Warren Whitaker was head coach for one year (1987) at Wilkinson County Christian Academy before going back to being an assistant coach because of the time he spends as a preacher and the pressure the head coaching job presents.

But with Tom Nickens resigning after one year as head coach, Whitaker is back as the Rams head man, but more for the players.

&uot;I&160;feel for these kids because they have had three coaches in the last three years,&uot; Whitaker said. &uot;They are familiar with me and the chemistry would be better as far as football. These are good kids and I felt they needed me to take the job.&uot;

WCCA&160;went 3-8 last year, winning two of its last three games.

&uot;We want to build off of the momentum we had at the end of the year,&uot; Whitaker said.

Whitaker coached the WCCA&160;junior high for 16 years.

&uot;I’ll run basically the same type of system I had in the junior high. Most of these kids are pretty familiar with it. I like to go with power football.&uot;

Nickens resigned as football and track coach at WCCA and is seeking a coaching position at a public or private school.

&uot;I’ve had a few offers, but I’m not really sure what I’m going to do yet,&uot; Nickens said. &uot;I’ve been offered a job at Cordova High in Jasper, Ala., and a defensive coordinator job at Southaven High.&uot;

Nicken led WCCA&160;to a in his only year.

&uot;I thought the kids tried real hard and got a lot better,&uot; he said. &uot;We improved as the year went on. We knew we wouldn’t conquer the world, but we did well. There’s a good group coming back with a lot of potential. I wish the kids the best.&uot;