Some time early in De La Salle's 151-game win streak, Mark Tennis of Cal-Hi Sports made the observation that Spartan coach Bob Ladouceur would win his 200th game before he lost his 15th game.
Tennis proved to be correct as Ladouceur upped his record to 200-14-1 with a win over Pittsburg in the 1996 North Coast Section championship game. The victory also marked the 64th straight win for Ladouceur and the Spartans.
But it turns out Ladouceur was just getting started.
The Spartans tacked on 87 more wins over the next eight seasons before losing to Bellevue (Wash.) in 2004. By the time De La Salle coincidentally defeated Pittsburg 35-13 in the regular season, Ladouceur had his 300th win before he had his 20th loss.
That kind of dominance made the longtime Spartan coach the fastest to win 300 games in high school football history, needing just 322 games to accomplish the feat. He knocked off the previous leader, Carlton Flatt of Brentwood Academy (Tenn.) by 16 games (322-338) and he has held off a more recent challenger, John Roderique of Webb City (Mo.) by seven games.
With the help of research done by Steven Floyd, MaxPreps has compiled a list of the top 25 coaches who were the quickest to win 300 games. Coaches are listed in order by the number of games it took them to win 300, along with the team they were coaching at the time they won No. 300. Also included are the coach's record at the time of the 300th win along with the number of years coaching and the year the win occurred.
Former De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur, seen after the Spartans' 2009 state title, was the fastest coach to reach 300 wins.
Photo: Dirk Dwatcher
1. Bob Ladouceur
School: De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)Number of games: 322
Record: 300-19-3 (.936)
Years coaching: 27
Year occurred: 2005
2. John Roderique
Number of games: 329
Record: 300-29 (.912)
Years coaching: 25
Year occurred: 2021
3. Curt Bladt
School: Harlan (Iowa)Number of games: 331
Record: 300-31 (.906)
Years coaching: 28
Year occurred: 2005
4. Carlton Flatt
School: Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.)Number of games: 338
Record: 300-38 (.889)
Years coaching: 29
Year occurred: 1998
5. Larry Campbell
School: Lincoln County (Lincolnton, Ga.)Number of games: 342
Record: 300-42 (.880)
Years coaching: 26
Year occurred: 1997
5. Michael Pettine
School: Central Bucks West (Doylestown, Pa.)Number of games: 342
Record: 300-42 (.878)
Years coaching: 32
Year occurred: 1998
5. Pat Rice
School: Waunakee (Wis.)Number of games: 342
Record: 300-42 (.878)
Years coaching: 29
Year occurred: 2020
8. John T. Curtis
School: John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.)Number of games: 345
Record: 300-39-6 (.878)
Years coaching: 28
Year occurred: 1996
8. Mike Smith
School: Hampton (Va.)Number of games: 345
Record: 300-43-2 (.872)
Years coaching: 29
Year occurred: 1999
10. Don Schillinger
School: Baker (Mont.)Number of games: 348
Record: 300-48 (.862)
Years coaching: 35
Year occurred: 2008
11. Paul Moro
School: Blue Ridge (Lakeside, Ariz.)Number of games: 349
Record: 300-49 (.860)
Years coaching: 29
Year occurred: 2012
12. Greg Toal
School: Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)Number of games: 352
Record: 300-50-2 (.855)
Years coaching: 35
Year occurred: 2016
12. Jackie Hayes
School: Dillon (S.C.)Number of games: 352
Record: 300-52 (.852)
Years coaching: 26
Year occurred: 2017
12. Nick Hyder
School: Valdosta (Ga.)Number of games: 352
Record: 300-47-5 (.859)
Years coaching: 28
Year occurred: 1995
12. Reno Saccoccia
School: Steubenville (Ohio)Number of games: 352
Record: 300-52 (.852)
Years coaching: 29
Year occurred: 2011
16. Jeff Herron
School: T.L. Hanna (Anderson, S.C.)Number of games: 353
Record: 300-53
Years coaching: 29
Year occurred: 2018
16. Alan Chadwick
School: Marist (Atlanta, Ga.)Number of games: 353
Record: 300-53 (.850)
Years coaching: 28
Year occurred: 2012
16. Frank Lenti
School: Chicago Mt. CarmelNumber of games: 353
Record: 300-53 (.850)
Years coaching: 27
Year occurred: 2010
16. Jim Roth
School: Southern Columbia Area (Catawissa, Pa.)Number of games: 353
Record: 300-51-2 (.853)
Years coaching: 26
Year occurred: 2009
16. Monte Kohler
School: O'Dea (Seattle)Number of games: 353
Record: 300-51-2 (.853)
Years coaching: 32
Year occurred: 2016
16. Paul Benefield
School: Fyffe (Ala.)Number of games: 353
Record: 300-53 (.850)
Years coaching: 29
Year occurred: 2020
22. Jeff Bellar
School: Norfolk Catholic (Norfolk, Neb.)Number of games: 354
Record: 300-54 (.847)
Years coaching: 31
Year occurred: 2012
23. Joe LaBuda
School: Menomonie (Wis.)Number of games: 355
Record: 300-55 (.845)
Years coaching: 29
Year occurred: 2018
24. Richard "Dick" Dullaghan
School: Ben Davis (Indianapolis)Number of games: 356
Record: 300-56 (.843)
Years coaching: 34
Year occurred: 2002
24. Robert Davis
School: Westside (Augusta, Ga.) Number of games: 356
Record: 300-55-1
Years coaching: 30
Year occurred: 2002
24. Todd Dayton
School: Cokeville (Wyo.)Number of games: 356
Record: 300-56 (.843)
Years coaching: 37
Year occurred: 2016
