Now a Warren Area High School senior, he recently signed to play Division III college football at Westminster College beginning in the fall.

“It goes by fast,” White said.

Fast has a little something to do with it.

“Ben has to be one of the top dynamic playmakers in District 10,” said Warren coach Mark Morelli of White’s senior season and first-team Region 5 nods on both offense and defense. “Teams had to game plan for him; he was a game-changer on offense (769 receiving yards for 24 yards per catch and 10 touchdowns) and special teams (22.9 yards per kickoff return and 16.6 per punt return). There is an old saying, ‘speed kills,’ and Ben has the speed. (On defense), he really picked things up for us at safety when we lost Landon Douvlos.”

Submitted Photo

White, the son of Warren Area High School athletic director Jeff White and WAHS band director Marcia White, will fit right in with Westminster’s team colors — blue and white.

“Westminster just felt more like home to me,” said Ben. “I don’t know if it was the colors, not being too far away from home, or the history around their football program. It was a tough decision to make between Alfred State, Saint Vincent, Washington and Jefferson, and Westminster. But I believe I made the right decision.”

Being as fast as he is, there was probably another decision to be made.

“I have been involved in football, basketball, baseball, and track,” said White. “I like most of them, but football was the one for me. I like track, but football is always there for me; it’s just something I can do to clear my head. I just don’t know how to explain why I love it. Maybe it’s just that one thing that makes me not be an adult and just be a kid.

“There was a choice before my senior season,” he said. “But I wanted to keep playing the sport I love. I am still considering doing track at Westminster. One of the track coaches told me I am welcome to do track and that their two sprinters are football players. I can definitely run there if I want to.”

White has been on the football sidelines as long as he can remember.

“Being a part of football has had a huge impact on my life,” he said. “I was on the sidelines at the games as a ball boy when I was little.”

His entire family has been synonymous with sports in Warren.

“I remember watching my brother, John, all the time during the summer because he was on (Little League) all-stars and it would almost go the entire summer. And I was always with my dad because everyday for him outside of school was like take your kid to work day. And my cousin, Andrew (Morrison), playing football was really cool to me. I remember watching a Jordan Willets’ highlight reel on YouTube and he scored and I saw my dad on the sidelines with a little kid, which was me. I always wanted to be just like those guys on the field.

“Everyone has made it special for me, from the guys my brother Chris played with, the guys I watched on the sidelines, and my coaches and my teammates. This program is just a huge part of my life and there are so many memories that will always have a special place to me.”

He claims bragging rights for being the fastest runner in his family.

“I used to beat my brothers in races in the backyard, then it went from the backyard to school when everybody raced,” he said. “I wasn’t the fastest at the time in elementary school, but in middle school I started track and I got faster every year. When I started playing football, I started at quarterback, which I didn’t really like. Then the next year I switched to running back, which I stayed with until after the middle of my eighth-grade year. Even before then, Chris was telling me to switch to receiver. And I think that worked out for me.”

Going fast isn’t always good.

“It seems like yesterday that I was a freshman,” said White. “I still remember all the seniors who scared me a little. But I never had a problem with any of them. It might be like that at Westminster, but I will be ready for it. The main thing there is to try to figure out what I want to do.”

His family has ensured he makes the right decisions.

“The greatest impact on my life is my grandpa (the late John “Jack” White),” said Ben. “He was always there, watching all of his grandkids and just watching sports. He is what drives me every day because he never got to see me play in high school. This still hurts thinking about him all the time. He was my best friend. There is a reason on why I work harder than a lot of people, why I give it my all. It was to make him proud. I felt like I need to be successful on the football field to help my team win at all costs because I felt that I needed to do that to make my grandpa proud. I still miss the talks I had with him after the game on the phone or in person. I know he was at every game with a bag of popcorn and some tootsie pops in his pocket. I love that his brick at War Memorial is a place where I can go and talk to him. That’s why I’m never satisfied because I know he is smiling right now, so I need to make him smile even more. That’s why his initials are on my cleats to remind me every day at practice and the game. Because that’s what I feel I need to do is to make him proud.”