Limon of Colorado edges Haynesville, Harlan as nation's top program among schools with less than 1,000 students in towns with less than 10,000 residents.
Limon (Colo.)
is known as "Hub City" because of the number of railroads and highways
that all converge at the town of about 2,000 people. It is also known as the home of one of the greatest high school
football dynasties in the nation.
Under
the guidance of previous head coach Lloyd Gaskill and now Michael O'Dwyer, Limon has won 22 state
championships dating as far back as 1933 and as recently as last year.
The Badgers also have a state-best 16 undefeated seasons and posted
the most wins of any team in the nation during the 1960s with 103.
Limon has run off several long win streaks, including runs of 50 and 42 games.
Limon celebrates after beating Strasburg 28-0 in Colorado's 2020 Class 1A state championship game. (Photo: Paul DiSalvo)
Based
on Limon's long run of success, MaxPreps has named the Badgers the No. 1 small town dynasty of all-time.
The
standard deviation and mean for all of the data were used to compute
z-scores for each category and the categories were summed to come up
with a final rating. Since z-scores can be negative, some teams have a
negative rating. Once a top 25 was determined, the z-scores were
recalculated and the teams were re-ranked. Negative rankings should not
necessarily reflect negatively on the team.
Limon edged out
Haynesville (La.) and
Harlan (Iowa)
for the top spot. Of the 50-some small town teams in the compilation, the Colorado powerhouse ranked No. 1 for total state championships and undefeated teams.
The Badgers also ranked No. 7 for longest win streak and No. 7 for
winning percentage.
Haynesville was close behind, ranking No. 1
for overall record, No. 2 for most 10-win seasons and No. 4 for state
championships. Harlan, meanwhile, ranked No. 2 for undefeated seasons,
No. 5 for 10-win seasons and No. 6 for overall record.
A hallmark
of all of the teams on the list was the presence of a great coach who
led a long period of extended success. In the case of Limon (and
Haynesville), there were two coaches.
Gaskill got the Limon
dynasty rolling in the 1950s and 60s with his no-huddle, single-wing
offense that regularly ran over opponents with staggering point totals
that included a 60-point average during the 1968 season. Gaskill
concluded his career with 222 career wins and 10 state championships,but O'Dwyer surpassed him earlier this year with his 223rd win.
O'Dwyer also has eight state championships under his belt.
Haynesville
also had a great foundational coach in Alton "Red" Franklin. He won 365
games with only 76 losses and 8 ties during his career to go along with
11 state championships. Franklin's son David is the current coach of
the Golden Tornadoes and he began the 2023 season with 219 all-time
wins.
To be in consideration for the small town dynasties list, schools must have an enrollment of fewer
than 1,000 students in a town with a population of less than 10,000. Some towns that had previous populations of over 10,000 were
included if the population of the town over the past century was primarily
under 10,000.
Sources for the information include Kevin Patrowsky
of Wisconsin, Hunter Bower of Haynesville, state association record
books, Texas High School Football History by Joe Lee Smith, Georgia High
School Football Historians by Loren Maxwell, Thomas Goddard of Kansas
High School Football History, Craig Bailey of Limon, and Football Friday
Night.
Small town dynasties are listed with their overall
record, overall winning percentage, total state championships,
total undefeated seasons, total 10-win seasons and longest winning
streaks. Numbers in parenthesis indicate the rank of that statistic
among the top 25 teams.
Top 25 small town dynasties
1. Limon (Colo.)
Overall record: 679-233-11 (17)
Winning percentage: .742 (7)
State championships: 22 (1)
Undefeated seasons: 16 (1)
10-win seasons: 29 (15)
Longest win streak: 50 (7)
Rating: 5.0826
2. Haynesville (La.)
Overall record: 868-312-34 (1)
Winning percentage: .729 (11)
State championships: 17 (4)
Undefeated seasons: 10 (7)
10-win seasons: 40 (2)
Longest win streak: 41 (11)
Rating: 4.4713
3. Harlan (Iowa)
Overall record: 823-302-43 (6)
Winning percentage: .723 (13)
State championships: 14 (8)
Undefeated seasons: 12 (2)
10-win seasons: 37 (5)
Longest win streak: 49 (8)
Rating: 4.0593
4. Alcoa (Tenn.)
Overall record: 779-296-24 (9)
Winning percentage: .720 (14)
State championships: 22 (1)
Undefeated seasons: 7 (13)
10-win seasons: 33 (11)
Longest win streak: 44 (9)
Rating: 2.8458
5. Southern Columbia Area (Catawissa, Pa.)
Overall record: 582-195-8 (20)
Winning percentage: .746 (6)
State championships: 14 (8)
Undefeated seasons: 8 (8)
10-win seasons: 38 (4)
Longest win streak: 64 (3)
Rating: 2.5086
6. Clinton (Okla.)
Overall record: 851-308-37 (2)
Winning percentage: .727 (12)
State championships: 16 (5)
Undefeated seasons: 8 (8)
10-win seasons: 36 (7)
Longest win streak: 33 (17)
