COLUMBIA, South Carolina – Benedict College head football coach James Woody has been on the job for about 10 months. One of the things he missed when he came on board four games into the 2011 season was the Palmetto Capital City Classic. So when the 2012 Palmetto Capital City Classic Organizing Committee held a press conference on Thursday to introduce the participating head coaches and announce the schedule of events, Woody was genuinely enthusiastic about the upcoming contest.“I've been hearing a lot of great things about this Classic,” Woody said. “I'm hearing there is going to be a sellout crowd and I'm used to playing in front of big crowds. Our kids are very excited about it as well. When you have a big crowd out there, the kids feed off that energy. We're expecting a lot of people to come out and support this Classic and we're just looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of it.”
Benedict will be playing in the Palmetto Capital City Classic for the 11th straight year the Classic has been in existence. This year, the Tigers will face the Trojans of Virginia State University at 4 p.m. on September 15 at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.
Virginia State head coach Andrew Faison said he is also looking forward to another meeting on the field with his old friend Woody. He recalled when his Virginia State team traveled to Tuskegee when Woody was an assistant coach there.
“They invited us down to Tuskegee and boy, did they treat us great,” Faison said, getting a laugh from the audience. “They put us in a locker room with a dirt floor. There were bees and mosquitos. His job was to get my guys unfocused on the game. It worked, because they wound up beating us.”
Faison also said he owes a debt of gratitude to Woody. When Virginia State was looking for a new head coach 10 years ago, Woody flew to Petersburg, Va., to interview for the position. He turned the job down, and called his friend Faison. That opened the door for Faison, who was an assistant coach at Winston-Salem State at the time and is a Virginia State graduate.
“So I've got to thank him, because if he had taken that job, I probably wouldn't be in this position right now,” Faison said.
Woody was a long-time offensive assistant coach before taking over at Benedict last season. Faison has a deep background as a defensive coach. The two said that also could make for an interesting matchup.
“I've been knowing coach Faison for more than 20 years, and he's a defensive-oriented coach and I'm an offensive-oriented coach, so there's going to be a lot of fireworks out there,” Woody said. “It's going to be a lot of fun.”
“I promise you we will give you an event to remember,” Faison said.
The Palmetto Capital City Classic is a week-long event with some major events, including the Gospel Explosion, featuring the USC Gospel Choir and Men of Praise at the Township Auditorium on Sept. 9; The Garnell McDonald Memorial Golf Tournament at LinRick Golf Club on Sept. 14 and the "Famously Hot" Jazz Show, featuring Maysa at the Columbia Convention Center. Gameday will feature a parade around the Benedict College campus to the football stadium.
Tickets are available at the Palmetto Capital City Classic office at 2352 Two Notch Road, South Carolina Community Bank locations, Victory Travel Agency at Fort Jackson, Columbia Township Auditorium, Sunset Place, and the Benedict College Bookstore and Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.
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