The battle for the all-time winningest high school football program will be interesting this year. And, when all is said and done, there could be a new No. 1.
Georgia‘s Valdosta High School enters 2024 in its familiar spot. The Wildcats are No. 1 with 949 wins, followed by two schools just one victory away from the top spot. Kentucky‘s Male High and Ohio‘s Massillon Washington enter the season with 948 W’s each. Mayfield High School in Kentucky is two wins back with 947 wins.
Massillon Washington fans are still celebrating last year’s win over Valdosta. The Tigers beat 28-17 at Paul Brown Stadium in the first-ever matchup between the two.
For the list below, High School Football America is using the records in the National Federation of High School State Associations’ Record Book. However, we’ve made an adjustment, because the NFHS hasn’t accounted for the seven forfeits given to Valdosta after the 2020 season. The forfeits were for recruiting and a lack of administrative control.
Aside from the Massillon Washington/Valdosta game, another highlight during the 2023 season was Michigan‘s Muskegon becoming the sixth program to enter the exclusive 900-Win Club. The Big Reds reached No. 900 when they won the Michigan Division 2 high school football championship in November at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions.
Pennsylvania’s Mt. Carmel will enter the magical 900-Club in 2024 with its first win. The Red Tornadoes are the Keystone State’s all-time winner in high school football.
All-Time High School Football Wins from NFHS
| Rank/School/State | Wins | All-Time Record | 1st Year of Football |
| No. 1 Valdosta (Georgia) | 949 | 949-259-34 | 1913 |
| No. 2 (tied) Male (Louisville, Kentucky) | 948 | 948-340-49 | 1893 |
| No. 2 (tied) Washington (Massillon, Ohio) | 948 | 948-299-36 | 1894 |
| No. 4 Mayfield (Kentucky) | 947 | 947-264-32 | 1919 |
| No. 5 Highlands (Ft. Thomas, Kentucky) | 932 | 932-262-26 | 1915 |
| No. 6 Muskegon (Michigan) | 900 | 900-289-43 | 1895 |
| No. 7 Mount Carmel (Pennsylvania) | 899 | 899-340-59 | 1895 |
| No. 8 Canton McKinley (Ohio) | 874 | 874-376-42 | 1894 |
| No. 9 Easton (Pennsylvania) | 870 | 870-386-54 | 1894 |
| No. 10 (tied) Everett (Massachusetts) | 861 | 861-382 | 1893 |
| No. 10 (tied) Steubenville (Ohio) | 861 | 861-333-36 | 1900 |
| No. 12 Parkersburg (West Virginia) | 853 | 853-352-33 | 1906 |
| No. 13 Hampton (Virginia) | 846 | 846-293-42 | 1920 |
| No. 14 Clinton (Oklahoma) | 844 | 844-304-38 | 1919 |
| No. 15 Berwick (Pennsylvania) | 841 | 841-347-43 | 1888 |
| No. 16 Haynesville (Louisiana) | 840 | 840-197-22 | 1907 |
| No. 17 Steelton-Highspire (Pennsylvania) | 836 | 836-450-61 | 1894 |
| No. 18 East St. Louis (Illinois) | 832 | 832-213-36 | 1925 |
| No. 19 Lawton (Oklahoma) | 828 | 828-382-34 | 1902 |
| No. 20 Dobyns-Bennett (Kingsport, Tennessee) | 825 | 825-267-28 | 1921 |
| No. 21 (tied) Paducah Tilghman (Kentucky) | 824 | 824-358-25 | 1925 |
| No. 21 (tied) Pine Bluff (Arkansas) | 824 | 824-369-55 | 1901 |
| No. 23 Brockton (Massachusetts) | 823 | 823-363-64 | 1897 |
| No. 24 Bakersfield (California) | 816 | 816-295-43 | 1899 |
| No. 25 St. Xavier (Louisville, Kentucky) | 815 | 815-316-20 | 1917 |
| No. 26 Washington (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) | 812 | 812-360-38 | 1899 |
| No. 27 Danville (Kentucky) | 806 | 806-282-34 | 1924 |
| No. 28 Owenboro (Kentucky) | 804 | 804-398-30 | 1904 |
| No. 29 Little Rock Central (Arkansas) | 796 | 796-388-43 | 1907 |
| No. 30 New Britain (Connecticut) | 794 | 794-375-51 | 1894 |
| No. 31 Lawrence (Kansas) | 783 | 783-314-38 | 1924 |
| No. 32 Jeannette (Pennsylvania) | 777 | 777-341-48 | 1917 |
| No. 33 Amarillo (Texas) | 771 | 771-343-19 | 1893 |
| No. 34 Temple (Texas) | 770 | 770-394-51 | 1892 |
| No. 35 Thomasville (Georgia) | 764 | 764-363-46 | 1891 |
| No. 36 Baylor School (Tennessee) | 761 | 761-337-39 | 1907 |
| No. 37 New Castle (Pennsylvania) | 755 | 755-434-69 | 1900 |
| No. 38 Bowling Green (Kentucky) | 751 | 751-355-35 | 1908 |
| No. 39 Arcola (Illinois) | 749 | 749-357-40 | 1920 |
| No. 40 (tied) Ashland Blazer (Kentucky) | 745 | 745-417-41 | 1892 |
| No. 40 (tied) Pioneer (Ann Arbor, Michigan) | 745 | 745-473-38 | 1892 |
| No. 42 Creighton Prep (Nebraska) | 740 | 740-249-23 | 1910 |
| No. 43 Williamsport (Pennsylvania) | 739 | 739-501-55 | 1891 |
| No. 44 Seminole (Oklahoma) | 734 | 734-387-34 | 1894 |
| No. 45 Dover (Ohio) | 731 | 731-383-44 | 1896 |
| No. 46 Martins Ferry (Ohio) | 728 | 728-405-36 | 1893 |
| No. 47 William Penn (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) | 723 | 723-389-53 | 1887 |
| No. 48 Pottsville (Pennsylvania) | 719 | 719-547-46 | 1893 |
| No.49 Somerset (Kentucky) | 718 | 718-418-43 | 1900 |
| No. 50 (tied) Huntingdon (Pennsylvania) | 716 | 716-406-39 | 1907 |
| No. 50 (tied) Philadelphia Central (Pennsylvania) | 716 | 716-466-61 | 1887 |
| No. 52 Greensburg Salem (Pennsylvania) | 711 | 711-414-39 | 1894 |
| No. 53 Fostoria (Ohio) | 707 | 704-498-42 | 1896 |
High School Football America recognizes that there are other sources that have different win totals.
