Patriots To Headline Kickoff Classic In Montgomery

Bob Jones football head coach Kelvis White oversees his Patriots during mid-summer workouts as the Patriots prep to begin the 2021 season on Friday, August 20 in Montgomery as part of the AHSAA Kickoff Classic. Bob Jones will face the fellow Class 7A Dothan Wolves. Photo- Bob Labbe

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By Bob Labbe Published

2:19 pm Friday, July 9, 2021

Patriots To Headline Kickoff Classic In Montgomery

MADISON- Bob Jones football head coach Kelvis White is set for a homecoming of sorts on the road to kick off the Patriots’ 2021 season as his squad has been chosen to play against his former team from Dothan in the 2021 Kickoff Classic in Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl on Friday, Aug. 20. The matchup will be the second of two Kickoff Classic games as on Thursday, Aug. 19 Handley will tangle with Guntersville.

Both games will begin at 7:00 p.m. and televised live by the AHSAA TV Network, live-streamed over the NFHS Network and featured on the AHSAA Radio Network.

White is in his second year as lead Patriot and was head coach at Dothan from 2008-2015 where he posted a 39-45 won-loss record. The former University of Alabama standout lineman and son of Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame coach Louis White and brother to Sparkman head coach Laron White was also a key assistant at Homewood and came to Madison from Mae Jemison High of Huntsville where he was head coach four seasons (25-20).

Bob Jones was 3-7 in 2020 where the squad opened with two wins in the team’s first three games before COVID-19 led to two mid-season forfeits.

This season White is looking for big things from his varsity squad, which could have as many as 90 players dressed out.

Meanwhile, Dothan was 2-7 last season just a year after opening after the Dothan City Schools merged Northview and Dothan high schools into one mega school. The first year program was 8-3 that opening season, but struggled with COVID-19 difficulties resulting in a season-opening forfeit loss in 2020. The Wolves lost their first five games before regrouping and closing out the second half of the season with a 2-2 result. The Wolves are led by head coach Smitty Grider who has a 121-59 record at five different schools including nearby Hazel Green where he was 4-7 in 2018.

The Aug. 20 appearance will mark the third time Bob Jones has been a part of the annual special games in Montgomery. The Patriots defeated Enterprise 23-20 in 2013 and Carver-Montgomery 37-30 in 2015 in previous Kickoff Classic contests.