Rating: 2.3725
7. Blue Ridge (Lakeside, Ariz.)
Overall record: 492-156 (24)
Winning percentage: .759 (5)
State championships: 15 (6)
Undefeated seasons: 11 (5)
10-win seasons: 25 (18)
Longest win streak: 63 (4)
Rating: 1.3165
8. Royal (Royal City, Wash.)
Overall record: 530-129 (23)
Winning percentage: .804 (1)
State championships: 12 (11)
Undefeated seasons: 11 (5)
10-win seasons: 23 (19)
Longest win streak: 53 (6)
Rating: 1.2082
9. Lincoln County (Lincolnton, Ga.)
Overall record: 566-136-5 (22)
Winning percentage: .804 (2)
State championships: 11 (16)
Undefeated seasons: 8 (8)
10-win seasons: 32 (14)
Longest win streak: 44 (9)
Rating: 1.0067
10. Smith Center (Kan.)
Overall record: 711-301-32 (15)
Winning percentage: .696 (17)
State championships: 10 (17)
Undefeated seasons: 7 (13)
10-win seasons: 21 (22)
Longest win streak: 79 (1)
Rating: .0179
11. Vale (Ore.)
Overall record: 675-231-32 18)
Winning percentage: .737 (8)
State championships: 12 (11)
Undefeated seasons: 12 (2)
10-win seasons: 22 (20)
Longest win streak: 38 (13)
Rating: -0.0996
12. Silver Lake (Kan.)
Overall record: 681-195-13 (16)
Winning percentage: .773 (3)
State championships: 8 (20)
Undefeated seasons: 7 (13)
10-win seasons: 28 (16)
Longest win streak: 41 (11)
Rating: -0.4160
13. Thomas-Fay-Custer (Thomas, Okla.)
Overall record: 743-221-11 (12)
Winning percentage: .768 (4)
State championships: 10 (17)
Undefeated seasons: 6 (17)
10-win seasons: 35 (9)
Longest win streak: 19 (25)
Rating: -0.4898
14. Abbeville (S.C.)
Overall record: 746-337-27 (11)
Winning percentage: .684 (22)
State championships: 12 (11)
Undefeated seasons: 5 (18)
10-win seasons: 36 (7)
Longest win streak: 35 (16)
Rating: -1.2116
15. Refugio (Texas)
Overall record: 787-277-33 (7)
Winning percentage: .732 (9)
State championships: 5 (23)
Undefeated seasons: 3 (22)
10-win seasons: 42 (1)
Longest win streak: 27 (23)
Rating: -1.4118
16. Mart (Texas)
Overall record: 835-359-43 (4)
Winning percentage: .692 (20)
State championships: 8 (20)
Undefeated seasons: 3 (22)
10-win seasons: 40 (2)
Longest win streak: 30 (20)
Rating: -1.4457
17. Marion Local (Maria Stein, Ohio)
Overall record: 580-257-10 (21)
Winning percentage: .691 (21)
State championships: 14 (8)
Undefeated seasons: 8 (8)
10-win seasons: 22 (20)
Longest win streak: 57 (5)
Rating: -1.5623
18. Beechwood (Fort Mitchell, Ky.)
Overall record: 626-275-8 (19)
Winning percentage: .693 (19)
State championships: 15 (6)
Undefeated seasons: 5 (18)
10-win seasons: 33 (11)
Longest win streak: 38 (13)
Rating: -1.6287
19. Nashville (Ark.)
Overall record: 831-358-27 (5)
Winning percentage: .694 (18)
State championships: 5 (23)
Undefeated seasons: 5 (18)
10-win seasons: 37 (5)
Longest win streak: 33 (17)
Rating: -1.6404
20. Cokeville (Wyo.)
Overall record: 485-176-10 (25)
Winning percentage: .730 (10)
State championships: 22 (1)
Undefeated seasons: 12 (2)
10-win seasons: 15 (25)
Longest win streak: 26 (24)
Rating: -1.6700
21. Louisville (Miss.)
Overall record: 780-304-27 (8)
Winning percentage: .714 (15)
State championships: 12 (11)
Undefeated seasons: 4 (21)
10-win seasons: 27 (17)
Longest win streak: 30 (20)
Rating: -2.0131
22. Pikeville (Ky.)
Overall record: 766-313-27 (10)
Winning percentage: .705 (16)
State championships: 9 (19)
Undefeated seasons: 3 (22)
10-win seasons: 33 (11)
Longest win streak: 33 (17)
Rating: -2.2710
23. Dillon (S.C.)
Overall record: 740-338-25 (13)
Winning percentage: .682 (23)
State championships: 8 (20)
Undefeated seasons: 3 (22)
10-win seasons: 35 (9)
Longest win streak: 37 (15)
Rating: -2.7275
24. Steelton-Highspire (Steelton, Pa.)
Overall record: 836-447-64 (3)
Winning percentage: .644 (25)
State championships: 12 (11)
Undefeated seasons: 8 (8)
10-win seasons: 20 (23)
Longest win streak: 29 (22)
Rating: -3.1005
25. Clairton (Pa.)
Overall record: 724-373-41 (14)
Winning percentage: .654 (24)
State championships: 4 (25)
Undefeated seasons: 7 (13)
10-win seasons: 20 (20)
Longest win streak: 66 (2)
Rating: -3.2014
