Football falls to 2-3 with loss to Marlboro County

By John Smithson

The North Myrtle Beach Chiefs football team is now halfway through their season and with all their non-region games off the schedule, they have an off day this Friday before beginning their 6-5A region schedule on October 3rd at The Hank.

Their record is now 2-3 after their loss to Marlboro County last Friday night and they have some work to do before game time against the Tigers.

The Chiefs have, except for their loss to Loris last week, been competitive in their games, but they can’t seem to make that big play on offense or are one down away from a defensive stop when the other team makes the play that leads to their score.

Last Friday the Chiefs once again scored first in the game. After stopping the Bulldogs on their first possession the Chiefs took their punt and returned it 19 yards to the Bulldogs 25 yard line. The Chiefs made a first down at the 14 but three short runs by the Chiefs set up a fourth down at the Marlboro County 8 yard-line.

The Chiefs settled for a 25-yard field goal by Nico Miller and 3-0 lead. Following the Chiefs kickoff the Bulldogs went three and out and punted to the Chiefs at their 46. A draw play and run by Jayden Wilson picked up a first down, but the Chiefs punted back to the Bulldogs  with 3:14 on the clock.

The Chiefs defense forced a punt by the Bulldogs, but a block in the back penalty moved the ball back to the Chiefs 8 yard-line. On first down Will McNeely was intercepted on a pass to Reo Stevenson at the Chiefs 40. Five plays later the Bulldogs scored on a six yard pass play and led 7-3 with 8:38 left in the first half.

The Chiefs moved from their 23 to the Bulldogs 34 on their possession after the kickoff  but two incomplete passes turned the ball back to the Bulldogs  with 6:37 on the clock. The Bulldogs moved the ball to the Chiefs 8 yard-line, but couldn’t score, their last pass out of bounds at the end of the half, the score remained 7-3.

The Chiefs got a good kickoff return by Stevenson and began play on their 40 yard-line. Mixing passes and runs the Chiefs slowly moved the ball to the Bulldogs 35 yard-line. A Stevenson run for no gain and two incomplete passes forced a punt by the Chiefs that backed up Marlboro County to their 10 yard-line.

The Chiefs stopped a reverse for a loss of two yards followed by an incomplete pass on second down. On third down from the 8 the Bulldogs completed a pass to their 49 yard-line. The Bulldogs offense stalled, and they punted back to the Chiefs at their 29. The Chiefs made a first down but again turned the ball over on downs on a fourth down incomplete pass at the Bulldogs 36. As the third quarter ended the Bulldogs faced another long third down and a completed pass to the Chiefs 43 gave their offense new life. The Bulldogs moved to the Chiefs 18 and another third down pass to the left corner of the endzone gave the Bulldogs a 14-3 lead with 8:43 left in the game.

The Chiefs were three and out after the Bulldogs kickoff and punted back to Marlboro County with 7:20 left in the game. The Chiefs held on defense and got the ball back with a little over five minutes left. From their 20 yard-line the Chiefs got a first down on two passes to Braden Pagan, but the Bulldogs sacked the Chiefs twice and two passes later the Chiefs turned the ball over on their 20.

The Bulldogs moved to the Chiefs one-yard line and a face mask penalty put the ball on the one half-yard line. A quarterback keeper made it 21-3 with 1:22 left in the game and the game ended with a Marlboro County victory.

The Chiefs used quarterbacks Will McNeely and Mason Walker in the game and they had opportunities for a passing game, but the Bulldogs pass rush and defense made it tough to get a consistent offense for the Chiefs. Pretty much the same story with the running game.

The Chiefs trailed 7-3 after three quarters and the two late Marlboro County scores sealed the win for the Bulldogs. The Chiefs will face Conway October 3rd. It will be Homecoming and a chance to turn a page on the Chiefs season.