High school football teams with most wins in each decade

No high school football program has ever put together a better run during a specific decade (i.e. the 1990s) than the Spartans. They won 125 games and lost just one. And that loss was in the North Coast Section championship game on a pick six by Percy McGee that sealed the win for Pittsburg. If not for McGee's pick, De La Salle would have been undefeated for the decade.

But De La Salle's 125 wins is not the most wins in a decade. In fact, it's tied for third behind Independence (Charlotte, N.C.), which had 148 wins in the 2000s and Aledo (Texas), which began the 2019 season with 131 wins in the 2010s. Valdosta (Ga.) also had 125 wins during the 1980s.

There is no definitive list of national teams that have the most wins in each decade, but MaxPreps has done its best to compile a list of the winningest programs by decade dating back to the 1900s. It comes as no surprise that Texas dominates this list with five teams, thanks mainly to a four-round playoff system that began in 1922. Most states did not begin holding state playoffs until the 1960s or 1970s.

With the help of various sources, including the Cal-Hi Sports Record Book & Almanac by Nelson and Mark Tennis, Joe Lee Smith's website Texas High School Football History, and Tim Hudak's book "All the Way to No. 1" (which is about national high school football championship teams), MaxPreps presents the winningest high school football teams from each decade.

Winningest High School Football Teams From Each Decade
1900s
Fostoria (Ohio), 69
Overall record: 69-15-8
State championships: (As ranked by state football historian James Baker), 1902, 1906, 1907
Best records: 1902 — 8-0-1; 1907 — 8-0-1.
Source: Tim Hudak, author of "All the Way to No. 1" and Kathy Cline of Fostoria.org.
Notes: The 1902 team outscored its opponents 270-5 in winning the school's first mythical state championship. The 1907 squad outscored opponents 368-11.

1910s
Oak Park — now Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 93
Overall record: 93-15-1
State champions: Illinois did not field state playoffs in the 1910s, but the 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1913 teams won mythical state titles.
Best records: 1912 — 11-0, 1913 — 11-0
Source: Tim Hudak, author of "All the Way to No. 1".
Notes: Oak Park was named National Champions in 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1913 with three of those titles coming under coach Robert Zuppke, who later went on to coach Red Grange at Illinois. Glenn Thistelwaite coached the 1913 team. Oak Park also won a national title in 1920 under Thistlewaite. Oak Park actually played what was considered a "national championship game" from 1910 to 1913, beating Washington (Portland, Ore.) 6-0 in 1910, St. John's Prep (Danvers, Mass.) 17-10 in 1911, Everett (Mass.) 32-14 in 1912 and Toledo Scott (Ohio) 32-7 in 1913.

1920s
Waco (Texas), 107
Overall record: 107-7-3
State championships: 1922, 1925, 1926, 1927
Best records: 1927 — 14-0
Source: Texas High School Football History by Joe Lee Smith.
Notes: The 1927 squad is considered one of the greatest in national history (No. 12 all-time by MaxPreps in 2018). Waco outscored opponents 784-33 that season and outscored opponents 1,933 to 75 over three seasons. The 1921 team might have been even better, as it outscored opponents 567-0 during a 9-0 season. Texas did not hold state playoffs in 1921. Paul Tyson coached Waco from 1914 to 1930 and then again from 1932 to 1941, compiling a record of 206-42 at the school.

1930s
Amarillo (Texas), 107
Overall record: 107-12-2
State championships: 1934, 1935, 1936
Best records: 1934 — 14-0; 1936 — 14-0
Source: Texas High School Football History by Joe Lee Smith.
Notes: Blair Cherry had a tremendous record in his seven seasons at Amarillo, going 84-5-1 with three straight state championships. He might have won a fourth as Amarillo was undefeated (10-0) in 1933 when it withdrew from the postseason due to a dispute over the eligibility of an Amarillo player. Amarillo had eight 10-win seasons from 1929 to 1936.

1940s
Amarillo (Texas), 99
Overall record: 99-16
State championships: 1940
Best records: 1940 — 14-09
Source: Texas High School Football History by Joe Lee Smith.
Notes: Coached by Howard Lynch from 1937 to 1950. Lynch had a record of 126-29. The state titles are the last the Golden Sandies have won after winning three in the 1930s. Amarillo has the second most wins all-time in Texas with 783. They are behind all-time leader Highland Park (Dallas). Amarillo finished two wins ahead of Highland Park in the 1940s as the Scots won 97 games.

