two graduating classes but didn't look like a squad of guys unprepared for 2022.   Quarterback Chance Hall, running backs DeQuan Durham and Evans Bellamy and receiver [player_tooltip player_id='929482' first='Kaden' last='Gore'] each had aha moments.   Game 5: Aynor 14, Green Sea Floyds 0   Green Sea Floyds started things off with a bang by using its first play from the scrimmage to hand the ball off to 6-foot, 270-pound tailback Deandre Simmons. We're just going to get this out of the way now: He's going to dump-truck a lot of opposing defenders this year, sure. But don't sleep on his shiftiness. He ripped off a 46-yarder in which he got upfield quick, then broke to the outside of the field.   Aynor, of course, was Aynor. The Blue Jackets and first-year starting quarterback Daniel Stanley, tailbacks Gavin Kirby and Rivers Johnson and fullback Emmanuel Deas are again potent. This one really wasn't in doubt six minutes in, as Aynor controlled the clock and played stout defense, save for a couple of plays.

The Grand Strand is in for some change.