By Josh P. Crotzer
It's a popular offensive philosophy across all levels of football—if a play is successful, keep running it.
Since 2013, football players selected to the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl have teamed up to guide deserving children from Myrtle Beach schools on a Christmas shopping spree. Two days before the Dec. 13 game at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium, 88 high school allstars from across the state took a break from practicing to help students from Myrtle Beach Elementary School and Myrtle Beach Early Childhood navigate the aisles of a Target Superstore and check off their wish lists.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” says Zyon Ratchford, a linebacker from Gaffney High School. “Shopping with a girl is different than with my little cousin. But it meant a lot to be able to help her.”
It meant a lot to the children, too. Their lists included essential items such as coats and socks, as well as whatever toys would fit into the $150 budget. Each of the 44 children were teamed with a player each from the North and South squads, tasked with helping the children find items on their lists.
The shopping spree is sponsored by Broad River Electric Cooperative and the state’s electric cooperatives.
The shopping spree wasn’t the only thing that made game week special. The night before the bowl game, a line crew from Horry Electric set up hands-on demonstrations on the football field so the players could explore careers as cooperative lineworkers.
“They are great kids, and we’ve had the best interactions with them,” says HEC Advanced Line Technician Sean Brown. “It’s an opportunity to show them what we do. If they do have thoughts about becoming a lineman, they get a little idea of what it is like.”
Other local players participating included Grayson Crowe of Boiling Springs High, Asher Littlejohn of Broome High, Braylon Blanton of Chesnee High, Jaiden Grate of Boiling Springs High, Brendon Carson of Spartanburg High and Khamari Turner of Chapman High.
South Carolina’s electric cooperatives sponsor the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl in partnership with the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association.