Top 25 winningest active high school football coaches

John T. Curtis of John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.) led the way, going 13-0 and adding to his national record of 27 state championships with a Louisiana Division 1 crown. Curtis has more wins than any other active coach in the nation at 582 and is nearly 100 ahead of second-place Mike Smith of Hampton (Va.). He's also closing in on 600 career wins and is just 38 wins away from the all-time record of 620, held by John McKissick of Summerville (S.C.).

MaxPreps' list of the Top 25 winningest active high school football coaches comes courtesy of Steven Floyd of Calallen, Texas. Floyd has put in over 10 years of research on his list of all-time winningest coaches, consulting coaches associations, state association websites, Halls of Fame, newspapers, other historians and high school websites like MaxPreps. Floyd is a bank officer and the vice president of the Calallen Wildcat Touchdown Booster Club.
Streaks

Three of the coaches in the Top 25 enter the 2018 season with streaks of 27 or more wins. Wisconsin's all-time wins leader Robert Hyland of St. Mary's Springs moved up to No. 6 all-time by going 15-0 and winning his 16th state championship last year. His team has won 27 straight.

Randy Allen of Highland Park (Dallas) has won 31 straight games and back-to-back Texas Class 5A Division 1 state championships. He should move ahead of Gordon Wood (394 wins) into No. 3 on the all-time Texas wins list. Phil Danaher of Calallen is No. 1 all-time in Texas with 458 wins while G.A. Moore is second with 426. Danaher is No. 4 on the active list.

Jim Roth of Southern Columbia Area tops the list of winning streaks with 32 in a row heading into 2019. Roth has a chance to move ahead of Jack Henzes as the No. 2 all-time wins leader in Pennsylvania. Roth has 428 wins while the recently retired Henzes has 435. The late George Curry, who spent most of his time at Berwick, is the all-time Pennsylvania leader with 454 wins.

State title streaks

Ricky Black of Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.) added his seventh straight MAIS state title to his resume. He ranks No. 2 in Mississippi behind Bill Hurst of Centreville Academy (400 wins) with 383 wins. Black has also won 13 state titles overall. He was named the National High School Football Coach of the Year last season by the National High School Coaches Association.

Gary Rankin of Alcoa (Tenn.) went 15-0 last year and won his fourth straight state championship and his 14th overall.

Coaching legends retire

Three coaches retired following the 2018 season and finished among the top 25 winningest coaches of all-time. John Herrington of Harrison (Farmington Hills, Mich.) retired after the school closed in the spring. Herrington ended his career at No. 9 overall with 440 wins (440-112-1).

Henzes finished his career with 435 wins in his 51-year career (435-160-8), most of which was spent at Dunmore (Pa.). He is No. 11 on the all-time list.

1. John T. Curtis
School: John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.)
Record: 582-64-6
All-time rank: 2
Years: 50 (1969-present)
State Championships: 27
Last year: 13-0, Louisiana Division I state champions

2. Mike Smith
School: Hampton (Va.)
Record: 486-89-2
All-time rank: 3
Years: 48 (1971-present)
State Championships: 12
Last year: 4-6
Note: Smith, due to school retirement rules in Virginia, was only able to coach half of the season and went 2-3.

3. Robert Hyland
School: St. Mary's Springs (Fond du Lac, Wis.)
Record: 465-105-2
All-time rank: 6
Years: 48 (1971-present)
State Championships: 16
Last year: 15-0, Wisconsin Division 5 state champion

4. Phil Danaher
School: Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas) (1985-present)
Record: 458-111-4
All-time rank: 7
Years: 45 (1974-present)
State Championships: 0
Other Schools: Dilley (1974-77), Hamshire-Fannett (78-84)
Last year: 13-2, Texas Class 5A Division 2 semifinalist

5. Phillip Haywood
School: Belfry (Ky.) (1984-present)
Record: 438-135-0
All-time rank: 10
Years: 44 (1975-present)
State Championships: 6
Other Schools: Prestonburg (1975-83)
Last year: 10-3

6. Bill Castle
School: Lakeland (Fla.)
Record: 433-90-0
All-time rank: 12
Years: 43 (1976-present)
State Championships: 7
Last year: 15-0, Florida Class 7A state champion

7. Jim Roth
School: Southern Columbia Area (Catawissa, Pa.)
Record: 428-63-2
All-time rank: 15
Years: 35 (1984-present)
State Championships: 9
Last year: 16-0, Pennsylvania Class 2A state champion

8. Gary Rankin
School: Alcoa (Tenn.) (2006-present)
Record: 425-75-0
All-time rank: 17
Years: 37 (1982-present)
State Championships: 14
Other Schools: Smith County (1982-89), Riverdale (1990-2005)
Last year: 15-0, Tennessee Class 3A state champion

