25 Schools With Winning In Their DNA

We are now at that point of the summer in which we are updating the all-time state football records that have been maintained exclusively by Cal-Hi Sports since the first list was compiled in the 1970s. We begin with team categories and one of them is the list of schools with the best all-time win-loss records. Here’s a look at the first 25 schools on that list, still led comfortably by De La Salle of Concord, which has won more than 85 percent of its games since its first season.

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(Based on winning percentage of all reported scores.)
(Counting one half win, half loss for ties.)
(Forfeit wins or forfeit losses during pandemic season or not are not included.)

1. De La Salle (Concord)
The school with the national record 151-game win streak from 1992 to 2004 has continued to field teams near the top of the state rankings. Last year’s squad went 11-3 with a CIF North Coast Section Open Division title and then a big win over Clovis North in the CIF NorCal D1-AA championship and then a loss to Mission Viejo for the state crown in that division. Since their first season in 1972, DLS has a record of 542-83-8 for an 85.6 win percentage.

2. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village)
Legendary head coach Bill Redell got the Lions off and roaring when they began in the 2001 season. The bar has changed in recent years with the goal of schools like Oaks Christian just to make it into the top division of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Last year’s team finished 9-3 with a loss in the CIFSS D2 playoffs to eventual CIF D1-AA state champ Mission Viejo. The Marmonte League champs re 233-53-1 in their history for an 81.4 win percentage.

3. Inderkum (Sacramento)
The Tigers aren’t the first team you think of among those in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, but since their first season in 2006 they have won 80.6 percent of their games and start out the 2024 season at a reported 187-45. After their two worst seasons ever of 5-5 and 5-6, last year’s squad went 11-2 and lost in the CIFSJS D1 playoffs by a very respectable final score of 36-29 to Folsom. The Bulldogs are not on this list as an older school with too many years of losing seasons before the late 2000s.

4. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)
It was a historically significant 2023 season for the Trailblazers, who made it into the CIFSS D1 playoffs for the first time and had their highest ever final state ranking at No. 4. The 11-1 record (lost to Mater Dei in the semifinals) also pushed the team closer to the 80 percent all-time win mark. Since 2007, Sierra Canyon has won 169 games with just 44 losses and one tie.

5. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa)
A more than solid 11-2 showing for the Cardinals last season allowed them to move up into the fifth-spot on the all-time win percentage list. They continue to benefit historically from their 47-game win streak from 1972 to 1977. Since 1966, Cardinal Newman has a 483-141-12 record for a 76.9 percentage.

6. Centennial (Corona)
Another school that has been rising on this list in recent years has been this one. Longtime head coach Matt Logan didn’t start the program, however, so there were a couple of stinker seasons earlier that has had to be overcome. Centennial’s first season was 1989. It starts 2024 at 337-110-1 for a 75.33 win percentage. Read below why we expanded that one out to another decimal.

7. Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
When we added the Monarchs’ 13-1 record from last season (including a second CIF Open Division state title in three seasons) and rounded out their win percentage to 75.3 percent it came out as the same one for Centennial. Rounding it out further, it came to 75.33 for the Huskies and 75.27 for the Monarchs. They are playing each other in the first game of the upcoming season as well. If MD wins, it still would be a couple of percentage points behind but if the Monarchs keep going unbeaten or even like last year they’ll be moving up on this list. Last year’s team also won the 600th game in school history. The only Orange County school with more wins is Santa Ana High (started 1894). MD’s first season was 1950. The school does a good job of record-keeping and may have a different total than ours (606-194-15) because it counts forfeits and we never have.

8. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
Last season’s sub-par showing of 4-8 dropped the Dons a couple of spots on the all-time list. We have been counting them as a separate program since 2006 when University of San Diego High closed and the new campus opened in northern San Diego County. Cathedral Catholic has gone 175-58 since 2006 for a 75.1 win percentage.

9. Central Catholic (Modesto)
Last year’s team went 9-3 and fell to Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills in the CIFSJS D1 semifinals. Before that, though, head coach Roger Canepa became the winningest in SJS history. Canepa also has won four CIF state titles. Previous head coach Mike Glines was there when the Raiders had the second-longest win streak in state history, which was 62 in a row from 2001 to 2005. They have gone 467-162-9 since 1968 for a 74.1 win mark.

10. Vista Murrieta (Murrieta)
In the days of the Inland Division playoffs in the CIFSS, the Broncos were right up there with Corona Centennial and had a number of teams that went 11-1, 13-1 and 12-2. Last year’s squad finished 6-5 under head coach Coley Candaele (who started the program in 2004 but was concentrating on the AD job from 2016 and through the pandemic). We have a 186-66 record for VM and a 73.8 win percentage.

11. Kaiser (Fontana)
This is the program that began in 2000 when California High School Football Hall of Fame coach Dick Bruich got it going after doing all that he did at Fontana High. The Cats have been very good from the beginning, including 9-4 last season. They have a 72.8 winning percentage based on a record of 207-77-3 in its 24 years.

12. Citrus Hill (Perris)
Believe or not, but the Hawks are still on list after a winless 2022 and just 1-9 from last season. They were actually challenging De La Salle near the top of this list before their recent struggles, including three 14-0 seasons in 2007, 2008 and 2012. The 2018 team went 12-2 in the last season of head coach Eric Zomalt before he left to start the new program at Orange Vista. Citrus Hill still has a 72.6 winning percentage with a record of 159-60 since 2005.

