THOMASVILLE — Will Roy Cooley has a unique distinction. He’s one of the few people to coach at Thomasville and Thomas County Central high schools.

He coached at a time when the Yellow Jackets were not looking to win state titles.

They struggled to win — period.

Cooley started coaching in 1962 after he graduated from Arkansas State. Thomasville High School proved to be his next stop.

“My friend heard they needed a coach in Thomasville,” Cooley said.

Upon arriving in the Rose City, Cooley knew this was the place he wanted to begin his career.

“I drove into town and thought, if these people will have me, this is where I want to live,” Cooley said. “It’s a clean town and a good-looking town. Everybody was classy folks. I thought these were the kind of people I wanted to be involved with.”

Cooley was in Jonesboro, Ark., when he received a call from Bulldogs head coach Joe Summerall.

Summerall wanted Cooley on his staff.

But rather asking about what his salary would be or about any potential days off, Cooley asked just one question, “When do I report to work?”

Thus Cooley reported to Thomasville and stayed for three years as both the offensive line and defensive line coach. Among the many observations Cooley recalled were the differences between the city and county.

“There’s an attitude between the city and county,” Cooley said. “I’m just sitting there thinking, can’t we all just get alone.”

After serving as an assistant coach, Cooley moved to Live Oak, Fla., where he was the head coach for four years. He then moved to Perry and stayed for two years as head coach.

In 1971, Cooley decided the time had come for him to make his return to the place where his football roots first took shape.

“We wanted to get back to Thomasville,” Cooley said.

Though he was coming back home so to speak, it wasn’t to the famed red and gold of Thomasville, but rather to the blue and gold of Thomas County Central as head coach.

It was a position, though lucrative by its location, proved to be an adjustment for Cooley and his staff.

“They (Central) were totally unprepared for football. They had no weight room nor any weight equipment,” Cooley said.

Entering his first season at the helm of the Yellow Jackets, Cooley had concerns about the safety of his players. He even had discussions with the Board of Education.

“I thought we might want to play a B-team schedule,” Cooley admitted. “We decided to plot on.”

The season proved to be disastrous, as the Yellow Jackets finished 0-9-1. Cooley said the record was not indicative of how his team performed on the field.

“We didn’t get beat real bad. We had five freshman and they worked,” Cooley said.

Despite not winning a game, Cooley did not have any doubts about his decision to coach the Yellow Jackets.

“It never crossed my mind. I knew there was a lot of work to be done,” Cooley said.

Work was done and improvements were seen almost immediately. The following year Central traveled to Douglas High School in Montezuma. The Yellow Jackets came away with a resounding 73-0 wipeout.

On the way home, Cooley and his team heard on the radio that Thomasville had beaten Valdosta.

When the Central bus arrived back at the school, the team found hundreds of cars awaiting their arrival. They were filled with Thomasville players and cheerleaders.

Both teams hugged and congratulated each other for the monumental wins they had achieved. It was a moment that will live in Cooley’s mind forever.

“I thought it was one of the greatest things I have ever seen in the history of athletics,” Cooley said. “The kids had a tremendous respect for each other.

Central’s program continued to make strides in establishing itself as a competitive program. But it couldn’t be considered the top team in the area until it knocked off cross-town rival Thomasville.

“In 1976, I talked to the exchange club. Before this time, Thomasville was like 17-0 against Central,” Cooley said. “I said one of these days this is going to change.”

Change it did, as the Yellow Jackets pulled off the upset in the upcoming season.

“If you keep playing long enough, you’re going to win,” Cooley said. “We had a great team. They had great athletes and a tremendous coaching staff.”

Cooley said the win established the Yellow Jackets as a top program.

“It was one of the greatest things. Parity had come about,” Cooley said. “We felt we were on the same level as Thomasville and Valdosta. We earned a lot of respect.”

Cooley later retired from coaching in the summer of 1978. Central had been given life and was a contending team. It continued to be successful under head coaches such as Larry Green and Ed Pilcher. Pilcher has led the Yellow Jackets to five state titles and one state runner-up finish.

The Yellow Jackets’ success has put many smiles on the face of Cooley.

“It’s unreal. The coaches out there are doing a wonderful job,” Cooley said. “I’m really proud of them.”

While winning on the field took time to develop for Cooley, winning in the classroom was demanded immediately.

Cooley’s players soon realized that their head coach stressed good academics.

“We never had kids failing, they all passed,” Cooley said. “They were good citizens.”

A good education was a top priority for Cooley.

“You almost can’t stress it enough,” Cooley said. “I heard ‘thank you’ all the time from the mamas and daddys. It wasn’t a problem at all.

“Kids will do what you expect them to do. That’s the problem with society now, we don’t expect enough out of our kids. We expected ours to perform at their utmost ability.”

Cooley now works with Waddell and Reed, a Financial Services company.

His legacy, however, will always be remembered as one that led the Central football program out of the dust and ashes and into an aura of prominence.







THOMASVILLE — In the mid-1970s, there was a blur running by and around opposing defenses at Central High School football games.

The blur was Terry White.

White grew up in Cairo, but transferred to Central before his sophomore season in 1974.

While playing for the Syrupmakers during his freshman year, White did not see much action and decided a change needed to be made.

“Frank Delaney (now Central principal) talked to me and asked, ‘Why don’t you come over here?'” White said.

White made the transfer 15 miles to the east. He treasured the games he was able to play against his former team.

“I enjoyed playing against them,” White said. “I wanted to do good against them. I wanted to let them know I was good enough to play over there.”

Good didn’t begin to describe White’s performances, although they came with a price. Central had to forfeit some non-region games because of questions surrounding White’s residency.

“He was a slashing type with exceptional vision,” former Central offensive coordinator Don Garland said. “He had a knack for how to read a hole.”

White’s knack for running helped him eclipse the Region 1-AAA rushing record of 1,374 yards held by Dougherty’s Mack Green.

Thomasville’s William Andrews, who went on to NFL glory with the Atlanta Falcons, held the record before Green topped it.