You've heard the old saying that "records were made to be broken"? If you believe that to be true then the 2012 high school football season would rank up there with the best of them. AHSFHS has worked to compile a list of the team records over the years and will continue to add to the list as new records are found and broken.

          In a couple of articles we will look at some of these records and the teams, coaches and players that hold them and broke them in 2012. The best place to start would be the team records set this season.

          Following the Hoover's 31-0 victory over the Opelika Bulldogs the Bucs removed all doubt about this being a true dynasty. If there are naysayers let them only look at the fact that the Bucs have played in twelve of the past thirteen state title games winning seven championships along the way. Hoover also tied Sweet Water with nine playoff titles which is good for second place behind Hazlewood with eleven championships. The first two titles were won when the school was known as Berry in 1977 and 1982.

          The fifteen Championship game appearances by Hoover/Berry surpasses the old record of fourteen set by the great Hazlewood teams from 1970-2000.

          Not to be outdone other teams got in on the action. Spanish Fort, while winning it's second championship in three years, has the best playoff record of all teams with at least ten games with a 16-3 record for a winning percentage of 84.2%. They surpassed who else but Hazlewood and are followed closely by none other than Hoover with a record of 77-19 and a winning percentage of 80.2%.

          Colbert County extended their record of thirty-six playoff appearances followed closely by T.R. Miller and Sweet Water with thirty-three. Luverne tied the record set by Colbert County with thirty consecutive playoff appearances. Colbert County had their streak snapped in 2010 when the missed the playoffs. 

           Marion County set a new record for points scored in a playoff game when they throttled Meek 83-6. They also set a new standard for margin of victory in a playoff game with the win. Clarke Prep's 59-29 win over East Memorial was the second highest score for both teams combined in AISA.

          Brantley completed the 2012 regular season undefeated. The Bulldogs are now just one undefeated season behind Tuscaloosa which set the standard with twelve undefeated regular seasons. AHSFHS.org still needs some research on the earlier season for Brantley but it is doubtful they completed any of the missing seasons undefeated. The Bulldogs also won their twenty-seventh region championship in 2012 which topped the old mark held by Hazlewood.

          In this age of high powered offenses Brantley played defense like no team in recent history. In fifteen games they shutout ten opponents and allowed only forty-seven points the entire season including four shutouts in the playoffs. The accomplishment is second only to the mark set by Clay County when they shutout eleven opponents during the 1996 season.

          Brantley not only played defense. The Bulldogs could play some offense too. They scored 730 points during the season good for a tie with Sweet Water (2008) for fourth most in state history behind the mark set by Demopolis in 2004 when they scored 761 points. Edgewood Academy set a new record for points scored in a season in AISA by amassing 645 points.

          Tanner extended their streak of consecutive regular season wins to an amazing thirty-five games. The streak is good for eighth place all time behind the record fifty-six straight set by Prattville from 2001-2007. Dadeville had a nice streak of their own before falling to Central Clay County in week nine. Their streak reached thirty-four games before coming to an end. On the other end of the spectrum is Central Hayneville with fifty-one consecutive losses. R.C. Hatch hold the record for consecutive losses with a streak of sixty-eight games set between 1997 and 2005.

          The most impressive record may belong to the T.R. Miller Tigers with their streak of 317 games having scored. The streak goes back to the 1988 season when they played a game and did not score. The next closest team is Hoover/Berry with a streak dating to the 1991 season and 287 consecutive games.

          So the 2012 season will go down as a record breaking year for high school football in Alabama. But then again it seems every season brings new records and new standards that give future teams something to strive toward. If we missed anything don't hesitate to email us at AHSFHS.org and let us know of your team's record or near record during the 2012 season.

          All the team records at AHSFHS.org can be seen at Team Records. Next up will be the coaches.

David Parker
AHSFHS.org
Email: dparker@ahsfhs.org