Today’s interviewee is Savannah Christian coach Baker Woodward, whose team will play at Marist tonight. Savannah Christian is 47-16 in Woodward’s six seasons and made the 2022 quarterfinals despite moving to Class 3A from Class A Private. Woodward is a Savannah native who played at Calvary Day, graduated from Armstrong State and coached at Benedictine before coming to Savannah Christian in 2018.
1. How did the Marist-Savannah Christian game come about? “The game came about because Battery Creek [a South Carolina team that Savannah Christian beat 49-6 last season] backed out of our contract. Their coach said they were concerned for their players’ safety, and they were going to break the contract and not play us. So in order to not lose one of our guaranteed 10 games, I had to scramble and find an opponent. Marist was one of the teams available. I know they are a very good program, and it will be a good gauge to see where we are as a program.”
2. One interesting thing about the game is that both teams have a son of a famous retired Georgia Tech athlete. [Savannah Christian’s Logan Brooking is the son of 15-year NFL player Keith Brooking, while Marist’s Luke Harping is the son of 11-year NBA player Matt Harping. Brooking and Harping starred at Tech over the same four years and were drafted in their respective sports in 1998.] Do you know if Logan and Luke know each other? And what kind of player is Logan? What’s his skill set? “Logan and Luke have not met. However, I do believe that Logan has met Luke’s dad through his dad. Logan is a big strong physical player that can hurt you on both sides of the ball. He is being recruited right now to play tight end at the next level, but he is also a very gifted defensive end. He has great hands and is a tough matchup for anyone to tackle in space. He has greatly improved his ball skills and will be very hard for any defensive player to match up with. Lastly, he is a big reason for our success in the run game as he takes pride in blocking. With a frame of 6-4, 230 pounds, he can easily block most average high school defensive ends and outside linebackers.” [Luke Harpring, though not quite as big, plays a similar role for Marist.]
3. Your best known player is defensive lineman Elijah Griffin from a recruiting standpoint. He’s a five-star recruit. What will people see when they’re watching him? “What makes him stand out to the eye is that he is 6-5, 280 pounds. When people come to our games, they will see a player that is large but moves extremely well. He is very tough to game plan for because if you run at him you will have to double team him, but if you run away from him, he will just chase you down. Besides his size and speed, Elijah has some really big numbers in the weight room. What also makes him stand out is he is just a great young man. He works so hard in the classroom, weight room and on the practice field. He never complains, and his most common answer to every question I’ve ever asked him is ‘Yes, sir.’”
4. What else would you want people to know about your team? What will fans see when watching them for the first time? “I really hope you see a team that plays with everything that they have and shows extreme courage in the way that they play. Our motto this season is COURAGE. We want our players to know that when they come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, His spirit gives you the tools to not fear. Our team verse this year is 2 Timothy 1:7 - ‘For the spirit of God does not make us timid but gives us love, power and self-discipline.’ If we put a team on the field that plays with all they have and they know that fear does not come from God, but Love, power and self-discipline does, then we will be extremely successful not only this season but for life.”
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