Putting Bulldogs' run in historical perspective
West York's impressive, 34-5 run over the last three seasons has put this Bulldogs team in a rare class, among some of the better teams to come through the YAIAA.
Where exactly does West York rank in a historical perspective? It's hard to say. Comparing high school football today to high school football 30 years is tricky. The game has certainly changed in some aspects, as has the scheduling. With the recent expansions of District playoffs, teams are playing more games now that ever.
This morning I sat down a thumbed through our YAIAA football records -- which date back to the 1959 season -- and compiled some win-loss statistics to try to put West York's run in context.
The numbers are pretty flattering. West York's 34 wins are the most ever in a three-year span by a YAIAA (or its equivalent) team. In fact, West York and Delone Catholic (30-6 the last three years) are are the only two YAIAA schools to compile 30 wins in a three-year stretch (Delone has done it twice). The Bulldogs' 42 wins during the last four years is second only to the 43 Delone Catholic rolled up from 2000-03.
As mentioned, it's hard to decipher where exactly that puts this West York team in terms of past York-Adams teams. Teams just didn't used to have that many games. Red Lion went undefeated from 1972 to 1974, but only played 27 games in that time.
As impressive as it has been, West York still has some work to catch up with Delone's five-year stretch from 1999-2003, during which the Squires won at least 10 games each season. South Western strung together nine great seasons from 1989 to 1997, going an astounding 84-16 in that time.
After the jump, I've listed some of the best three-year runs by York-Adams teams during the last 50 years. Check them out.
Note: Schools that played in other leagues outside the aren't excluded. For example, Littlestown and Delone Catholic played in the Blue Mountain League before joining the YAIAA in 1992. Those pre-YAIAA years are not included in these numbers. You could argue that makes these numbers less complete (for example, Littlestown went 30-5 from 1982-84). Well, sorry. I just go with what's in our records binder.
Now, without further adieu, the results, arranged by winning percentage.
Red Lion (1972-74), 27-0, 1.000
Red Lion (1964-66), 26-0, 1.000
York Suburban (1960-62), 22-2, .917
Delone Catholic (2001-03), 32-4, .889
South Western (1993-95), 29-4, .879
West York (2007-09), 34-5, .872
Delone Catholic (1999-01), 32-5, .865
West York (1966-68), 20-3-1, .851
Susquehannock (2004-06), 28-5, .848
South Western (1995-97), 28-5, .848
Delone Catholic (2007-09), 30-6, .833
William Penn (1986-88), 25-5, .833
Spring Grove (1979-81), 24-4-2, .828
South Western (1989-91), 28-6, .824
Spring Grove (2000-02), 27-6, .818
York Catholic (1980-82), 24-5-1, .814
South Western (1999-2001), 26-6, .813
Delone Catholic (1993-95), 29-7, .806
Littlestown (2003-05), 29-8, .784