Rivals Conway and Carolina Forest played in one of the area’s more exciting contests last season, a three-overtime affair won by the Tigers. The Region VI-5A foes will meet to end the regular season Oct. 27. JASON LEE jlee@thesunnews

Kickoff may be months away, but the first signs of a new football season have already started to reveal themselves.

Among the first is the unveiling of the schedule, giving teams their first glimpse at what they hope is a path that concludes in Columbia.

The final year under the current S.C. High School League (SCHSL) alignment cycle — first to have five classifications — a large share of area schools will take on opponents they saw a mere season ago. But when dealing with contracts for schools from North Carolina, single-year contracts tend to be the way to go.

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Myrtle Beach is taking advantage of both this upcoming year, making a trip to the Upstate and perennial powerhouse Byrnes for the second in a home-and-home agreement in a rare Saturday regular-season contest. The following Friday night, it welcomes N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) Class A runner-up Charlotte Christian to the Grand Strand, the programs resuming their series Aug. 25 after a year’s absence.

“There’s a little history there,” said Myrtle Beach football coach Mickey Wilson. “With the New Hanover deal being for one year, we began the process of looking for a game. There were a couple of out-of-state teams interested, and we were in particular talking to a team out of (Washington) D.C.

“But the coach from Charlotte Christian called, saying they had a game fall through as well. It was just one of those situations where we both needed a game.”

Along with the perk of playing a top shelf opponent early in the season, this matchup between Charlotte Christian and Myrtle Beach will be played at Brooks Stadium on the Coastal Carolina campus.

While Carolina Forest will keep Hoggard (N.C.) on its slate, Fairmont (N.C.) will not return. To fill the void left by the Golden Tornadoes, the Panthers will host Charlotte’s Providence Day School.

Aynor also needed a replacement after its contract with West Columbus (N.C.) was not renewed. Word of God (N.C.) has assumed the role vacated by the Vikings, paying a visit to Aynor on Sept. 22.

Those are just a few of the newsworthy items associated with the upcoming football season. Here are a few more:

▪  Carolina Forest won’t have to stray too far from campus the early part of the 2017 season, five of the Panthers’ first six games being played at home. However, the final stretch of the campaign will be played away from Gardner Lacy Road, three of Carolina Forest’s Region VI-5A contests coming on the road.

▪  Much different from their peers at Carolina Forest, Conway and North Myrtle Beach will find themselves on the road each of the season’s first three weeks of the 2017 campaign. While the Tigers will be at Georgetown, Wando and Wilson before finally heading home for a date with Hartsville, North Myrtle Beach will go to Timberland, Loris and West Brunswick (N.C.).

The similarities end there, though, with Conway hitting the road in two of the next three weeks and North Myrtle Beach enjoying a four-game homestand.

▪  Already finding themselves in two of the tougher leagues South Carolina high school football has to offer, Socastee and Waccamaw each have the added hurdle of facing eight teams that qualified for either the N.C. or S.C. playoffs a year ago. Aynor, Carvers Bay, Conway, Loris, North Myrtle Beach and St. James will each take on seven clubs that made the 2017 playoffs, while Carolina Forest and Georgetown each will face six of last year’s postseason participants.

Out of all area teams, no team will take on fewer squads that made the playoffs last year than Myrtle Beach, which will face five.

▪ Speaking of the Seahawks, they will make the most appearances among squads on the Grand Strand on Thursday night’s WPDE-TV Game of the Week. From late August to the final week of September, Myrtle Beach will be featured four times. Among those matchups are ones Aug. 31 and Sept. 21 at home against West Florence and Conway, respectively, along with a Sept. 14 contest at Carolina Forest and its Region VII-4A opener at North Myrtle Beach.

Socastee’s Oct. 12 at West Florence will also be featured.

Joe L. Hughes II: 843-444-1702, @JoeLHughesII

Area schedules

Aynor

Aug. 18 — Marion

Aug. 25 — at Andrew Jackson

Sept. 1 — Green Sea Floyds

Sept. 8 — at Creek Bridge

Sept. 22 — Word of God (N.C.)

Sept. 29 — at Georgetown*

Oct. 6 — Waccamaw*

Oct. 13 — Dillon*

Oct. 20 — at Lake City*

Oct. 27 — at Loris*

Carolina Forest

Aug. 25 — vs. Providence Day

Sept. 1 — vs. St. James

Sept. 8 — vs. Hoggard

Sept. 14 — vs. Myrtle Beach (Thurs.)

