Winners of 10 straight state championships,
Alcoa (Tenn.) aims to become just the third team in high school football history to win 11 state titles as the Tennessee playoffs head into the second round.
Alcoa opened defense of the Division 1 Class 4A championship with a 56-0 win over
Cherokee (Rogersville) in the first round last week and will meet
Upperman (Baxter) in the second round. The Tornadoes are 10-1 on the year with only a 31-30 loss to
Anderson County (Clinton) keeping the 10-time defending champs from a perfect record.
While
Saint Louis (Honolulu, Hawaii) and
Washington (Sioux Falls, S.D.) have the longest run of state championships at 14, Alcoa could become the first program to win 11 in a row via a postseason tournament.
In pursuit of its eighth consecutive state championship in Oklahoma, Bixby has outscored opponents 654-123 in 10 games this season. Senior running back Jayson Moll leads the Spartans with over 1,200 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns. (PHOTO: Ron Lane)
Saint Louis got 13 of its 14 straight wins in the Prep Bowl from 1986 to 1998. During that time, the Prep Bowl was not a tournament, but rather a matchup between the winner of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) and the winner of the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA).
Washington, meanwhile, won its 14 straight championships between 1951 and 1964 via state rankings. South Dakota did not hold state football playoffs until 1981 so any championships won during the 1950s and 1960s were determined by media rankings.
Alcoa is currently tied with
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) with 10 straight state championships. The Gaels won all of their Nevada state championships in tournament play.
Alcoa previously won seven in a row between 2004 and 2010. The Tornadoes have won 23 total football state championships.
Hammond (Columbia, S.C.) is close behind Alcoa with eight straight state championships. The Skyhawks compete in the South Carolina Independent Schools Association and have won the largest division every year since 2017. Hammond, which also won six in a row from 2006 to 2011, opens postseason play against
Heathwood Hall Episcopal (Columbia) on Friday.
Bixby (Okla.), with seven straight state championships, has more consecutive titles than any team in state history. Averaging 65.4 points per game this year, the Spartans are the favorite to win the Class 6A-I playoff bracket again this year.
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) is aiming for its seventh straight championship. The Raiders have the most playoff tournament championships in state history, however
Miami won eight straight mythical championships between 1936 and 1943. Aquinas begins postseason play this week against
Heritage (Palm Bay) on Friday.
