Sumter Steamrolls Myrtle Beach Behind Shannon, Richardson

MYRTLE BEACH | A week removed from a humbling loss to White Knoll, [player_tooltip player_id='1603974' first='Franklin' last='Richardson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1817005' first='Reggie' last='Shannon'] wanted to remind everyone that Sumter football can still bring it.   Consider the notice of the Gamecocks' intent the rest of the way delivered.   The quarterback and tailback each had four rushing touchdowns Friday in a 63-27 win at Myrtle Beach.    “This is the type of football team we are,” Richardson said. “White Knoll opened our eyes, just let us know that we've got to lock in. We've got to do what we know we can do. I already had high expectations for us this season. That one game didn't change anything. This game doesn't change anything.”   Maybe not in terms of expectations, but after last week's thumping to the Timberwolves, paying the favor forward to Myrtle Beach still felt good. It was also evidence enough that Sumter knows who its two biggest weapons are.   Richardson, who has been starting since his freshman season, looked to be in prime form against the Seahawks. While taking advantage of short fields early, he had two rushing touchdowns less than five minutes into the game.   Shannon's first score came not long after while the teams were still trading first-half blows.   Eventually, Myrtle Beach simply couldn't keep up anymore, especially after the Sumter duo really went to work. In the second and third quarter, the Gamecocks leaned into their two stars and watched as the score continued to balloon into a lopsided tally.   Not long into the second half, the sophomore tailback had some friendly banter for his junior quarterback.    “I told him ‘If you get four, I'm getting four, too,'” Shannon said. “It's just exciting. I love the game. It's a competition, a little bit.”   That competition wasn't over until Shannon's four touchdowns were accompanied by 258 yards on 25 carries and Richardson had 57 yards on 12 runs. One of those carries was a two-point conversion run (after his second touchdown).   For good measure, the quarterback also completed seven-of-eight passes for 88 yards.   And, again, rebounding like this after a lackluster showing against White Knoll might just put the Gamecocks back on track. “We practiced better,” Shannon said of this week. “We didn't expect [White Knoll] to come out like that. We practiced harder, came back and did what we had to do. It woke us up. We had to realize it's time to play football.”   OTHER SUMTER STANDOUTS    Richardson's second touchdown run came after senior safety [player_tooltip player_id='1179928' first='Bryce' last='Allen'] returned a kickoff 86 yards. He was stopped just short of the end zone, but it ultimately paved the way for the early parts the quarterback's big night. On the ensuing defensive series, though, Allen was injured while making a tackle and had to come out of the game.    Jamier Bey had a nice showing in the second half. He caught Richardson's first two passes for and then took an option pitch on a third-and-12 22 yards for a first down in the closing moments of the third quarter to extend another Gamecocks' drive. On the very next play, he took a reverse another 12 yards for another first down. He also caught a couple of passes for another 21 yards.    While he was relatively quiet Friday (as were both defenses for the most part) Sumter 6-foot-4 sophomore defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='1644552' first='Ari' last='Rendell'] is a player to watch the rest of the season. His eye-opening moment came in the fourth quarter where he shed two blockers to get into the backfield and made a four-yard tackle for loss. It was only one play, but it showed why the Sumter staff is so high on him moving forward.    The Sumter offensive line isn't as big as its been in year's past, but against the Seahawks, it looked much like some of coach Marc Barnes' earlier groups. Tackles [player_tooltip player_id='1821998' first='Zy'Quaz' last='Kelley'] and Gaspien Brogen guards Demarcus Norris and [player_tooltip player_id='1818347' first='Brian' last='Johnson'] and center Cooper Ziegler were highly effective. The Gamecocks had just one carry stopped behind the line of scrimmage all evening.   Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='876560' first='Tymaries' last='Thompson-DuRant'] certainly looks like he's fully mended after fracturing his foot in June. While defenders from neither team are probably going too nuts after all the offensive production, Thompson-Durant did lay a hit on Myrtle Beach's best offensive player - [player_tooltip player_id='1664545' first='JJ' last='Brown'] - to break up a would-be touchdown.    MYRTLE BEACH STANDOUTS   Tailback [player_tooltip player_id='1823730' first='Michael' last='Cohen'] caught 22 passes as a junior. But how he was used in the pass game against Sumter will likely lead to more. All told, Cohen hauled in seven catches for 91 yards. The biggest of the bunch was a 51-yard touchdown reception off a wheel route. He caught the ball already going full speed and nobody was going to catch him from there.   Tanner Gaddy didn't end the evening the way he wanted, nor did he finish it at all. After throwing for 212 yards and three touchdowns in the first three quarters, Gaddy was hit hard on the sideline near the end of the third quarter and needed to come out of the game. Back-up [player_tooltip player_id='1672909' first='Camden' last='DeBruhl'] came in and played the fourth quarter, completing two of his four passes, both to [player_tooltip player_id='816753' first='Rayvon' last='Green'] on short routes.    Although [player_tooltip player_id='1664545' first='JJ' last='Brown'] didn't catch another pass after the hit in the end zone in the third quarter, he still finished with six receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns. He snagged a 13-yarder in the corner in the first quarter and then added a 38-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.    [player_tooltip player_id='1267229' first='Antonio' last='Brown'] continued to make plays out of the Seahawks' heavy-set package. He scored his sixth rushing touchdown of the season in the opening quarter. Also the team's starting middle linebacker, it was his 26th career rushing score of his career.