Predicting Every Team’s 2026 MVP: Region VII-4A

The 2026 football season will be here before we know it.   Over the course of the next three months, teams will participate in workouts galore leading up to the start of preseason camp. And while the summer is sure to include mass transfers - thanks to the SCHSL's policy that went into effect for this academic year - we have enough information to start making some educated assumptions about each team's likely most valuable player.   In Region VII-4A, we're doing to see the bulk of the “Beach Region” from the last two-year cycle dropping back down from the 5A ranks and joining some old buddies from Florence.    CONWAY TIGERS   Sakai McLendon DL/TE, 2027   As new Tigers' coach Jody Jenerette put it, McClendon can rest on the weekends this fall. That's because Conway intends to have him playing pretty much non-stop on Friday nights. The 6-foot, 230-pound rising senior is listed as a combo defensive lineman, and his power even when he moves to the outside is his go-to. He's not using flashy swim moves or even footwork to get into the backfield. He's a shoot-the-gap, muscle-up type who earned all-region honors last fall. On offense, he's going to earn another gig as one of the team's primary tight ends. The Tigers are going to run a ton of power in 2026, and we wouldn't be surprised to see three tight ends on the field at one time. How his blocking schemes shape up over the course of the season could help dictate Conway's final record.     MYRTLE BEACH SEAHAWKS   [player_tooltip player_id='1672909' first='Camden' last='DeBruhl'] QB, 2028   After waiting his turn for the better part of the last two years, DeBruhl entered the offseason as the 2026 starter at quarterback for the Seahawks and has had the kitchen sink thrown at him throughout the past several months. In many ways, he has elements of some of the better Myrtle Beach signal callers over the past decade. He's 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, has a strong arm and is often at his best when he's moved out of the pocket and throwing on the run. And while he's taking over the position - presumably for the next two seasons - he's not as green as he appears. DeBruhl played in five games last fall, completing 60 percent of his passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He also had some varsity reps as a freshman before getting bumped up for good.     NORTH MYRTLE BEACH CHIEFS   [player_tooltip player_id='1664629' first='Jaden' last='Chestnut'] ATH, 2027 (pictured)   Between the coaching staff and roster changes in Little River after last season, there are still more questions than answers at this point for the Chiefs. But one thing isn't up for debate, and that's the type of athleticism new (old?) coach Perry Woolbright will have at his disposal. In the parts of the last two seasons he's played for North Myrtle Beach - he missed several games both as a sophomore and junior - he's lined up at tailback and receiver and returned kicks. And while he's going to be part of a re-build from the run-first, run-second scheme the Chiefs employed last year, we're also not ruling out him seeing some time on defense, too. He's in as good of shape as he's every been, and while all those missed games have kept him in the shadows longer than he'd probably like, he should play a role in those fancy LED lights lighting up a few times this fall.    SOUTH FLORENCE BRUINS   [player_tooltip player_id='1823525' first='De'Eric' last='Davis'] QB, 2027    Much like DeBruhl, Davis has been biding his time behind an established starter awaiting his turn to lead the Bruins' offense. And anyone who has stood next to Davis and watched him throw a football can see some physical tools that don't come around very often. We verified his 6-foot-4, 235-pound size in March during the Carolinas Coaches Combine, and then watched him zip passes around as if he doesn't have an 80-inch wingspan. What makes him incredibly dangerous is how he could be just as prone to tuck the ball and dump truck anyone in his path. Davis goes from signal caller to serious arm talent to dynamic runner in the blink of an eye, and for a South Florence staff that has a lot of new faces top to bottom, he's going to be the centerpiece of an offense that returns some very experienced players around him.    ST. JAMES SHARKS   [player_tooltip player_id='1822960' first='Reilly' last='Sumner'] OL, 2027    When Sumner was first stepping foot on the St. James football field, he was a taller kid who often struggled to keep up with the work load. Flash forward to the final few months of his last high school offseason, and the Sharks' left tackle is one of the biggest leaders on a team that needs more of them. When he's not handling that end of business, all he's going to be asked to do is anchor an offensive line for a program replacing a bunch of big pieces from last year's scheme. The 6-foot-2, 270-pound Sumner hasn't necessarily added a ton of weight the last year, but he has made his frame really start to count in his favor with some increased strength numbers. We saw some of that in March at Woodland, and new coach Stephen Cagle is seeing it every day in the weight room. His near-80-inch wing span isn't going to hurt his cause, either. Eventually, someone's at the next level will find themselves the type of lineman who has already been through some big-time battles and held his own.   WEST FLORENCE KNIGHTS    [player_tooltip player_id='1737567' first='Ishmael' last='Dixon'] LB, 2028   Between Dixon's sophomore season last fall and what he did at the Carolinas Coaches Combine in March, it shouldn't take anyone by surprise that he's fixing to blow up as a major player in the Pee Dee and beyond. In his first full season at a Knights' starter, he piled up 69 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass break up, all while sharing the field with three big-time seniors. Then, at Woodland, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound linebacker ran some of the fastest times in the entire state while putting up some great strength numbers on the bench, medicine ball throw and broad jump. None of that has even touched on the best part. Dixon won't turn 16 years old until the last week of June. The developmental side of his game should still be considered extremely raw. His ceiling is sky high for the next two seasons, beginning this August when his junior year begins.     WILSON TIGERS    [player_tooltip player_id='1640595' first='Da'von' last='Bowman'] ATH, 2027   In three years as a starter between his first two seasons at Sumter and his one campaign at Wilson, Bowman already has a pair of all-region awards in his back pocket heading into his final year. By now, then, you probably already know how good of a safety he is. As a junior, he had 60 tackles and five picks. Yeah, he can cover some territory. What you might not know is how good of a receiver he can be, too. Last fall, he caught 19 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns. And he did that in essentially seven games of offensive work. He's just shy of 6-feet but as big as he's ever been at 187 pounds (as of March). There's not a situation on either side of the ball that's going to intimidate him. In fact, it should be the opposite. He's a dangerous weapon for a team on a significant rise.

The 2026 football season will be here before we know it.