1950s
Stamford (Texas), 115
Overall record: 115-10-1
State championships: 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959 (later forfeited)
Best records: 1955 — 15-0; 1956 — 15-0; 1959 — 15-0
Source: Texas High School Football History by Joe Lee Smith.
Notes: Stamford was coached by legendary Texas coach Gordon Wood from 1951 to 1957. Between 1954 and 1957, Stamford won 35 straight games.

1960s
Limon (Colo.), 103
Overall record: 103-8-4
State championships: 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964 (tie), 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968
Best records: 1960 — 12-0; 1961 — 12-0; 1963 — 12-0; 1966 — 12-0; 1968 — 12-0
Source: Limon High School yearbooks, CHSAANow and high school football historian Dan Ford.
Notes: Limon won 42 straight games between 1958 and 1962 and then was unbeaten between 1964 to 1968 (two ties). Limon operated out of a single-wing offense and went no-huddle. As a result, the 1968 team scored an average of 60 points per game.

1970s
Clinton (S.C.), 112
Overall record: 112-13
State championships: 1972, 1975, 1977, 1978
Best records: 1977 — 14-0
Notes: Clinton, a Class 3A power in South Carolina, edges out Odessa Permian of Texas (109 wins) for the top mark of the decade. Reached the state finals six times in the 1970s, winning four of them. Had four seasons (1973, 1974, 1975 and 1978) with only one loss.

1980s
Valdosta (Ga.), 125
Overall record: 125-10
State championships: 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989
Best records: 1982 — 15-0; 1984 — 15-0; 1986 — 15-0
Source: Georgia High School Football Historians
Notes: While Valdosta had great records under coach Wright Bazemore in the 1950s and 60s, it was actually under Nick Hyder when Valdosta produced the decade with the most wins. Valdosta won fewer than 11 games only once in the decade, going 9-3 in 1985. The national championships won in 1984 and 1986 were the fourth and fifth in school history.

1990s
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 125
Overall record: 125-1
State championships: (named by Cal-Hi Sports) 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
Best records: 1990 — 13-0; 1992 — 13-0; 1993 — 13-0; 1994 — 13-0; 1995 — 13-0
Source: Cal-Hi Sports Record Book and Almanac
Notes: After winning the first 25 games of the 1990s, De La Salle lost to Pittsburg in the 1991 North Coast Section Class 3A finals. The Spartans did not lose again in the 1990s, winning 100 in a row before going on to win a national record 151 games straight. Cal-Hi Sports named De La Salle the state Team of the Year in 1992 (California did not crown state champions in the 1990s) and was also state team of the year every season from 1994 to 2003. The Spartans won national championships in 1994, 1998 and 1999.

2000s
Independence (Charlotte, N.C.), 148
Overall record: 148-7
State championships: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Best records: 2001 — 16-0; 2002 — 16-0; 2003 — 16-0; 2006 — 16-0
Source: Carolina Preps
Notes: The Patriots lost the second game of the 2000 season to Crest and then didn't lose again for seven years. A 41-34 loss to Elder on Sept. 1, 2007, ended the second-longest streak in high school football history at 109 games in a row. Tom Knotts posted an incredible record of 132-6 in his nine seasons at Independence (he now coaches at Dutch Fork). Prior to 2000, Independence had posted only two double-digit wins seasons in school history dating back to 1966. Quarterback Chris Leak got the streak off to a good start by throwing for state career records of 15,593 career yards and 185 touchdown passes. He was the Parade Magazine National Player of the Year in 2003.

2010s
Aledo (Texas), 131
State championships: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018
Overall record: 131-8
Best records: 2010 — 16-0; 2016 — 16-0; 2018 — 16-0
Source: Texas High School Football History, Joe Lee Smith
Notes: The 2013 team set the Texas state and national record for points scored in a season with 1,023. The program also won 31 straight games between 2016 and 2017. Johnathan Gray rushed for 3,888 yards on the 2011 team and gained 3,218 yards for the 2010 squad.