An example of this is in Texas where Joe Lee Smith has a website called Texas High School Football History. The website lists four teams in the 800-Win Club and 17 teams in the Lone Star State’s 700-Win Club.
This website has Highland Park at No. 1 with 886 wins. The Scots aren’t even listed on the NFHS website. It should be noted that the NFHS website’s highest-ranked Texas team is Amarillo High with 771 victories. According to Texas High School Football History has Amarillo with 819 victories.
Top 30 All-Time Texas wins by Texas High School Football History
No. 1 Highland Park – 886 wins
No. 2 Mart – 835 wins
No. 3 Amarillo – 819 wins
No. 4 Temple – 800 wins
No. 5 Refugio – 787 wins
No. 6 Brownwood – 781 wins
No. 7 Longview – 780 wins
No. 8 Plano – 778 wins
No. 9 Cuero – 773 wins
No. 10 Cameron Yoe – 753 wins
No. 11 Albany – 753 wins
No. 12 Gilmer – 747 wins
No. 13 Corsicana – 736 wins
No. 13 Tyler – 736 wins
No. 15 El Campo – 728 wins
No. 16 Abilene – 727 wins
No. 16 Lufkin – 727 wins
No. 18 Hondo – 720 wins
No. 19 Harlingen – 718 wins
No. 20 Sweetwater – 713 wins
No. 21 Stamford – 699 wins
No. 22 Garland – 695 wins
No. 23 Wichita Falls – 693 wins
No. 24 Childress – 689 wins
No. 25 Carthage – 689 wins
No. 26 Celina – 686 wins
No. 27 Stephenville – 685 wins
No. 28 Littlefield – 680 wins
No. 29 Mason – 679 wins
No. 29 Groveton – 679 wins
Football Friday Night is another website that has been tracking wins for years.
Maybe the best source is the research done by Dr. Roger B. Saylor, who passed away more than a decade ago. He did a tremendous amount of work determining whether certain games were “true” high school football matchups.
In the early days, many high schools played games against local club teams or, in some cases, local colleges that were made-up of non-high school players.
Below are teams that are not listed on the NFHS list, but have 700-or-more wins, according to various sources.
800 Win Club
Arkansas – Nashville
California – Long Beach Poly
Connecticut – Ansonia
Iowa – Harlan
Massachusetts – Leonminster
North Carolina – Reidsville, Shelby
Oklahoma – Ada, Booker T. Washington
South Carolina – Gaffney, Summerville
Tennessee – Maryville
Texas – Highland Park, Mart
700 Win Club
Alabama – Deshler, Fayette County, Oneota, T.R. Miller
Arkansas – Booneville
Florida – Columbia (Lake City), Fort Myers, Hillsborough Lakeland, Manatee
Georgia – Carrollton, Cartersville, Clarke Central, Colquitt County, Dalton, Fitzgerald, LaGrange, Lincoln County, Gainesville, Marist, Thomasville
Hawaii – St. Louis
Illinois – Illini West, Joliet Catholic, Loyola Academy, Mt. Carmel (Chicago), Tuscola, Wheaton-Warrenville South
Indiana – Cathedral, Evansville Reitz, Sheridan
Kansas – Frontenac, Smith Center
Kentucky – duPont Manual
Louisiana – Neville, Jesuit (New Orleans)
Maine – Portland
Maryland – Fort Hill
Massachusetts – Fitchburg
Mississippi – Meridian, Starkville
Missouri – Jefferson City, Rockhurst, Webb City
New Jersey – Phillipsburg
New Mexico – Artesia
Ohio – Bellaire, Ironton, Mogadore, Pique, St. Ignatius, Warren G. Harding, Sandusky, Wyoming
Oklahoma – Ardmore, Jenks, Seminole, Thomas-Fay-Custer, Wagoner
Oregon – North Medford
Pennsylvania – Aliquippa, Clairton, Coatesville, Dunmore, Frankford, Jeannette, Ridley, Washington
South Carolina – Greenwood, Lake View, Spartanburg, Sumter
Tennessee – Alcoa, Baylor, Christian Brothers Academy, Haywood, Knoxville Central, Milan, Montgomery Bell Academy, Whitehaven
Virginia – E.C. Glass, Salem
West Virginia – Bridgeport, Bluefield
Wisconsin – Marquette
Wyoming – Natrona County
