Foxes fall in final seconds

MYRTLE BEACH – The Hartsville Red Foxes and the Myrtle Beach Seahawks needed every second of Friday’s game to decide a winner. The Seahawks took the win 30-27 with a field goal by Jordan Butler in the final two seconds of the game.

The game was a fierce battle between two prolific offenses. Neither team seemed to be able to stop the other. Hartsville amassed 350 yards rushing, while Myrtle Beach finished with 380 yards passing.

The Seahawks opened the game with the ball and used their spread offense and passing attack to mount a 13-play drive for an opening score.
Hartsville ran three plays on its opening drive before being forced to punt.

Neither team was able score for the remainder of the quarter, but Myrtle Beach quarterback Everett Golson completed a 25-yard pass to Demazio Skelton in the beginning of the second quarter. However, Damian Dixon blocked the extra point attempt, and the Seahawks held a 13-0 lead with 10:41 remaining in the first half.

Hartsville responded with a drive of their own, led by Dre Scott, and Scott capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to cut the Myrtle Beach lead to 13-7 with 8:02 remaining in the half. Scott led all rushers in the game with 166 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

On the next drive, Hartsville’s Damien Blakney recorded a sack on Golson and forced the intentional grounding call on third down.

The Foxes scored on their next drive when Craig Anderson booted the ball through the uprights on a field goal, and the two teams went into the halftime break with Myrtle Beach ahead 13-10. Anderson finished the game 2 for 3 kicking field goals. His only miss was a 48-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.

The Foxes received the ball to begin the second half and wasted no time making adjustments. Quarterback Shawn Smith rolled out to his right and found Omar McDaniel down field. McDaniel had to come back to the ball but made a great catch and darted 57 yards for a touchdown, and Hartsville was ahead 17-13. Smith finished the game 4 for 8 passing for 97 yards and one score. McDaniel finished with 3 catches for 73 yards and the touchdown.

Myrtle Beach began its next drive on the 40-yard line and only needed two plays to take the lead again. This time, Golson found Morgan Byrd in the middle of the field for a 60-yard touchdown pass to put Myrtle Beach back ahead 19-17, after a missed extra-point attempt.

Both teams exchanged punts afterward. The Seahawks managed a drive all the way to the Foxes’ 8-yard line, but Donovan Malloy came up with a big interception in the end zone for the Foxes.
After the interception, the Foxes managed a drive that ended with Scott’s second touchdown of the game and gave Hartsville a 24-19 lead with 6:44 left to play in the third quarter.
Myrtle Beach then responded with a drive of its own that ended with a 6-yard pass from Golson to Jamere Valentine. The Seahawks went for two points and were successful to give them a 27-24 lead with 1:11 remaining in the third stanza.

The two teams exchanged punts for much of the final quarter until Hartsville sent Anderson out to attempt a 48-yard field goal to tie the game. The kick, however, was not on target.

The Foxes’ defense came away with a fantastic play on the ensuing drive. Jamie Davis ran down an overthrown ball by Golson and came away with an interception that gave Hartsville the ball with 4:53 remaining

The Foxes began that drive with a huge 54-yard run by Ronnie Jackson, who was tackled on a lunge effort by a Myrtle Beach defender to prevent the score. Jackson finished the game with 135 yards rushing on 17 carries.

The Myrtle Beach defense held and Hartsville was hit for a false start penalty that forced a fourth and four situation.

Anderson then nailed a 30-yard field goal that tied the game 27-27 with 1:12 remaining in regulation.

Myrtle Beach’s offense couldn’t get anything going on the first two plays of the next drive. However, on third down, the Foxes’ were tagged with a controversial pass interference penalty. The Seahawks managed a few more yards, and with two seconds remaining in the game, Butler nailed a 32-yard, game-winning field goal.

Both teams registered over 400 yards of total offense, and neither defense had an answer for the offensive prowess of the other team.

Hartsville’s defensive front managed a good rush during the game on Golson at quarterback, but he was mobile and did very well throwing on the run. Golson was able to find holes in the Foxes’ defense. The Foxes also lost defender Jacob Cole, who suffered a broken collarbone during the game.

Damian Dixon led the defense with 10 tackles. Deshane Fox followed him with nine. Jamie Davis and Donovan Malloy both finished with six tackles and an interception.
The Foxes’ offense finished the game with 350 yards rushing between Scott, Jackson, Smith and Eric Williams. They also averaged 6.7 yards per carry.
Myrtle Beach had 380 yards in the air but only managed 36 yards rushing.

Myrtle Beach head coach Scott Earley was elated after the game, but heaped praise on the Foxes. “I knew how good Hartsville was coming in,” he said, “because I knew what kind of man and what kind of coach Jeff Calabrese was. I knew in this game that we wouldn’t be able to stop them, and I thought they’d have trouble stopping us . . . It could have went either way.”

Hartsville’s Calabrese was disappointed after a hard-fought game. “I’m disappointed for the kids,” he said. “They fought their tails off tonight and came up short. It was a good ball game and I’m real proud of the kids, but I’m disappointed.”

The coach said the team will not quit, and each game is an example of that. “When you’re playing a game like that, you just can’t afford some mental busts or not executing on a perfect level.”

Calabrese reiterated the adage that football is a game of inches and Myrtle Beach got those inches. He, like Earley, believed the game could have gone either way.
The Foxes (3-2) will host Spring Valley on Friday at Kelleytown Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Myrtle Beach (4-0) will face Conway.