Dominic White may have only played football at East Limestone High School for two seasons. But in those two seasons he showed the quality and skill that let everyone he could play on the next level.

White made that a reality Wednesday afternoon when he signed a scholarship to play football at Culver-Stockton College, a liberal arts college in Canton, Missouri.

Culver-Stockton is an NAIA school which plays in the Heart of America Conference. While White played both receiver and outside linebacker at East Limestone, he will concentrate on playing receiver at Culver-Stockton.

“This means everything,” White said after signing his papers. “It’s what I wanted to do my whole life. It’s just a dream come true.”

A football scholarship might have seemed an unlikely occurrence a few years ago, as White focused on basketball his first two years at East Limestone.

“I had been on him about playing and finally got him to come out and play as a junior,” East Limestone football coach Jeff Pugh said. “I really think if Dom had played with us for four years, he would have been on a lot of people’s radars even before the (2017) season started.”

White signed his scholarship paper in the midst of a large crowd of family, friends, coaches and teammates at the East Limestone gymnasium, which he said meant a lot to him.

“It means the world to me,” White said. “I couldn’t have done it without them. They pushed me to be great and pushed me to do better in life and never give up. They were there for me whenever times were down, and they picked me back up and helped me keep on pushing. I’m happy to share this with them.”

Pugh said seeing one of his players have the chance to continue his education and athletic career on the collegiate level is always a proud moment.

“Any time we get the opportunity for one of our players to continue his education because of athletics, that’s really what it’s all about,” Pugh said. “You want to try and make them men, want to make sure they’re good citizens, but if they get to go to college because of what they’ve done on the field or on the court, that always makes you proud as a coach.”

White said the laid-back atmosphere and diversity of Culver-Stockton is what sold him on the school.

“It’s not too big, so I know where everything’s at,” he said. “The coaches and players up there are great. All the people I met were great. Whenever I went up there to visit, I was hooked.”

Pugh said White’s personality and work ethic should make him a success on the next level.

“He’s been a great kid, a ‘yes sir, no sir’ kind of kid,” Pugh said. “He’s worked hard in the weight room to get himself in position to be able to move on, so I expect him to be able to make it and get some college education out of his athletic ability. And there’s nothing better than that.”