Brian White always wanted to be the head coach of a high school football team, but after 20 years as an assistant he wondered if he'd ever get the chance to fulfill his dream.

He applied for the head coaching job at Cedar Rapids Washington when Paul James stepped aside to become the full-time athletic director after the 2005 season, but the Warriors hired a guy from the Chicago suburbs named Tony Lombardi.

Disappointed at not getting the position, White left the Warriors after 12 years and became an assistant coach at Cedar Rapids Kennedy in 2006. Tim Lewis was doing a good job as Kennedy's head coach and there was no reason to think anything would change.

White dug in and did his job with the Cougars.

"I was fine being a defensive coordinator for the rest of my career, if that's the way it was going to be," he said. "I had no problems with that."

Then things changed. Lewis announced after the 2013 season that he was stepping aside as Kennedy's head coach to become the strength and conditioning coach at the school, saying that he was his real passion in mentoring young student-athletes.

White applied for the head coaching job and got it, realizing his dream, but admits he had a few self-doubts after 20 years of working for someone else.

"It was, 'OK, I've got my dream job,' but then it was instantaneous anxiety," he said. "Now I have to do something with it. Now I'm up, now I've got this chance I've always wanted. Can I do it?"

White admits he was rocked a little when the Cougars lost their first six games last season in his first year as head coach, losing several close calls along the way to a fat 0-6 record. He wondered if he was doing the right things.

In retrospect, he was.

"Last year was a work in progress," he said. "We really ran a completely new offense here are Kennedy. Completely different.

"The way we block, our style of blocking. We're very aggressive up front. Our passing game is different, our terminology is completely different."

Kennedy won two games at the end of the 2014 regular season and made the playoffs with a 2-7 record. It appeared to be a minor milestone at the time, but the Cougars upset Muscatine in the first round of the playoffs before giving Bettendorf a good game in the second round.

In retrospect, White feels that victory over Muscatine turned things around. "A huge win in the playoffs, which really catapulted things for this season, because a lot of these kids played in that playoff game," he noted.

White, 44, has gone from a humbling start at Kennedy to great heights this season. The Cougars have won all 10 games of their games this season and have climbed to No. 3 in the Des Moines Register poll heading into the second round of the Class 4A playoffs Monday night against North Scott (5-5) at Kingston Stadium at 5:30 p.m.

The Cougars walloped Clinton, 59-0, in the first round last Wednesday in a near-perfect display of prep football. White was asked what it's like to coach a team that plays a near-perfect game.

"Well, it makes you look good, you know?" he said. "The people up in the stands aren't calling you names."

Nobody doubts if White can succeed as the head coach anymore. There's no way of knowing how long Kennedy's run in the playoffs will last, but the Cougars are favored to defeat North Scott and reach the quarterfinals this Friday night.

"We have some good athletes. And we have a lot of speed," said White. "We're a power football team, but we can run. We've got some kids that can scoot.

"Every coach says this: When you have good kids, they make you look good. We've got good kids, and they help us look pretty good."

All coaches try to instill a "family" atmosphere with their team and White has succeeded, borrowing a page from the Kansas State football program along the way. In fact, co-captain Dalles Jacobus carries a wooden slab that says "Family" when he leads the Cougars onto the field before games.

"The kids have bought into it, and the school is starting to buy into it," said White, who played football at Linn-Mar and Coe. "Our student section has bought into it. It's what makes it fun. It's a great atmosphere."

Washington (9-1) and Jefferson (7-3) will meet in the second game at Kingston Monday night at approximately 8 p.m. There's a good chance that the winners of Monday's games at Kingston will meet this Friday at Kingston, especially if it's Kennedy versus Washington or Jefferson, but that remains to be seen.

Washington has compiled an impressive 22-2 record the last two years and is seeking another trip to the Class 4A finals. Jefferson defeated Dubuque Senior, 61-43, last Wednesday for its first victory in the playoffs since 1992 and now the J-Hawks want more.

Jefferson has not defeated a team with a winning record this season and will be looking to change that Monday night. The J-Hawks gave Washington a tough game in the season opener, falling 27-14 in a contest that was tied in the fourth quarter.

Kennedy, Washington and Jefferson have a combined record of 26-4, undoubtedly the best combined mark for the three Cedar Rapids community schools in history. Three of those losses were to each other: Jefferson lost to Kennedy and Washington, while Washington lost to Kennedy. The J-Hawks also lost to Cedar Falls in overtime.

The undefeated Xavier Saints (9-0) host Decorah tonight in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs at 7 p.m.

The next round of the playoffs will be announced Monday night after all the games are played.