St. James Sharks

It's time for Sharks to show bite

Josh Hoke - jhoke@thesunnews.com

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When Billy Hurston was named the first head coach at St. James, he preached patience, asking that his coaching efforts go unjudged until his fifth season.

He knew it would be that long to build a solid football foundation after the school's opening. Now, with his deadline looming, the fifth-year coach believes his program is moving closer to equal footing.

``It takes time to build a program,'' said Hurston, whose program now includes more than 80 players. ``I'm excited where we are with facilities, considering the few victories we've had. To make the playoffs [in 2006] is something we can build on. We've played some schools tough, but now it's time to put up.

St. James quarterback Chase Smith, 15, throws a long pass during action against Conway at the 2008 Kickoff Classic held Friday at Conway High School stadium.

THE PLAYBOOK
Coach | Billy Hurston, fifth year (8-33 at St. James, 8-33 overall)
Last season | 2-8; tied for last in Region VI-AAA; missed Class AAA playoffs
Returning starters | 2 offense (WR, OL), 7 defense (4 DL, 2 DB, LB)
Base schemes | Jet sweep/spread offense; 4-4 defense
Strengths | With four starters on the defensive line returning, the Sharks should improve their rush defense, which allowed 213 yards per game in 2007. Receiver Dewayne Dunham averaged 12.7 yards per catch last season, and his speed _ he is Horry County's reigning 400-meter champion _ is a dangerous weapon. Hurston believes sophomore quarterback Chase Smith can make almost any throw on the field and has the potential to be special.
Weaknesses | An offense that averaged just 227 yards per game was ravaged by graduation. That includes the teams' top three rushers, its top two receivers and its quarterback. The entire offense must be retooled. The Sharks will struggle to replace their offensive playmakers, but several track standouts will get their chance.
Outlook | There are some good athletes who played reserve roles in 2007 that Hurston believes will contribute. With a large number of seniors, St. James has the potential to surprise. The Sharks scheduled an easier non-region slate, with games against two Class AA and three Class A schools. They should be able to tinker on both sides of the ball before Region VII-AAA play begins.

``I think you'll see a good football team this year from being in the weight room last year. We're big enough to compete. We've got more speed than we've ever had.''

With 24 seniors _ some of them didn't play in 2007 after contributing during 2006's playoff run _ the Sharks are more experienced and tired of underachieving.

``We've worked a lot harder than we ever had before and we're a lot more dedicated,'' senior linebacker Gene Maruca said. ``We've seen a team that won, we've seen a team that did horrible and we saw last year, which was really disappointing for us.''

The Sharks will rely on their defense, which, at least on paper, looks like one of the best in the school's history. The offense is a work in progress and probably will be for the first few weeks of the season.

But that doesn't concern Hurston, because he knows he'll have a more disciplined and focused team than he did in 2007.

``They know we are ready to win,'' he said of his players. ``It's a different atmosphere. [The seniors] have created that. It was disappointing last year. We should have won three more games, but without discipline you're going to lose the close ones. We didn't have that last year.''