Today’s interviewee is Woodward Academy coach John Hunt, whose team defeated Marist 14-9 last week. Jalen Woods threw a 48-yard TD pass to Christian Harrison with 47 seconds left to give Woodward the lead, and Harrison and Spencer Snipe stopped a Marist running back at the 1-yard line on the final play of the game. It was Hunt’s 100th victory as coach.
John Hunt, Woodward Academy head coach
1. Two clutch plays. Let’s take them one at a time. Jalen Woods to Christian Harrison. What happened? “First, coach Jimmy Hyder, who was running the two-minute offense, made a great call. Second, it was a beautiful throw and catch. We had already hit three passes toward that corner in that drive and missed two others. Coach Hyder thought it was time to go deep. In reality, it was pretty good coverage by their corner. Jalen make an exceptional throw. He just dropped it in the perfect place. Christian made the big play we always felt he was capable of making.”
2. Final play of the game. What happened? And can you think of another last play or final minute like this one at Woodward? “I’ve got to tip my hat to Marist. They never quit. The made some beautiful plays in less than a minute to find themselves on the 5-yard line with 4 seconds left. The lined up 3x1 and ran the speed option to the boundary. As soon as I saw it, I thought we had lost. However, Christian Harrison was able to shed his block and we had exceptional hustle by linebacker Spencer Snipe. Together, they were able to knock the ball carrier out of bounds about a foot short of the goal line. I’ve got to also recognize that official on the sideline. He got it right in a bang-bang play. A lot of things had to come together for us to win. A tremendous team win.
“I was talking to a couple of our coaches about some of our last-minute wins. A couple of years ago, we were able to drive the field and throw a touchdown pass in last minute to beat Cartersville at their place. The significance of that game was a little bit bigger since it was the quarterfinals. Much like the other night against Marist, we had to convert a fourth down to keep the drive alive. Earlier that same season, we were able to kick a last-second field goal to beat Blessed Trinity at their place as well. We’ve had our share of close games.”
3. What does a win like that do for a team? “I am so proud of our players and coaches. We certainly are not a dominant team in which we can just overpower and impose our will on other teams. Yet, when we play well in all three phases – offense, defense and kicking game – we can be pretty good. Our defense and special teams have been carrying us as of late. It was good to see the offense step up. After enduring the COVID and an 0-3 start last year, it does wonders for our confidence to be 3-0 going into region play.”
4. From 0-3 to 3-0, what’s the difference? “I think the fact we were able to have spring football, seven-on-seven passing and a complete summer of training is a huge factor. We were beat up injury-wise last year after three games. I think that was directly attributed to not being able to lift and train because of the COVID shutdown. Last year we were trying to replace a three-year starter at QB. We had to find a new QB this year as well. The difference was all of the seven-on-seven and training we were able to do this summer.
“I’ve got recognize the great job our coaches have done. I believe our consistent success on the field year after year is the fact we are blessed with a great, talented bunch of coaches. We have had the staff together for many years with minimal turnover. I think that continuity is huge. They commit a tremendous amount of unpaid time to these kids because that is the type of individuals they are. They are into coaching for one reason, the kids. In fact, our co-defensive coordinator, coach Ryan Davis, and his wife, Inda, gave birth to their daughter the very morning of our first game. We were prepared to play one coach short. Yet, Ryan showed up a few minutes before game time. I truly believe we might not have won that game without him being there. That’s commitment.
“Finally, these players make it easy to come to work each day. They work so hard as a group. They have done everything we have asked as coaches. There is something special about this group of players. They are humble and trusting. They have an almost blind trust in each other and the coaches. I believe we can take that a long way.”
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