1. Valdosta (GA), 891

2. Highlands (KY), 868

3. Washington (Massillon, OH), 849

4. Male (KY), 844

5. Mayfield (KY), 833

 

- with Tilghman at #25 - 757

Edited December 3, 201510 yr by Colonels_Wear_Blue

I believe Valdosta is at 899 now.

Those are all three great programs and I don't want to take anything away from their accomplishment, but I also think this goes to show that in KY football is broken down into two groups. The "Haves" and the "Have Nots".

 

I assume other states are similar but in KY the talent gap is normally pretty wide.

Age is a factor. Don't they always talk about the Male/Manual rivalry dating back to the 1890s or early 1900s? Hard for schools opened in the 60s and 70s to be on this kind of list.

Age is a factor. Don't they always talk about the Male/Manual rivalry dating back to the 1890s or early 1900s? Hard for schools opened in the 60s and 70s to be on this kind of list.

Short of those top 5 schools closing, or having a "down decade", I'd say that they will stay the top 5 for a very very long time.

 

From Valdosta's website:

Beginning in 1913 the Valdosta Wildcats Football Program has achieved a level of excellence that is unmatched by any other high school program in the nation compiling a record of 899 wins, 220 losses and 34 ties.

 

From a Highlands football website:

Highlands High School has been in existence since 1888 and the school has been playing football since 1915. The first call for football occurred on September 17, 1915, and Highlands' first football practice was held in the school auditorium on October 18, 1915.

 

Wiki:

On Saturday, November 18, 1893, the annual Male-Manual football rivalry, the longest running, continuously played, high school football series in Kentucky, began.

Absolutely true that this list is driven by the longevity of the programs on it, but it's still a very cool list to see all the same.

Bowling Green High started playing football in 1922 with a three game schedule. The first win was November 10, 1922 over the Auburn Tigers 19-6.

Some quick unaudited math shows BG currently with 663 wins over 94 seasons. 427 of those wins occurred since 1973. That is an average of just over 10 wins per year. Many of the seasons prior to 1973 did not include 10 games.

By any measure the years since 1973 have been exceptional.

 

Trivia: In 1927 the Purples hopped a train and headed south. On Dec 9th they played Marianna, FL and pulled out a 13-6 win.

 

Most of this information is due to the dedicated work of Michael "Bulldog" Drake. AKA "Purple Haze".

Trivia: In 1927 the Purples hopped a train and headed south. On Dec 9th they played Marianna, FL and pulled out a 13-6 win.

 

Trivia?

Age is a factor. Don't they always talk about the Male/Manual rivalry dating back to the 1890s or early 1900s? Hard for schools opened in the 60s and 70s to be on this kind of list.

 

Obviously true. However it's still ultra impressive when you run the numbers. Highlands has averaged 8.7 wins per year for 101 years. Many of the first 50 years or so consisted of 9 games or less. Some as few as 3-5 games. I would imagine Male and Mayfield are similar histories.

 

Time is a factor but a high level of success over that time is what leads to being in the top 5 nationally.

Trivia?

 

Well....yes. Doesn't that fit into a BG Purples Trivia question? Or maybe Jeopardy...there's your answer, you come up with the question.

Hope to be around for #900 and #1000.

Isn't this list just as much about the lack of parity in football in Kentucky as it is about longevity? By looking at a list of the top 50 dated Sept. 2, 2015 Kentucky has 6 schools listed (Highlands = #2 1,111 games - 868 wins - 78.13%, Male = #4 1,215 games - 844 wins - 69.47%, Mayfield = #5 1,116 games - 833 wins - 74.64%, Paducah Tighman = #25 1,096 games - 757 wins - 69.07%, Danville = #35T 1,018 games - 742 wins - 72.89%, and Saint X = #42 1,036 games - 731 wins - 70.56%). That is three schools in the top 5. Traditional powerhouse states like California ( 2 teams with the best being Long Beach Poly = # 21T 1,091 games - 756 wins), Texas ( 4 teams with the best being Amarillo = #26 1,112 games - 754 wins), and Florida ( no one in the top 50) listed in the top 50. Now, I am not trying to downplay the accomplishments of these teams, what they have done is nothing short of being dominate.

Go Birds! :angrybird12:

 

100 years of tradition!

Bowling Green High started playing football in 1922 with a three game schedule. The first win was November 10, 1922 over the Auburn Tigers 19-6.

Some quick unaudited math shows BG currently with 663 wins over 94 seasons. 427 of those wins occurred since 1973. That is an average of just over 10 wins per year. Many of the seasons prior to 1973 did not include 10 games.

By any measure the years since 1973 have been exceptional.

 

Trivia: In 1927 the Purples hopped a train and headed south. On Dec 9th they played Marianna, FL and pulled out a 13-6 win.

 

Most of this information is due to the dedicated work of Michael "Bulldog" Drake. AKA "Purple Haze".

 

667-331-35 by my count. 427-111 from 1973 on.

 

Bowling Green's first 10 win season came in 1976. They've only failed to hit that four times from 1988 on, and only one of those had less than 8 wins. It took a while for the train to start rolling downhill, but starting from '88 on, they've scarcely been stopped.

I've said this forever but when BGHS moved to Rockingham Ln and the 7-8th grades were consolidated on Center St. is when the train started rolling.