White Plains, AL White Plains, AL Beginning with a positive look at the helmets Jennings hopes to instil an attitude of winning in these helmets of White Plains
Joe Medley
White Plains’ new-look football helmets provide a glimpse into what the Wildcats the new head coach is thinking.
Beginning with a swaggering look on the helmets Jennings hopes to create a winning attitude inside these helmets White Plains
Blake Jennings stuck with the cat-head logo on one side, and added winning mojo to it.
“I’ve always been a huge admirer of the Dallas Cowboys’ helmet,” he declared while looking at two blue center stripes that have a white center. “That’s the stripe on helmets of the Dallas Cowboys’ helmet.
“I lived in Ohatchee during 12 years and one of the greatest seasons we’ve had ever, we had our numbers on one side, and featured our logos on the other side, and that’s exactly what I was looking for to do.”
Jennings his efforts to bring winning energy his way to White Plains will start with appearing like winners. The goal is to feel as if you’re a winner will follow soon.
He has a clue about winning. He was raised in Alexandria and played a role in bringing the winning spirit back in Ohatchee during his time as the defensive coordinator.
A long-held goal was realized when he was first appointed an Head Coach, the coach has now taken over the program that has made it to the playoffs only once in the 50 seasons. They Wildcats aren’t having a successful season since 2003.
Thank all the coaches who have been successful in their efforts.
Salute Jennings for grabbing the chance to become the next player to be White Plains’ fourth in 10 years.
He’ll soon be the one to try to solve White Plains’ chicken-or-egg dilemma. What’s more important, getting the win and keeping White Plains’ top talent in the home field at a time when player movements are not always accepted as a fact?
It will require selling skills as well as Jennings has at minimum two top purchasers who are prominent at White Plains. Long-time coach of boys’ basketball Chris Randall enlisted in the cause and joined the football team on the team for the first time after 8 years. Coach of wrestling Todd Manning joined the football staff for the first time in 4 years.
Talk about everything in.
Other buyers are required to pay Jennings his favorite spot in the gym.
No shortcuts. He has to build bodies that are able to compete with those of Anniston, Handley, Jacksonville, Munford and others field in one of the Class 4A’s most difficult regions.
Jennings believes that the weight room is his center of cultural education and also the day’s first practice field.
“We’ve stated this right from the beginning, and I explained this to the boys the very first day I arrived in White Plains, after I received approval,” he said. “We’re planning to establish that kind of culture in the gym and that’s exactly the thing we’ve been doing this summer. It’s been a bit of an out M.O. this summer. Grow larger, stronger. …
“It’s scheduled to last for five days per week in the training room for the guys, and then we’ll be going to football practice and they’ll be providing us with everything they’ve got and doing what they’re expected to complete which is where things will start to change.”
A glance at the roster of the team’s on Dragonfly which is the AHSAA’s actual eligibility clearinghouse, highlights the hurdle Jennings is facing in his first year. The column to the right shows grades and the bottom column has only a handful of double-digit numbers.
White Plains bulking up into winning players must begin somewhere. Jennings is in need of those 9s and 8s to transform into 11s, 10s and 12s in the new, pearl-white helmets that have all the winning details.
If they continue to work with an assistant coach who was a single player of the season in Alabama who gave them with all his hopes to prove himself to be a successful head coach, then maybe perhaps, in the future, White Plains can fit into a sentence alongside current-day Ohatchee, Alexandria and the Dallas Cowboys.
Wildcats facts
Things to be aware of regarding White Plains football heading into the 2023 football season:
Blake Jennings begins his first year as a head coach for the varsity team. He was previously Ohatchee’s defensive coordinator. He has been named Ohatchee’s state’s class 2A assistant coach of the year for 2019.
White Plains went 2-8 in 2022 and 0-5 in Region 4A Class 4A. 4. The Wildcats are looking for their first victory after going 6-4 in the 2003 season. They’ve had five consecutive seasons of 5-5 since 2003.
Key graduation losses in 2022 include five All-Calhoun County athletes including The LB Brandon Hahm, LB Wade Thompson and the RB L.J. Burns and the WR Collin Spivey and OL/DL Brandon James.
The following All-Calhoun County picks are back the senior the WR/DB Rodney Perry, senior QB/S Dylan Barksdale and junior OL Ty Roberts.
There is no change to White Plains’ region alignment. The Wildcats combat Anniston, Cleburne County, Handley, Jacksonville, Munford and Talladega in Alabama’s most difficult 4A regions.
The non-regional schedule includes a November. 3 home finale of the regular season with Westbrook Christian, which features the former Piedmont director of football Steve Smith. The team’s familiar faces includes the former Piedmont defense director James Blanchard and former Donoho head coach Mark Sanders.
