MB-NMB: Chiefs Standouts Lead Way To Region Title

Arguably the biggest game in the state of South Carolina in the final week of the regular season took place in Little River. North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach faced off for Region VI-4A title and the accompanying No. 1 playoff seed for the postseason, which begins next week. Despite COVID-19 seating restrictions, this heavily hyped game included a live television production, a live internet video feed and two live radio broadcasts while also serving as pretty much every local media outlet’s Game of the Week. What all those watching in-person or following through the airwaves saw was a dominant Chiefs’s performance. North Myrtle Beach walked away with a 34-6 win, led by several key performances in all three phases of the game. CHANDLER MCCALL, DB/WR, JUNIOR With Myrtle Beach driving on its first series of the second half and trailing by just four, McCall picked off a tipped pass at his own 27-yard line, picked up a handful of downfield blocks and did the rest with a 73-yard return for a touchdown. His team-leading third interception of the year and return pushed North Myrtle Beach ahead by 11 points. Two series later on offense, he hauled in a 28-yard pass from QB Cam Freeman that extended a drive and flipped field position (Vereen’s block came after the eventual punt on that Chiefs’s series). And if that wasn’t enough, he chased down Myrtle Beach tailback Cam Ward from a significant distance to prevent a would-be 99-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter. The Seahawks could only muster a field goal. NYLIEK LIVINGSTON, RB, SENIOR Everyone is getting used to seeing Livingston go over the century mark. That’s because he did it in every game of the regular season. He added one more to his resume with 145 yards on 17 carries against the Seahawks. He was already on pace to do so after the first quarter (when he ran for 32 yards), but busted off a 37-yard carry in the second and went for 43 yards on his lone carry of the fourth. ELIJAH VEREEN, LB/RB, JUNIOR Vereen picked a heck of a time to make huge back-to-back plays. Nearing the end of the third quarter, the 5-foot-6 three-way contributor came off the edge to block a Seahawk punt that gave the Chiefs the ball inside the red zone. And on the very next play, Vereen, coming out of the wildcat formation, took it in from 12-yards out to give his team a 21-6 lead. CAM FREEMAN, QB, JUNIOR Freeman isn’t asked to do anything out of the ordinary in this offense. Just protect the ball, make a few passes here and there and make wise decisions on the occasional option pitch. Friday, he did all three of those pretty well. Save for his fumbled while trying to break the plane, the future college baseball player didn’t make any mistakes. Conversely, he threw for 95 yards, rushed for 46 and scored the team’s first points of the game in the second quarter.