Bill Cherpak of
Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson Hills, Pa.) became the latest high school football coach to notch his 300th career victory last year and he ranks among the top coaches in the nation when it comes to winning percentage.
MaxPreps has updated its list of the high school football coaches with the most all-time wins, including five new coaches with 300 or more wins, which is the minimum qualifying criteria to make the list. Cherpak won his 300th game against Greater LaTrobe in the state playoffs before falling to Central Valley (Monaca) the following week.
MaxPreps Record Book: All-time coaching wins
While Cherpak is the 322nd coach to win 300 games (based on research by Steven Floyd of Corpus Christi, Texas), he joins the list of coaches with the highest career winning percentage at No. 17. Since starting his career in 1996, Cherpak has posted a record of 300-54 for a winning percentage of .847. It only took him 354 games to get to 300 wins, making him the 22nd fastest coach to accomplish the feat.
Bill Cherpak (left) on the field with his players after Thomas Jefferson crushed Dallas 46-7 in the 2019 PIAA Class 4A state championship game. (Photo: Eric Elliot)
Bob Ladouceur of
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) leads the career winning percentage list. He finished his career in 2012 with a record of 399-25-3 for a .938 winning percentage. Ladouceur is one of two coaches to finish their careers with a percentage of .900 or better. The other is John Roderique, who retired from
Webb City (Mo.) last year with a record of 315-35-0 (.900).
MaxPreps Record Book: Coaches with highest winning percentageOnly coaches who have won 300 or more games are considered for the top 100 coaches with highest winning percentage list. The list is a recent addition to the MaxPreps National High School Football Record Book. MaxPreps is in the process of adding team records and new individual categories during the 2023 football season.
Other newcomers to the all-time coaching wins list include Bill Foltmer of
Middletown (Calif.) with 301, Mike Wheeler of
Dallas Christian (Mesquite, Texas) with 310, Chuck Johnson of
Ridgewood (N.J.) with 301 and John Livengood of
St. Paul (Norwalk, Ohio) with 302.
