Posted on Dec 06, 2009 - 09:28 AM

Seahawks State Championship Bid Falls Short

By Terry Massey

COLUMBIA | Myrtle Beach High was trying to make a run for the record books. Instead, it ran into Clinton's Taviouzie Booker, or vice versa.

The senior running back rushed for more than 150 yards and four touchdowns to keep the Seahawks from defending as state champions.

Myrtle Beach was trying to repeat as Class AAA state champions for the third time in school history, but Clinton's powerful ground game proved too much for the undersized Seahawks to handle. The Red Devils controlled the ball and the game en route to a 35-26 victory.

"We came out flat in the first half and let them build a big lead and we just couldn't dig ourselves out of that hole," said Myrtle Beach High coach Mickey Wilson. "We came up one game short, but I couldn't be prouder of what our kids accomplished. They worked their tails off."

The Seahawks passed, ran, blocked and tackled their way to the Class AAA state championship game. The only thing they hadn't done en route to Saturday's match with Clinton at Williams-Brice Stadium was come from behind to win, and it showed in this one.

After Clinton (12-3) used its ground game to build a 21-12 lead at halftime, the Seahawks (13-2) struggled to get back in the game. The Red Devils mounted a long scoring drive that didn't end until the start of the fourth quarter, and carried a 28-12 advantage into the game's final 10 minutes.

The Seahawks battled to come back, with quarterback Everett Golson leading them down the field for a touchdown drive, capped by his 15-yard scoring pass to Morgan Byrd. But the 2-point conversion failed and Clinton ran the kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown to make it 35-18.

The Seahawks never gave up with Golson leading a long drive and then scoring on a TD run to cut the deficit to 11. His 2-point pass made it 35-26 with 3 minutes remaining, but Myrtle Beach's onside kick attempt was recovered by the Red Devils, who were able to run out the clock.

"We just didn't play our best game," said Byrd, who had one rushing and one receiving touchdown. "I wish we had played better, but I love all these guys."

Clinton dominated the time of possession by a 3-to-1 margin and rolled up 304 yards on the ground. The Seahawks were close in total yardage, racking up 307 to Clinton's 329, but they were unable to make the big plays when they needed them.

Golson completed just 17 of his 33 passes for 279 yards and two TDs and had several balls dropped on the night. Donte Sumpter caught five passes for 113 yards and a TD and Byrd caught four for 55 yards and a score, but it wasn't the high-flying circus Myrtle Beach had put on most of the season.

It took some time for the "Greatest Show on Turf" to make the transition to the grass of Williams-Brice Stadium, with the Seahawks' high-flying offense held to three-and-outs on their first two possessions while Clinton used a long, time-consuming touchdown drive on its first series.

On their third possession of the game, Golson started firing on all cylinders, completing four straight passes on the drive. He capped the march with a 20-yard pass into the end zone to Sumpter, who made a leaping catch to tie the game at 7-7 early in the second period.

But after poor kick coverage gave the Red Devils good field position, they made another impressive drive on the ground, capped again by Booker's 1-yard TD plunge for a 14-7 lead.

Myrtle Beach's special teams made up for the miscue on the next series when Clinton's punter mishandled the snap in the end zone and was swarmed by Seahawks for a safety to cut the deficit to 14-9. But they failed to capitalize on the good field position and gave the ball back to the Red Devils, who made a last-minute drive to set up Booker's third TD run dive of the game to make it 21-9.

But Clinton left too much time on the clock for the quick-strike Seahawks, who used a 52-yard Hail Mary heave by Golson to Dallas Goodman with three seconds left in the second quarter to set up Jordan Butler's 32-yard field goal at the horn to make the halftime score 21-12.

Still, the deficit proved too steep to overcome for the Seahawks, who bring back several key players to make a run again next year.