13. Bakersfield
While the Drillers have been passed on the all-time list for schools with the most reported wins by Long Beach Poly, they are still the only other school with more than 800 wins and they still have an all-time win percentage of 72.3 percent that ranks in the top 20. Considering the first score we have for BHS is from 1896, that’s incredible.

14. Los Alamitos
Since their first season in 1967, the Griffins have posted a record of 450-170-16 for a 72.0 win percentage. They were 9-3 last season and were perfect once again in the Sunset League. To us, the school’s most impressive football record is not getting shut out for a national record 444 games from 1987 to 2022.

15. Granite Bay
It was a 6-6 season for the Grizzlies in 2023 in the super-tough Sierra Foothill League. They’ve had a hard time in recent years staying up with league rival Folsom, but they’ve been in the mix after that and since they started in 1997 have been among the best in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section every year. Granite Bay starts out 2024 at 233-95-1 for a 71.8 winning percentage.

16. Yorba Linda
Since the pandemic season in the spring of 2021 when they went 5-1, the Mustangs have gone 10-1, 14-1 and 9-4 under head coach Jeff Bailey are have joined the all-time list in this category. In the four seasons before the pandemic, Yorba Linda also went 10-2, 9-3, 8-4 and 12-3. The Mustangs’ all-time mark of 114-45 since their first season of 2010 now shows them with a 71.7 winning percentage.

17. Oak Hills (Hesperia)
Right behind Yorba Linda as a new school on the list is another one. The Bulldogs begin the 2024 season with a record of 122-49 since their first season in 2009. That comes out to a 71.4 winning percentage. In the last three seasons, Oak Hills has posted records of 10-2, 11-1 and 9-2. It should be more of the same for the upcoming campaign.

18. Helix (La Mesa)
It was almost one of the greatest seasons for the Scotties in 2023 as both of their losses in a 9-2 slate were in two overtimes (one to Granite Hills and the other to Lincoln of San Diego). They continue to have the best record among all CIF San Diego Section schools that started playing football before 2000. The total we have since 1951 is 556-222-20 for a 90.9 winning percentage.

19. Bishop Amat (La Puente)
Dominant program in the CIFSS in the late 1960s into the 1970s and continuing into the 1990s has a win percentage of 70.9 based on a reported record of 503-208-12 since 1951. The Lancers, who still play one of the toughest schedules in the state, were 4-7 last season after 8-4 and 9-4 coming out of the pandemic.

20. Edison (Huntington Beach)
There’s a great tribute at the school to former head coach Bill Workman that is now showing outside of the current coaching offices that many media members and a lot of coaches shared on social media during the recent Edison summer passing tournament. Workman is the one who got the Chargers going in the 1970s and into the 1980s after the program began playing in 1969. Edison, which hasn’t had a losing season other than 5-6 in 2018 in nearly 20 years, stands at 433-17-10 for 70.4 percent since 1969.

21. Palma (Salinas)
Last season’s CIF D4-A state championship and 11-4 final record put the Chieftains just over the 70 percent mark (70.1) for their all-time record. That now stands at 501-209-17 since 1954. Since the state title win over Mission Oak of Tulare was No. 501, the 500th would the 31-21 win over Hughson for the NorCal crown.

22. Oak Grove (San Jose)
The names come easily when thinking about the Eagles over the years. Coaches like Phil Stearns, Eddie Buller and Jay Braun. Players like Marty Mornhinweg, Tim Ryan and recent Super Bowl player Chidobe Awuzie. And of course a program where a Super Bowl winning head coach, Mike Holmgren, was once offensive coordinator. The Eagles only went 4-6 last season, but still have a 70.0 win percentage since their first season in 1968. That’s based on a record of 437-186-6.

23. Dos Palos
This is the school with the most league championships than any other school in the state with 50. The 50th came just last season for the Broncos. They also could become just the third school in state history to reach 700 wins with 10 this season. Dos Palos sits at 690-295-25 since 1923, which comes out to a 69.5 win percentage.

24. St. Francis (Mountain View)
The Lancers went over 500 wins a few years ago and finished 7-4 last season. They are at 516-23-10 since the first season in 1958 for a 68.5 win percentage. From 1972 to 1995, St. Francis won 233 games under legendary head coach Ron Calcagno. Son Greg Calcagno has been the head coach since 2013. In 2021, he was our State Large Schools Coach of the Year.

25. Pittsburg
Pitt’s 13-1 record from last season pushed up the all-time record to 68.2 percent and just enough to pass three schools on the all-time state list. It didn’t go up that much because the Pirates are from a program that began playing 100 years ago. They have a record of 674-303-40 in those 100 years.

More All-Time Team Record Notes

There are about 20 more schools on the all-time win percentage record list, including several that had banner seasons last fall such as Escalon, Marin Catholic of Kentfield, Grant of Sacramento and Tehachapi. Escalon and Grant also both won their 600th all-time games last season.

In compiling the updated state record list for all-time wins (as opposed to winning percentage), it was impossible not to notice that Muir of Pasadena going 9-4 last season combined with Pasadena High finishing 0-10 put those two longtime rivals into a tie on the all-time list with 590 reported wins each.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports