Mobile Home Sales in Green Sea, SC

Donnie Kiefer came to Green Sea Floyds with the promise of state championships. On Friday, he and his players delivered the first on that promise, defeating Lamar 26-20 in a wild finish to bring home the S.C. Class A state title.

The Trojans (11-3) scored all 26 of their points in the first half, when they went back-and-forth with Lamar’s potent attack. In the second half, both defenses contained the scoring in the third quarter and much of the fourth before Green Sea Floyds clung to a six-point lead late in the game.

“It was on us late in the game and we had to step up and stop them one more time to bring home the title,” said Green Sea Floyds senior linebacker Josh Slobodiak. “We’ve worked for this for (more than) three months; I’ve been working for this for four years. This is an unbelievable accomplishment for this school and for all of these fans that came out to support us all year.”

For the Green Sea Floyds football program, which has been around since 1976, the victory over Lamar earns the Trojans their first state championship. Kiefer wants the community to get used to the success and competing for state championships.

“(This was) just a phenomenal night,” he said as his team paraded on the field with the championship trophy. “It’s the first time ever; it’s not something that’s happened before – not even close. When I first came here, I told them we were coming here to win state championships; we’re not coming here for mediocrity. 6-6 has to be a bad year from here on out and the kids have bought in.”

Green Sea Floyds hung on to beat Lamar, 26-20, to capture the Class A state championship on Dec. 7, 2018, in Columbia, SC. By Andrew Ramspacher

Green Sea Floyds and Lamar put on an early scoring barrage, with six combined touchdowns in the game’s first 10 possessions. Lamar scored twice, once on a short 12-yard drive and again on an 81-yard drive. Green Sea Floyds scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions.

Lamar was gifted a short field by a Green Sea Floyds fumble, leading to a 1-yard scoring run by Rashad Johnson. The Trojans would respond with a Jaquan Dixon 42-yard run on a two-play drive. Lamar’s final score of the quarter came on Jac’Quez Lucas’ 66-yard run followed by a two point conversion that gave the Silver Foxes a 14-6 lead.

From there the Trojans took over for the rest of the half.

Green Sea Floyds scored three touchdowns to end the first half on an 11-yard pass from Bubba Elliott to Dixon, a 3-yard run by Dixon and a 15-yard run by Elliott to give the Trojans a 26-14 lead at the break.

The Trojans dominated statistically in the first half with 13 first downs and 326 yards of offense compared to 166 yards for Lamar.

But Green Sea Floyds would not threaten the end zone in the second half.

“We were hot offensively early, then we got a bit conservative trying to run some clock,” Kiefer said. “We get a state championship, so we’ll take it.”

The Trojans maintained their 12-point lead until Jalen Langley hit Derrick Higgins for a 37-yard TD pass with 3:34 remaining to force the Trojans to make big plays on defense in the final couple minutes.

Kiefer was tasked with making a decision that had the potential to decide the game, going for it on fourth-and-inches on his own 15-yard line.

The Trojans wouldn’t convert and Lamar was gifted a chance to snatch a state championship away from the entire Green Sea community.

“We talked about it, the kids were adamant. I wanted to punt the ball and play defense, but the kids were begging us,” Kiefer said. “They were saying ‘Coach, it’s our senior year, we can get that yard.’ I didn’t feel good about it, we went for it and didn’t get it, but then we played defense. In the end it all washed out.”

The state title came on the back of an exceptional game from Dixon, who rushed for 247 yards and two scores on 20 carries. He also caught two passes for 20 yards, with a receiving score as well.

“He’s always phenomenal, but it’s a team game,” Kiefer said of his stud running back. “If not for the linemen, tight ends and other backs, those things don’t happen. I’m happy for him, but he will be the first one to tell you the credit goes to those guys up front.”

All season, Kiefer’s team – and all of Horry County – has dealt with adversity. The Green Sea community was hit hard by Hurricane Florence and the ensuing flooding, and the Trojans missed a chunk of the season and school year. But nothing was going to stop them from securing the title.

