Whitley Making Eighth State championship Game

When the Tarboro Vikings step off the bus Saturday and enter B B&T Stadium it will be their third straight trip to the championship game. One of the coaches A B Whitley this will be the eighth trip which is not bad considering this is his hobby not his life’s work.

Whitley a 1967 Northern Nash graduate became a volunteer coach while he was still in college for Northern. Despite his passion for coaching college graduation brought about a job with the USDA. During his stops in Swansboro and in Murfreesboro A B volunteered coaching and finally upon his return to the Rocky Mount area helped Raymond Cobb at North Edgecombe with scouting for Raymond in the playoffs in 1991.

Cobb was impressed enough with A B’s scouting reports to ask him to join him coaching the next year. Two State championships and three second place finishes later Whitley followed Cobb when he moved to SouthWest Edgecombe.

A B Whitley found that he wanted to quit making the afternoon drives to Pinetops and wanted to stick closer to Rocky Mount. Jeff Craddock would not have none of that and persuaded Whitley that Tarboro was well worth the drive each day in the fall. Two straight trips to the states and winning the title last year Whitley once again wanted to stay home in Rocky Mount.

A B joined Dickie Schott’s staff at Rocky Mount this season and after a few games resigned citing coaching philosophy difference’s. Now with nothing to do on weekday afternoons Whitley visited a Tarboro practice and is barraged by the coaches to come put on a Tarboro coaching shirt. Now retired with the USDA Whitley just didn’t think he wanted to make the trip to Tarboro every day.

After a Friday night game which Whitley watch from the sidelines Tarboro coach Jeff Craddock told Whitley that he was praying hard for Whitley’s return and would keep praying until it happened. Whitley was on the practice field that following Monday which was the game after Tarboro gave up 35 points to Roanoke Rapids.

The rest is history as Tarboro has found their way back to the State Championship mainly because of the improvement of the defense Whitley’s specialty. How much improvement has the defense had since Whitley’s return. They held Roanoke Rapids to 14 points the second time around with the Yellow Jackets in the playoffs.

Why is it that one man can be so lucky that he could make eight visits to a state championship game and stand on the sidelines and coach defense? Especially since this is a hobby. There is no doubt if you have ever watched his defenses perform you realize that the man knows his defenses. He has that ability to get the players to respond in a positive way. He gets their respect because he respects each of the players. If you have ever watched A B’s demeanor on the side lines he is a teacher not a screamer.

I knew A B before because of football but I learned of A B Whitley the man back during Hurricane Floyd. His mother lives in my neighborhood. I had a tree down in my backyard and I was hauling limbs and what I could get to the street. A B who had been to his mother’s house to get her yard in order was walking the neighborhood cutting limbs for people in the neighborhood who needed a chain saw.

A B Whitley will step on the field in Winston Salem Saturday coaching in a State Championship for the eighth time. A victory will be his fourth, Win or lose A B Whitley is a champion both on the field and in life.

Whitley along with Coach Jeff Craddock and his coaches and some players will join me Sunday night on a special addition of the Stretchlon Sports Show on WHIG-TV. Hopefully we will be talking to the State champs again.