Dos Palos players (left) celebrate during 2022 win, one of 696 that school has been reported with since its first season. Dos Palos is not the winningest team in its CIF section, but can become just third school in state history to reach 700 wins. At right is Oceanside’s Kavika Tua during 2019 season. The Pirates have the most wins in the CIF San Diego Section & need just four more wins to reach 600 in its history. Photos: Guillermo Rives / Westside Express & X.com.
With plenty of time to spare before first games are played in the 2025 football season, we have everything updated and ready to go in our exclusive Cal-Hi Sports state records in all team categories. As a fun way to connect these record updates with the various all-area, all-section and/or all-county preseason teams that are currently being compiled, here’s a look at the schools with the most wins and the best all-time records from each of those parts of the state.
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(For teams with an all-time best record to qualify for a state listing, it must have played five varsity seasons)
CIF San Diego Section
You might think that ancient San Diego High has the most wins, but it’s Oceanside. The Pirates actually only need four more wins to reach 600 reported all-time wins in our files since the first season of 1926. We have San Diego High with 585 reported wins since 1892. For team with the best all-time record, it’s Helix of La Mesa. The Highlanders, also known for having No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the NFL Draft in back-to-back seasons with Alex Smith and Reggie Bush, also are fairly high on the all-time state list with a 70.5 winning percentage since 1951.
CIFSS Orange County
Two schools from Santa Ana are tops on the lists from OC. For all-time wins, Santa Ana High, which has been around since 1894, starts this season with 648 reported wins. The Saints will be trying to improve on a sub-par 2-8 record from last season. For the record, of course, it’s Mater Dei (also of Santa Ana). The Monarchs are the only school in California with more than 600 all-time wins that began in 1950 or later. Their 13-0 record from last season put them at 619-194-15 for a 75.6 win percentage. Despite starting more than 50 years later after Santa Ana High, MD isn’t actually that far behind and is ahead of much older schools for all-time wins such as Anaheim, Fullerton and Brea Olinda.
Centennial head coach Matt Logan should win the 300th game of his career this season. He’s been the head coach since 1997, which is only eight years after the new school started playing football in 1989. Photo: @Cen10Football / Twitter.com.
CIFSS Inland Empire
While Centennial of Corona actually dropped a spot behind Mater Dei on the all-time state list of schools with the all-time best records just this past season, the Huskies are still easily in front in their region with a 346-113-1 mark (75.3 percent) since 1989. Almost all of those wins (it will be 300 this season) have come under current, longtime head coach Matt Logan. If one counts Pomona as the Inland Empire, it would have the most wins with 590 since 1900. If one does not, then Redlands has the most wins with 583 since 1891.
CIFSS Long Beach/South Bay
This is the region of the CIFSS that would have Long Beach Poly, which is currently the winningest football program in state history at 824 and counting since 1904. The Jackrabbits had been comfortably ahead of Bakersfield on that all-time state list but their 6-6 record last season combined with Bakersfield going 11-2 has put the Drillers just one win behind. We believe that Poly also has the best record all-time from this area (which includes St. John Bosco, Serra of Gardena and others) but we don’t have its losses and ties from a lot of early seasons. We think it’s higher than 62.5 percent (based on Bakersfield’s percentage) and both Bosco and Serra still aren’t yet that high for all-time records based on also having a lot of struggling seasons in their early histories.
CIFSS San Fernando/Ventura/Santa Barbara
Since its first season in 2001, Oaks Christian of Westlake Village has been a statewide powerhouse. That was on the small school level in the early years and then it continued in a transition to the highest levels under head coach Bill Redell. For a couple of seasons, the Lions had the best all-time record of any school in the state, but De La Salle of Concord has gone back to the top after the last three seasons. Oaks Christian’s 242-57-1 record for an 80.8 win percentage since 2001 and entering this year is still No. 2 in the state. Sierra Canyon is right behind the Lions with a 177-48-1 record since 2007 for an 79.6 win percentage. For all-time wins, Santa Barbara High is still in the CIF Southern Section and is in the same league as Ventura County schools so it would be first in that category from this region with 673 since 1900.
CIFSS San Gabriel Valley
We made it a point to figure out Rio Hondo Prep’s all-time record after last season when the Kares beat so many large schools on their way to a 13-2 record and a tough OT loss to Vanden (Fairfield) in the CIF D3-A state final. We hadn’t done that before since the school had been 8-man for a lot of years in its history. We put Grace of Simi Valley into the records last year with an 8-man/11-man mix and have done it again with RHP. Turns out the school has a mark of 487-172-1 for 73.4 percent since 1960. That’s even higher than perennial power Bishop Amat. We had also thought Amat’s total of 505 wins since 1959 also would be the highest from the SGV, but Monrovia has been around since 1898 and it has more than 600 at 645 and counting.