“It’s just phenomenal. God blessed us all year long,” Kiefer said. “…It was tough, we were out for an entire month, we played a game Sept. 7 and didn’t play again until Oct. 6 and then we practiced four days before we played that game. … Everything they’ve done in the weight room, our strength program is second to none and these kids bust it every day. We give God the glory and we give credit to the players.”

Kiefer’s team featured 11 seniors, but returns key contributors in Anwain Graham, Elliott and Dixon for another run at a championship, this time with a target on their backs.

Lamar – 14 0 0 6 – 6

GSF – 20 6 0 0 – 26

First quarter

Lamar – Rashad Johnson 1-yard run (Kick failed) 8:38

GSF – Jaquan Dixon 42-yard run (Kick failed) 8:04

Lamar – Jac’Quez Lucas 66-yard run (Lucas run for 2-point conversion) 5:25

GSF – Bubba Elliott 11-yard pass to Jaquan Dixon (2-point failed) 3:23

GSF – Dixon 3-yard run (Dixon run for 2-point conversion) 00:00

Second quarter

GSF – Elliott 15-yard run (2-point failed) 7:32

Fourth quarter

Lamar – Jalen Langley 37-yard pass to Derrick Higgins (2-point conversion failed) 3:34

This story was originally published December 7, 2018, 8:12 PM.

Charles Elvington knows the struggles of the Green Sea Floyds football program as well as anyone.

He was an assistant coach on the first team fielded by the high school in 1976, and was later relieved of his head coaching duties in the 1990s after going 1-19 over two years in the midst of 13 consecutive losing seasons for the program.

So he can appreciate as much as anyone the Trojans’ first berth in a state championship game in their 41st season of varsity football, as they will face Lamar for the S.C. Class A title at 5 p.m. Friday at Benedict College in Columbia.

“We went through some lean years,” Elvington said. “It’s been kind of up and down. It has never been steady. Right now we’re riding a really good wave and have some really good football players.

“That [state title] would make our program. When you’re thinking about football you don’t think very much about Green Sea Floyds. I think it would make us relevant in that sport.”

The program in the midst of farms and fields in rural western Horry County has come a long way from having to wait until classes commenced to have a full roster because many of its players chose to work jobs in tobacco fields through the summer.

J.C. Huggins’ father and both of his uncles played at GSF, so the senior receiver and running back is living out what the previous generation of his family was unable to realize.

“He’s done told me I’ve done something he couldn’t, so he’s excited for us and hopes we go all the way,” Huggins said of his father. “. . . We’re going to play our hearts out and hope for the best.”

Green Sea Floyds formed its football team in the first year of the merger of Green Sea and Floyds high schools, neither of which had football teams at the time.

Head coach Rusty Holt enlisted Elvington to be his assistant and both were new to the county. Elvington had been a teacher at Terrells Bay and Holt taught at Manning High, so former Floyds teacher and basketball coach Thelton Powell advised the young coaches on the school’s best athletes and what position would best be suited for each player.

GSF played junior varsity football in 1976-77 and went undefeated in ’77, albeit with juniors on the team. The Trojans were so enamored with their accomplishment they printed T-shirts commemorating it.

It would be the last time they went through a season without at least two losses, though conversely they have had three winless seasons, the last in 2014.

The Trojans went 3-7 in their first season of varsity football in 1978. “We were very respectable,” said Elvington, 65, who left after that season for a job at Mullins High. That was followed by marks of 1-9 and 2-8. The first winning season came in 1982, they made the playoffs and finished 8-4 in 1983, and had one of their best seasons in 1984, going 8-2 under Holt.

But the prosperity was short-lived. The Trojans were winless in 1987 and endured 13 consecutive losing seasons from 1990-2002, including going 1-19 in 1996-97 when they were outscored 633-90. They had their third winless season in 2014.

In the program’s first couple decades, prior to the increased mechanization of tobacco harvesting, the team was hindered by the industry. Elvington recalls practices in the evenings when players got off work in the tobacco fields, if players were available at all.