Sept. 22 — at Loris

Sept. 29 — vs. Socastee*

Oct. 6 — at South Florence*

Oct. 13 — at Sumter*

Oct. 20 — vs. West Florence*

Oct. 27 — at Conway*

Carvers Bay

Aug. 18 — at Marlboro County

Aug. 25 — at Georgetown

Sept. 1 — Waccamaw

Sept. 8 — at North Myrtle Beach

Sept. 15 — Andrews*

Sept. 22 — Kingstree*

Sept. 29 — Marion*

Oct. 6 — at Mullins*

Oct. 20 — at Johnsonville*

Oct. 27 — at Latta*

Conway

Aug. 18 — at Georgetown

Aug. 25 — at Wando

Sept. 1 — at Wilson

Sept. 8 — Hartsville

Sept. 21 — at Myrtle Beach (Thurs.)

Sept. 29 — West Florence*

Oct. 6 — at Socastee*

Oct. 13 — South Florence*

Oct. 20 — at Sumter*

Oct. 27 — Carolina Forest*

Georgetown

Aug. 18 — Conway

Aug. 25 — Carvers Bay

Sept. 1 — at Andrews

Sept. 8 — at Stratford

Sept. 15 — at St. James

Sept. 29 — Aynor*

Oct. 6 — at Lake City*

Oct. 13 — Loris*

Oct. 20 — at Dillon*

Oct. 27 — Waccamaw*

Green Sea Floyds

Aug. 18 — East Columbus

Sept. 1 — at Aynor

Sept. 8 — Loris

Sept. 15 — at Military Magnet

Sept. 22 — Camden Millitary

Sept. 29 — at Lake View*

Oct. 6 — at Creek Bridge*

Oct. 13 — East Clarendon*

Oct. 20 — Hemingway*

Oct. 27 — at Hannah-Pamplico*

Loris

Aug. 18 — at St. James

Aug. 25 — North Myrtle Beach

Sept. 1 — South Columbus

Sept. 8 — at Green Sea Floyds

Sept. 22 — Carolina Forest

Sept. 29 — Lake City*

Oct. 6 — at Dillon*

Oct. 13 — at Georgetown*

Oct. 20 — Waccamaw*

Oct. 27 — Aynor*

Myrtle Beach

Aug. 19 — at Byrnes (Sat.)

Aug. 25 — vs. Charlotte Christian (at Brooks Stadium, Coastal Carolina)

Aug. 31 — West Florence (Thurs.)

Sept. 8 — at Socastee

Sept. 14 — at Carolina Forest (Thurs.)

Sept. 21 — Conway (Thurs.)

Sept. 28 — at North Myrtle Beach (Thurs.)*

Oct. 6 — St. James*

Oct. 13 — Marlboro County*

Oct. 26 — at Wilson*

North Myrtle Beach

Aug. 18 — at Timberland

Aug. 25 — at Loris

Sept. 1 — at West Brunswick

Sept. 8 — Carvers Bay

Sept. 15 — Socastee

Sept. 22 — Camden

Sept. 28 — Myrtle Beach (Thurs.)*

Oct. 13 — at Wilson*

Oct. 20 — at Marlboro County*

Oct. 27 — St. James*

Socastee

Aug. 18 — West Brunswick

Aug. 25 — at North Brunswick

Sept. 8 — Myrtle Beach

Sept. 15 — at North Myrtle Beach

Sept. 22 — St. James

Sept. 29 — at Carolina Forest*

Oct. 6 — Conway*

Oct. 12 — at West Florence (Thurs.)*

Oct. 20— at South Florence*

Oct. 27 — Sumter*

St. James

Aug. 18 — Loris

Aug. 25 — Waccamaw

Sept. 1 — at Carolina Forest

Sept. 8 — at Lake City

Sept. 15 — Georgetown

Sept. 22 — at Socastee

Sept. 29 — Marlboro County*

Oct. 6 — at Myrtle Beach*

Oct. 20 — Wilson*

Oct. 27 — at North Myrtle Beach*

Waccamaw

Aug. 18 — Andrews

Aug. 25 — at St. James

Sept. 1 — at Carvers Bay

Sept. 15 — Hemingway

Sept. 22 — Hannah-Pamplico

Sept. 29 — Dillon*

Oct. 6 — at Aynor*

Oct. 13 — Lake City*

Oct. 20 — at Loris*

Oct. 27 — at Georgetown*

This story was originally published May 23, 2017 4:01 PM.