CIF L.A. City Section
The Carson-Banning rivalry remains intense to this day, but Carson has been a more consistent overall winner since its first season in 1963. The Colts, in fact, have a reported 472-231-5 all-time mark, which is a 67.0 win percentage and is the best all-time among schools in the L.A. City Section. The school with the most wins should be obvious as Los Angeles High goes back to 1893. The Romans, who went 9-4 last season, will start the 2025 schedule with 622 reported wins (not including forfeit wins or forfeit losses).
CIF Central Section
Anyone who has any sense of history in the Central Section knows that Bakersfield High has the most wins. The Drillers also have been first all-time for the state in that category but fell behind Long Beach Poly three seasons ago. Their 11-2 season last fall behind head coach Rashaan Shehee, however, almost was enough to reclaim the lead. BHS begins this year with 823 wins, just one behind Poly. The Drillers also have the Central Section’s best all-time record despite having such a long history. They have won 72.2 percent of their games since the 1896 season. It’s worth noting that the school that is in second-place for both is Dos Palos. The Broncos, who went 8-3 last season, have 696 overall wins and just need four more wins to become just the third school in state history to hit 700. They also have a winning percentage of 69.3 since 1923.
CIF Central Coast Section
The “Ps” have it in the CCS as Palma of Salinas is the school with the best all-time record and Palo Alto is the one with the most all-time wins. Palma’s first season was in 1954 and since then the Chieftains have won 70.2 percent of their games. They won their 500th game by beating Mission Oak of Tulare, 42-19, in the 2023 CIF D4-A state championship game and were 7-6 last season. They have a reported mark of 508-215-17. Palo Alto had a 6-6 season in 2024, which bumped up the Vikings to 690 all-time wins. They are not only No. 1 in the CCS in that department, but are No. 1 in the Bay Area and No. 1 for Northern California if one doesn’t count the Central Section in the north where Bakersfield and Dos Palos reside.
Former Manteca head coach Eric Reis poses with family, friends and players after the 100th victory for him at the school in 2013. The Buffaloes lead the CIF Sac-Joaaquin for most all-time wins. Photo: Mark Tennis.
CIF North Coast Section
It’s not all about De La Salle (Concord) in the NCS records, but most of it is. The Spartans set a state record last season by making it into the NCS playoffs, which broke a tie of 41 straight seasons with La Mirada in the Southern Section. La Mirada’s streak ended in 2022. De La Salle’s will obviously continue to 43 after this season. The school has been No. 1 in the state for having the best all-time record for most of the last 25 to 30 years, but there was a couple of seasons when Oaks Christian was slightly higher. DLS is now first at 86.3 percent since 1972 with Oaks Christian now at 80.8. The Spartans have a mark of 554-84-8 in their history and despite starting in 1972 are much higher for all-time wins than a lot of very old NorCal schools like Sacramento, Piedmont, Vacaville and Elk Grove. Berkeley still has the most all-time wins in the NCS with 688. The Yellowjackets, first season in 1891, also are just two wins behind Palo Alto on the NorCal and state lists.
CIF San Francisco/Oakland Sections
The only school that shows up on any of the state records for most football wins and best all-time football record is Lowell of San Francisco for all-time wins. The Cardinal represent the oldest public school in the state with roots back to 1850 and a first score reported in 1891. We have them down for 6-5 reported wins, but undoubtedly there’s more with a lot of missing information from games perhaps played in the 1890s.
CIF Northern Section
There are no schools in the section in our all-time list of schools with a 62.5 winning percentage in all of the games they have played. We checked out a few of them on hunches (Pleasant Valley of Chico, University Prep of Redding and Modoc of Alturas) and Modoc came the closest at 59.5. Chico has been playing games since 1896 and is the only school in the section above 600 wins. The Panthers are starting the 2025 season with 628.
CIF Sac-Joaquin Section
Since it opened in the shadows of the old ARCO Arena in the Natomas area of Sacramento in 2005, the Inderkum Tigers have been reeling off 9-3, 10-2 or better seasons just about all the time. They were 9-3 last season and were 11-2 the year before that. Inderkum’s all-time record of 196-48 for an 80.3 win percentage is not just tops in the SJS, but is third best in the state records. For the most wins, it’s not just a few miles south to old-time school Sacramento High (goes back to 1890s), but instead it’s down in San Joaquin County at Manteca. The Buffaloes, who have been playing since 1923, have racked up 634 wins in their history.
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
One Comment
Still going strong 💪 I see!!