“A lot of times we’d struggle to get kids out to practice until school started,” said Elvington, who said transportation for players in the school’s large rural attendance area was also an issue. “Once school started they’d want to come out. You can’t really build a program with that situation.

“It was frustrating to not have all the players there, or the players didn’t have the desire to play.”

Since Holt left in the mid-1980s, the Trojans have had little coaching stability. The program has had at least 13 coaches over the past 35 seasons, none retained more than five seasons.

“A lot of people would come in and see the situation, and like one coach told me, even when it’s going good it’s a struggle,” said Elvington, who kept statistics for the Trojans last season. “A lot of kids didn’t know what it meant to be a football player. To play for a state championship you have to be all in, so to speak. And I think that’s where they are now.”

Donnie Kiefer is in his second season leading the GSF program and 32nd year as a head coach. He retired in North Carolina but wanted to continue coaching and his wife likes the beach. He has previously coached at both large and small schools.

“I like small-school football. I think it’s exciting. It’s the only show in town,” Kiefer said. “I think coaching really makes a difference at that level because you have what you have. . . . Once I talked to them about it I was impressed with what they were willing to commit to be a good program.”

The Trojans had improved from 3-7 in 2015 to 6-6 with their first playoff win in a decade in 2016 under five-year coach Tony Sullivan.

“They were getting better. They went 6-6 and won a playoff game, and Tony Sullivan had gotten them going in the right direction, but it still wasn’t anywhere like it needed to be,” Kiefer said. “When I first got there I told them, ‘Look, we need to get to the point where 6-6 is a down year.’ ”

The team went 6-6 and won a playoff game again last year, but it was a season with turmoil as three good players were dismissed after a fight in a game against Creek Bridge and nine other players were suspended during the season.

“Coming back this year I think our guys have bought in more, they’ve understood more of what it takes to be a champion,” Kiefer said. “It’s more than just having good talent. You have to be prepared, you have to prepare well offensively, defensively and physically.”

The high school program has benefited from a community recreation football program that has become more structured and effective in getting youth interested in the sport in recent years, and an improved weight room and fitness program under Kiefer, who has been a competitive lifter and college strength coach.

Kiefer said the weight room is second to none for a Class A school, and the strength, speed and agility program “is second to none at any level, 1A through 5A. All of those things combined, plus we have a great coaching staff . . . and kids with the heart that want to get it done.”

The house cleaning continued this year. Kiefer said GSF is without a couple players who started the season but made poor choices and are no longer on the team. “I think they get it. I think they understand now there are consequences to bad actions,” Kiefer said.

The Trojans have won six consecutive games, and in the past five they have scored at least 44 points and topped 60 points on three occasions. “Our athletes have gotten better where we can do more plays and throw the ball more,” Huggins said. “It just gives us bigger options.”

While the Trojans (10-3) are making their debut in the state championship game, Lamar is playing in its fourth straight title tilt against their fourth different opponent. The Silver Foxes won titles in 2015 and ’17 and lost in 2016.

Kiefer hopes this season’s playoff run is the beginning of a similar sustained excellence at GSF.

“When you’re winning big more people are going to want to be involved,” he said. “There are still some kids walking the halls that we wish were playing. It will grow as long as we continue to be successful and do things the right way.”

Friday

At Benedict College

Class A

Green Sea Floyds vs. Lamar, 5 p.m.

Class 2A

Abbeville vs. Barnwell, 8 p.m.

At Williams-Brice Stadium

Class 4A

Myrtle Beach vs. Greer, 1 p.m.

Class 3A

Dillon vs. Chester, 4 p.m.

Class 5A

Dutch Fork vs. TL Hanna, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $12

TV/INTERNET/RADIO

Friday’s A and 2A games will be streamed on www.nfhsnetwork.com (subscription required).

