Week 11 Games and Players to Watch on the Coast

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From Florence to Bluffton, the coast will represent a number of the final regular season games in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Of course, this situation presented itself after several pockets of the Grand Strand and Pee Dee and Lowcountry elected to push back games in relation to Hurricane Helene's impacts. What it did was extend some seasons another week into November for some and&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>GRAND STRAND AND PEE DEE</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SPRING VALLEY (0-9, 0-5) AT WEST FLORENCE (6-3, 3-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Florence has already firmly planted itself inside the playoff picture. What the Knights need to focus on against winless Spring Valley is continuing to reset its defense after last week's impressive 13-8 win over Westwood. That's where <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165145' first='Clayton' last='Folse']</strong> (57 tackles, eight tackles for loss), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360071' first='Bobby' last='Patterson']</strong> (59 tackles), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025773' first='Romello' last='Patterson']</strong> (32 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks) and <strong>Thomas Moore</strong> (49 tackles, 10 tackles for loss) need to step up and do what coach Jody Jenerette knows they're capable of. If West takes over this game, it could unlock an even more favorable playoff seed.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NORTH MYRTLE BEACH (3-5, 3-1) AT CAROLINA FOREST (5-3-1, 4-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Go ahead and plan on keeping an eye on North Myrtle Beach tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1574055' first='Drew' last='Prince']</strong> in this one. Because as much as the Chiefs have continued to utilize quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='985097' first='Landon' last='Cloninger']</strong> and receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='929482' first='Kaden' last='Gore']</strong> this year, it's been Prince who has been the steadying force for this offense. He enters the game just 25 yards shy of 1,000 on the season and has paired that with six touchdowns. No shock here, but Carolina Forest has already proved it will prioritize the run. The top tandem of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1148537' first='Jaryn' last='Fox']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1149046' first='Chris' last='Livingston']</strong> have each scored at least one touchdown apiece in each of the last five games while a powerful line led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253897' first='Christian' last='Huynh']</strong> lets those tailbacks run downhill on everyone.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MYRTLE BEACH (5-4, 3-1) AT SOCASTEE (4-5, 2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a long time since we've seen Myrtle Beach abandon its passing attack. And with quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1254177' first='Gibson' last='Goodroe']</strong> (injury) is expected to miss the regular-season finale, this might be as close as we come to it. Starting tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1394751' first='Michael' last='Cohen']</strong> (672 yards, four touchdowns) and Rhino package option <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267229' first='Antonio' last='Brown']</strong> (291 yards, 14 touchdowns) are likely going to get their work in early and often. That's going to put added pressure on linebackers <strong>David Covalli</strong> and <strong>Daniel Devaux</strong> (pictured) and safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158009' first='Jonathan' last='Goswick']</strong> to ensure Myrtle Beach isn't getting big yards after contact. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ST. JAMES (0-9, 0-4) AT CONWAY (2-7, 0-4)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game has significantly different meaning for these two teams. On one hand, you've got Conway - led by tailback <strong>Jkwon Brantley</strong> and receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025782' first='Jordan' last='Jenkins']</strong> - trying to hold on to one of the final at-large bids for the Class 5A, Division. On the other, is St. James looking for a way to eke out some positivity out of the 2024 season. We've seen glimpses of it from quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267347' first='Alex' last='Sandt']</strong> and receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592675' first='Zack' last='Zurawski']</strong> on offense and first-year linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1145762' first='Hayes' last='Cochrane']</strong> on defense. And while an outside shot at a playoff berth isn't 100 percent out of the question, St. James' reality is that it needs to find a way to give those three players and everyone else coming back in 2025 proof that glimpses can develop.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>LOWCOUNTRY&nbsp;</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BERKELEY (5-4, 3-1) AT CANE BAY (2-7, 2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first half of the finale of the Region VII-5A slugfest really only looks the way it does after the Cobras knocked off Goose Creek last Friday. Fullback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1732605' first='Tyler' last='Meyers']</strong> (5-foot-11, 215 pounds) has helped provide Cane Bay a lift and scored another touchdown in that win over the Gators. Wingback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664566' first='Coran' last='Houpe']</strong> is the Cobras' biggest edge threat, and he's pulled off some long runs in back-to-back-to-back weeks to help open up the middle of the offense for Meyers and quarterback <strong>Colby Larocca</strong>. But keep in mind that the Cobras haven't scored more than 29 points all year and are instead hoping to grind clock. That means one or two defensive stops early could be the difference for Berkeley. Linebackers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165076' first='Marcus' last='Henderson']</strong> (92 tackles) and <strong>Gehad Snead</strong> (63 tackles) and tackle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1357963' first='Landon' last='Jackson']</strong> (51 tackles, 11 tackles for loss) will have every chance to set the tone in the opening quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>GOOSE CREEK (5-3, 3-1) AT STRATFORD (4-5, 2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Stratford tailback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1253901' first='Kerwin' last='Squire']</strong> has mostly been held in check this year, you can't ignore his big-game potential? Could this be another one? After rushing for 241 yards against Daniel and 191 against Lucy Beckham, it's certainly possible. Goose Creek is going to do it's best to slow down the big back, and that might also set the stage for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165148' first='Jachin' last='Davis']</strong> to create plays with his legs, too. Davis has already rushed for 536 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. For Goose Creek, even though it fell to Cane Bay last week, it finally appears that running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473027' first='Meliq' last='McGowan']</strong> is starting to get his sea legs back under him after missing the majority of the year. He rushed for 123 yards against the Cobras. And just like Stratford's Squire and Davis, his re-emergence takes significant pressure off quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402499' first='Kymani' last='Clary']</strong> (1,039 passing yards, 479 rushing yards). Like we said, this region's been a slugfest, and we expect it to end that way, too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HILTON HEAD (7-2, 3-1) AT BLUFFTON (6-3, 3-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Originally supposed to be played in September but delayed due to power outages related to Helene, the dynamic of this one has only changed in that we know the winner will earn a second-place finish in the region and both teams are a little more well-rounded than they were five weeks ago. The Seahawks' offense is no longer the <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1013024' first='Troy' last='Timko']</strong> show like it was a year ago. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1603740' first='Thaddeus' last='Czarnecki']</strong> is putting up rushing yards, too, and quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1664222' first='Derrick' last='Raniszewski']</strong> has taken on a leadership role, knowing Czarnecki, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578797' first='Tristen' last='Simmons']</strong> and the rest of the defense has developed into one of the state's best. And it will be tested against Bluffton. Behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1394988' first='Aedan' last='McCarthy']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1422587' first='Kordell' last='Holley']</strong>, the Bobcats have scored at least five touchdowns in a game five times this season. Bluffton likes home run balls, and receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402486' first='Carnell' last='Warren']</strong> is a threat to do that every time he goes deep.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->