Prep football player profile: Choctaw's Justin Savage

FORT WALTON BEACH — When the chips were down, Choctawhatchee's Justin Savage spoke up.

Behind an unthinkable 16-0 to one-win Washington in a key District 1-3A game on Oct. 23, Savage, one of the area’s best wide receivers, met with quarterback Jesse Adams. While by all accounts Savage is a team player, leaders — and playmakers — must demand the stage when their squad is in peril and Savage had a request.

“I was just kind of talking to Jesse and said, ‘Give me the ball,’ ” Savage recalled. “A few plays were called for me and I was like, ‘I have to make these plays and give our team a spark.’ ”

Savage followed through, hauling in a game-changing 46-yard catch on fourth-and-9 that set up his 3-yard touchdown grab and gave Choctaw (5-3, 5-1 District 1-3A) momentum heading into halftime. In the third quarter, Savage leapt over a Washington defender and swiped the ball away from the Wildcat cornerback’s outstretched hands for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Indians went on to win 28-23 behind Savage’s signature performance and sealed a playoff berth the next week.

“He always seems to make a big play when we need it,” Choctaw coach Greg Thomas said. “When you throw it up with Justin around, there’s a good chance we’re going to come up with the football.”

Forty-six times, as a matter of fact, is how often Savage has come up with the football when it’s been tossed his way. He’s produced 611 yards and five touchdowns with those 46 receptions, and has been the Indians’ most dangerous receiving threat during their playoff run.

“So far so good,” Savage said of his season. “I just want to keep helping my team, (I want to) win out. I’m more about them than my stats. I’m just going to keep trying to play hard and see what I can do.”

What he’s been doing is a direct result of hard work in the offseason. While the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Savage is admittedly still skinny, he did manage to pack 20 pounds onto his frame with diligent strength training and by stuffing his face, which he thoroughly enjoys.

Savage had an attention-grabbing day during a preseason 7-on-7 camp at Fort Walton Beach, and he’s delivered on that promise this season.

“He competes for (the football), and that’s what we need out of him,” Thomas said. “He’s definitely huge for our offense.”