The Class 3A, 4A and 5A games will be will be streamed on www.nfhsnetwork.com and carried in Florence/Myrtle Beach on WWMB CW21, and in other parts of the state they will be televised on WACH Fox 57.2 (TWC 1250), WCIV 36.1 (MyTV Charleston) in Charleston, and on WMYA MyTV 40 in Asheville/Greenville. The Myrtle Beach-Greer game will be broadcast on BOB 104.9 FM.

This story was originally published December 5, 2018, 9:39 PM.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — It’s a busy nesting season for turtles along the South Carolina coast.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources already has seen more than 7,200 turtle nests. That’s close to 2,000 more than last year’s total of 5,466, and there's still more time for nesting and hatching to happen.

DNR staff determine those numbers, aided by volunteer groups like the Folly Beach Turtle Watch Program.

Along Folly Beach the group has already taken inventory of 14 Loggerhead Sea Turtle nests.

Members like Dave Miller expect to find even more.

Read More: Sea turtles busy nesting on beaches in Georgia, South Carolina

"Nesting season may not have ended. We may end up with a hundred or more nests," Miller said.

After taking inventory of nest number 14, around 100 hatched eggs were found. A good sign. That means those Loggerheads hopefully made it out to the ocean.

One dead turtle and three unhatched eggs were also found.

Read More: SC Aquarium saved, released 10 sea turtles

"We don’t know where they went. We saw some of the tracks going towards the ocean. And we hope they all went that way," Miller said.

The Folly Beach Turtle Watch crew is back doing public inventory of the nests this year after COVID restrictions halted it the past two nesting seasons.

Having an audience of mostly families gives Miller and his group a chance to interact and teach both children and adults important facts about the turtles and how to help keep them safe.

Read More: 2 sea turtle nests relocated on Isle of Palms

The group wears shirts with these tips: fill back in holes on the beach, turn beach front lights off at night, and don’t litter.

DNR’s record count for nests is 8,796, back in 2019.

Despite this year’s good numbers of hatchings so far, Miller warns that turtles remain in danger.

“We’ve taken all of the good nesting spots away from our turtles. And they’re struggling to survive," he said.

A pair of nests belonging to a rare sea turtle species were discovered on Hilton Head and Hunting islands this week as hatching season winds down.

One Hilton Head hatchling was straggling behind after 116 of its siblings hatched earlier this month. It was unmistakably a Green sea turtle hatchling, according to turtle volunteers.

“That hatchling’s appearance was a dead giveaway,” the patrol wrote on Facebook. Green hatchlings are dark green with a white underbelly and are flat on top.

The Green turtle is the second-largest sea turtle species, according to the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston. The most recent discovery marks the fifth nest from a Green turtle on Hilton Head Island.

“We’ve never had two green sea turtles on the beach,” marine biologist Amber Kuehn said of Hilton Head.

A Green turtle is “easily recognizable” to Kuehn, who said they mostly nest in Florida.

Turtle volunteers first noticed the nest in June because it appeared different from the Loggerhead nests around it.

Patrol volunteers noted “that the body pit was ‘large’ and the tracks looked ‘different,’” they wrote on Facebook. “It was suspected that it was a green sea turtle nest, but we could not confirm at that time.”

Loggerhead sea turtles — regulars on Hilton Head Island — are smaller than Green turtles and have an orange tint.

The rare Green turtles were also spotted on another Beaufort County beach this week.

On Tuesday, Hunting Island State Park naturalists reported eight Green sea turtle hatchlings — the first-ever Green hatchlings on the island, according to turtle volunteers.

Those hatchlings, found during a nest inventory that included 125 hatched eggs, were released into the ocean.

“Green turtles nest at intervals of about every two years, with wide, year-to-year fluctuations in numbers of nesting females,” according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy.

Sea turtle hatching season is nearly over, Kuehn said. There are about 10 nests left to hatch on Hilton Head.

But Hurricane Dorian — which brought heavy rain and winds to Hilton Head Sept. 4 and 5 — affected the nests and the incubating eggs inside.

“We didn’t lose any actual nests,” Kuehn said. “Many of our nests were inundated or covered with sea water. Those eggs were drowned.”