9. C.J. Hamilton
School: Silver Lake (Kan.)
Record: 422-91-0
All-time rank: 18
Years: 44 (1973-76, 1979-present)
State Championships: 8
Last year: 10-1

10. Jerry Pezzetti
School: Ankeny Centennial (Ankeny, Iowa) (2013-present)
Record: 421-163-1
All-time rank: 19
Years: 58 (1961-present)
State Championships: 2
Other Schools: Murray (1961), Melcher-Dallas (1962-68), Ankeny (1969-2012)
Last year: 9-3

11. Jerry Sinz
School: Edgar (Wis.)
Record: 419-83-0
All-time rank: 20
Years: 44 (1975-present)
State Championships: 7
Last year: 13-1, Wisconsin Division 7 runner-up

12. Larry "Bud" Wright
School: Sheridan (Ind.) (1966-present)
Record: 418-195-2
All-time rank: 21
Years: 54 (1965-present)
State Championships: 8
Other Schools: Mount Ayr (1965)
Last year: 8-3

12. Jim Hightower
School: St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.) (1987-present)
Record: 418-126-1
All-time rank: 21
Years: 44 (1975-present)
State Championships: 2
Other Schools: Catholic Point Coupee (1975-86)
Last year: 11-2

14. Tommy Knotts
School: Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.) (2010-present)
Record: 416-64-0
All-time rank: 23
Years: 35 (1983-2003, 2005-present)
State Championships: 11
Other Schools: Harding University (N.C.) (1983-88), West Charlotte (N.C.) (1989-99), Independence (N.C.)(2000-03, 05-09)
Last year: 13-0, South Carolina Class AAAAA champion

15. Curt Bladt
School: Harlan (Iowa)
Record: 415-63-0
All-time rank: 24
Years: 41 (1978-present)
State Championships: 11
Last year: 8-3

16. David Gentry
School: Murphy (N.C.) (1984-present)
Record: 404-188-3
All-time rank: 28
Years: 478 (1971-present)
State Championships: 7
Other Schools: Chatham (Va.) (1971-73), Edneyville (1977-83)
Last year: 13-1, North Carolina Class 1A state champion

17. Lea "Bill" Hurst
School: Centreville Academy (Centreville, Miss.)
Record: 400-119-0
All-time rank: 30
Years: 42 (1975-1994, 1997-present)
State Championships: 9
Last year: 8-6

18. Dave Gutshall
School: Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) (1993-present)
Record: 394-138-0
All-time rank: 33
Years: 41 (1978-present)
State Championships: 5
Other Schools: Madison-Mayodian (N.C.) (1978-81), Kinston (N.C.) (1982), Cummings (N.C.) (1983-92)
Last year: 11-2

19. Jim France
School: Manchester (Akron, Ohio) (1971-84, 1986-present)
Record: 392-125-5
All-time rank: 36
Years: 48 (1970-84, 1986-present)
State Championships: 0
Other Schools: Coventry (1970)
Last year: 9-4

20. Randy Allen
School: Highland Park (Dallas) (1999-present)
Record: 392-87-6
All-time rank: 36
Years: 378 (1981-present)
State Championships: 4
Other Schools: Ballinger (1981-85), Brownwood (1986-90), Abilene Cooper (1991-98)
Last year: 16-0, Texas Class 5A Division 1 state champion
21. Ron Stolski
School: Brainerd (Minn.) (1975-present)
Record: 387-171-5
All-time rank: 38
Years: 57 (1962-present)
State Championships: 0
Other Schools: Kensington (1962-63), Slayton (1964), Princeton (1965-70), Park Center (1971-74)
Last year: 7-4

22. Ricky Black
School: Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.) (1991-present)
Record: 383-73-0
All-time rank: 40
Years: 38 (1975-90, 1997-present)
State Championships: 13
Other Schools: Kosciusko (1975-79), Tupelo (1980-90)
Last year: 12-1, MAIS AAAA-Division 1 state champion

23. Tony Severino
School: Rockhurst (Kansas City, Mo.) (1983-2018)
Record: 381-109-1
All-time rank: 41
Years: 42 (1977-2018)
State Championships: 7
Other Schools: Shawnee Mission Northwest (1977-82)
Last year: 11-3

24. Reno Saccoccia
School: Steubenville (Ohio)
Record: 380-70-0
All-time rank: 43
Years: 36 (1983-present)
State Championships: 4
Last year: 11-3

25. Dudley Hilton
School: Bell County (Pineville, Ky.) (1983-96, 01-10, 17-18)
Record: 379-122-0
All-time rank: 44
Years: 41 (1975-2018)
State Championships: 3
Other Schools: Breathitt County (1975-82), Bourbon County (97-00), Taylor County (14-16)
Last year: 11-2