WHAT WE SAW: St. James 17, Socastee 14

Ian Guerin October 7, 2022 @ 11:25 PM

MYRTLE BEACH | After a couple of early games, it became apparent that St. James had the type of quarterback who might be capable of going after the school's single-season passing mark.   Thanks to a big night from [player_tooltip player_id='91513' first='Connor' last='Schwalm'] on Friday, the Sharks will have at least one additional game for him to continue that pursuit this fall.   Schwalm threw for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns - including one to [player_tooltip player_id='1312432' first='Jace' last='Shropshire'] with just 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter - to spur St. James to a 17-14 win over nearby Socastee and earn the first playoff berth for any of the five teams in Region V-5A. Sumter, Carolina Forest, Socastee and Conway will not split up the three others.   But over the next three weeks, the Sharks will only be working on improving their seeding. St. James will be idle next Friday before games against expected region frontrunner Sumter and then the regular-season finale against Carolina Forest. Win one of those two games, and a program that has only qualified for the postseason three other times in its first 19 years of football will be hosting, too.    That's where the Sharks stand after a low-scoring but effective performance against Socastee, the school it broke off from to form St. James in 2003. Aside from Schwalm - who also ran for 50 yards in the win - the Sharks had some notable mentions on both sides of the ball.   Shropshire has missed significant time this season and entered Friday with seven receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown. His scoring grab in the final seconds is easily the biggest one of his career.   Senior Ben Sandt, who is third in Horry County in receiving yards, continued his outstanding season by snagging six receptions for 127 yards. The most impressive of the bunch was his 55-yard touchdown catch-and run with 27 seconds left in the opening quarter. On the play, Schwalm squeezed the throw into a tight window along the sideline. Sandt maintained possession while fighting off contact, spun away from the tackle and then took it the final 40 or so yards down the sideline.    Defensive end Chandler Stevens recorded a second-quarter sack that took Socastee out of Sharks territory late in the first half and then added another in the third quarter that helped negate another Socastee threat.   Grayson Gollie (forced fumble), Chris Skinner (two tackles for loss, forced fumble) and [player_tooltip player_id='997347' first='Josh' last='Sterling'] (fumble recovery) each had big individual plays that helped keep Socastee's offense from doing more damage.   In terms of that, it was mostly relegated to what Quadir Scott could do.   The quarterback-turned-receiver-turned quarterback threw for 100 yards on the dot against the Sharks while rushing 10 times for 85 more yards and both Socastee touchdowns. On the opening drive - a 16-play, 80-yard series that chewed up more than 6 minutes of clock, Scott was nearly perfect. He was two-of-three passing for 26 yards and ran for another 25 yards, including the 10-yard scamper to open the game's scoring.

MYRTLE BEACH | After a couple of early games, it became apparent that St. James had the type of quarterback who might be capable of going after the school's single-season passing mark.