Of the 80 nests on the beach before the storm, she estimates that half “suffered the consequence of the high water,” due to the king tide that peaked right before the storm.

“Even nests that we had relocated to higher locations are inundated,” she said.

The Sea Turtle Patrol will end its regular monitoring of the beaches at the end of September, when hatching season unofficially ends.

Having one pageant winner from a community is a lot to be proud of, but when there are two winners from the same area at the same time, it is an amazing accomplishment.

That is the pride being felt in Green Sea Floyds and Nichols areas as 8-year-old Jenna Causey, and 12-year-old Gabrielle Grayson were crowned as the winners in their age groups in the recent Young and Little Miss South Carolina Pageant held in Hartsville.

Both girls began their pageant experience at a very young age.

Grayson, who was crowned Young Miss South Carolina, said her first pageant win was when she was a kindergartener at Green Sea Floyds Elementary School.

“Ever since then I knew this was my thing and it has been,” she said.

Since that time she has won many other pageants including the recent Miss Horry Independence Pageant.

She told the Loris Scene last week the week of the Young Miss South Carolina Pageant was an exciting experience.

The first night consisted of 21 girls in the preliminaries which was then narrowed to 12 contestants.

Grayson’s talent is gymnastics which she could not do because she was not allowed to use a mat which made it too dangerous.

The final night was when the crowns were awarded. Grayson said she was rooting for Causey -- a girl she has known her entire life.

“When they called Jenna Causey, I was so excited for her. My mom was calling everybody. And then when they called my name I was in total shock. I did not say anything for a long time,” she said.

Her mother, Martha Grayson, said they would have been satisfied with a lower placement but are ecstatic for winning the top prize.

“We went hoping we would make top 12. That was our goal since this was our very first time,” Mrs. Grayson said of her daughter is also the reigning Junior Miss Loris Bog Off.

Neither Grayson or Causey are allowed to compete in other pageants for one year, but they will still be very busy.

As part of her platform, Grayson has started LOL (Living Out Loud) — Rise Up, Speak Up Youth Advocacy. She will be launching various service projects. One already underway is called Bicycle Blessing to benefit Project Lighthouse.

The goal is to collect new or gently used bicycles for Street Outreach, a local youth crisis center.

The bikes will be used by residents to get to and from work.

Grayson said she has a goal of 20 bicycles.

As for her future, Grayson said she hopes to attend a college with “an amazing gymnastics program.” Right now she has those narrowed to Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and UCLA. She hopes one day to work as a lawyer or in the medical field.

In the meantime, she plans to continue being in pageants because of the friendships she makes.

“When I did the Loris Bog Off pageant, that was one of my first where you actually interact with the girls. Then at the Little Miss South Carolina, the whole week, all we did was talk and do so many fun things together,” she said.

Grayson added there is often a misconception about the meaning of pageants.

“When it comes to Little Miss South Carolina, it is not just about the looks. The girls are smart. We have to do so much and be confident. And we are confident, and we are talented,” Grayson said.

Jenna Causey

The first pageant in which Causey won was the Tabor City Yam Festival. She won that title in 2014 and again in 2016.

And even though she is only 8-years-old, her trophy case also includes crowns from the Little Miss North Myrtle Beach and the Little Miss Horry County Pageant which she won in 2015.

She said she had a wonderful time at the Little Miss South Carolina Pageant.

“It was fun meeting new friends, and the experience was great,” Causey said.

Her talent is dance, but she did not have to perform in the Little Miss South Carolina Pageant.

When she is not doing something pageant-related, Causey is a normal young girl who loves doing normal things.

“I like to play with my dog, Sadie. I like to ride the four-wheeler. I like to ride horses. I take lessons in Aynor,” she said.

Her mom, Brandy Causey, said pageants are a great opportunity for young girls to learn skills such as public speaking and to be comfortable being on a stage.

Jenna is also involved in community service and is working to help Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.

She said there is one downside to being in pageants.

“I like getting ready for the pageants, but I do not like the hairspray. It gets on my neck,” she joked.