South Florence, behind Syracuse bound LaNorris Sellers, overwhelms North Myrtle Beach

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA - The idea was to start fast.

South Florence, the state’s top-ranked AAAA team, did that and never lifted off the gas Friday night. Behind another spectacular performance from senior quarterback LaNorris Sellers, the undefeated Bruins overwhelmed North Myrtle Beach, 46-0.

Sellers, who has committed to Syracuse, completed 14-of=19 passes for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran 9 times for 107 yards and a touchdown before heading to the bench early in the fourth quarter as the Bruins improved to 9-0. They are now set up for a mega-power battle with fellow undefeated rival West Florence for the Region 6-AAAA championship to close out the regular season.

The Bruins fell behind 14-0 at Myrtle Beach before storming back for a 56-21 win last week. They were determined to avoid a repeat of that slow start.

“We wanted to start fast,” Sellers said. “All week we practiced fast. We hit the weight room fast. We did everything fast.”

That approach started with the coaching staff.

“We wanted to come out and, start fast and play a clean game,” said South Florence head coach Drew Marlowe. “We didn't play clean because we had too many penalties. We’ll have to get that cleaned up. I thought we were more efficient on offense.”

No one would argue that. The Bruins piled up 452 yards and 24 first downs. They never had to punt. It was hardly a surprise either. North Myrtle Beach had won just once and has a very young team. The Chiefs were held to 65 yards and five first downs.

Orchestrating it all was Sellers, who was equally efficient with his right arm and legs. Sellers threw two of his touchdowns on perfectly thrown fades. When he needed to run, Sellers, at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, was able to shed tacklers without too many problems.

“We’re enjoying every minute of it,” Marlowe said. “He’s special. He makes things happen when there’s nothing there. He’s just a phenomenal player. I think he’s the best player in the state.”

Needless to say, Sellers is enjoying it, too.

“I like playing quarterback and scoring,” Sellers said. “That’s my favorite part of the game.”

Sellers, who has been selected to play in the Shrine Bowl, has now thrown for 1,894 yards and 26 touchdowns against just 2 interceptions. He has 778 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing.

Just two weeks ago, Sellers threw eight touchdown passes - in one half.

“It actually didn't surprise me,” Marlowe said. “I know that sounds crazy. But to see him every day in practice, he’s that good. It’s a shame he’s only got one offer in the state right now.”

Coastal Carolina made Sellers an offer. Sellers also got Power 5 offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, Washington State and Georgia State. He committed to Syracuse in March.

Syracuse coach Dino Babers witnessed Sellers throw eight touchdown passes in one half against Wilson.

“He said he had never seen anything like that,” Sellers said. “I was glad I was able to do that for him.”

Sellers didn't need to throw quite like that Friday night. The throws he did make had a huge impact, starting with a 24-yard touchdown pass to younger brother Jayden Sellers. Then came a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jabray Johnson, also on a fade.

The Bruins picked up a safety following a bad snap to the North Myrtle Beach punter and got good field position after the free kick. They got another touchdown when 5-foot-3 tailback Shikeem Shilow ran behind 6-foot-1, 285-pound lineman Justin Joe from 2 yards out.

Sellers then got to display his mastery of the hurry-up offense. The Bruin quarterback even caught a would-be touchdown pass on a flea flicker but the play was wiped out by offsetting penalties.

It hardly mattered. Sellers scrambled 13 yards for a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the first half after first running around trying to find a receiver.

Sellers directed one more scoring drive in the second half before coming out. Backup tailback Latrelle McClary scored on a 7-yard run and Grant McDonald kicked a 38-yard field goal.

It was in the North Myrtle Beach game last year when Sellers was injured and missed the rest of the season. South Florence lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins appear poised to go much further this year.

“We’ve got to keep the focus on us,” Sellers said. “We have to take each region game one at a time. That’s what we’re doing.”