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The best of the best in Alabama High
School Football over the past 100 seasons.

Best Program to Never Win a Championship

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          Most avid football fans readily know the teams that regularly win state championships. But which schools have never won a state playoff title? Our list will be ranked according to all time wins for teams that have fallen short of winning a playoff state championship over the past fifty seasons.

      10. The Fort Payne Wildcats (574 wins) have compiled a 9-22 record in the playoffs since their first appearance in 1984. Only once, in 2010 have they advanced past the second round. The Wildcats can lay claim to a mythical championship the team earned in 1964. They were a unanimous selection after a 9-1 season.

      9. The Lineville Aggies (575 wins) have won the most playoff games of any team on our list without bringing home a title. The Aggies went 51-27 in the post season but never managed to finish the deal. They did make it to the title game three times in 1996, 1998 and 1999 but each time came up short. The Aggies brought home a trophy following the 1961 season as awarded by the Post-Herald and the ASWA. They were also named state champions in 1962 by the Birmingham News. The school closed following the 2011 football season.

      8. The Foley Lions (576 wins) can claim two mythical championships in 1961-62 but have not come close to a playoff championship. The Lions have only gotten as far as the semi-finals on one occasion in 2014 before falling to Prattville.

      7. Bibb County (582 wins) has become a successful football program over the past fifteen years. But the Choctaws have yet to win a championship or even reach a championship game. They have played in just one semifinal game in 2010 when they fell to Thomasville. Bibb County has won a total of 15 region and area championships.

      6. The Winfield Pirates (593 wins) reached the Super Six championship game in 2004 but came up short against Oneonta 28-21. It was their shot at a title. The Pirates lost in the semi-finals on three occasions and have won twenty-six playoff games during the school's history. They also could never wrap up a mythical title.

     5. The Auburn Tigers (595 wins) have come very close to claiming a playoff championship but came up short in 2013 against the Hoover Bucs when they lost 20-3 in the Super Six Championship game in Tuscaloosa. They also last an epic battle with Thompson 29-28 in 2020.

      4. The Opelika Bulldogs (598 wins) have amassed a playoff record of 46-31 but have come up shy of winning a state championship. In 2012, the Bulldogs had an opportunity but fell to Hoover 31-0 in the championship game. In 2016 they fell to Ramsasy 21-16 in the 6A championship game. Sixteen times the team reached at least the third round of the playoffs before losing.

      3. The Cullman Bearcats (610 wins) finished the 1962 season with a perfect 10-0 record and were selected mythical champions by several sources. In 1972 the Bearcats fell to a great Colbert County team in the Class 3A state championship game. It is their only title game appearance. They reached the semi-finals of the playoffs in 2007-08 but fell short of a championship.

      2. The Jasper Vikings (615 wins) won mythical championships in 1930 and 1957 but have never claimed a blue map trophy. The 1977 team lost to Berry 21-0 in the title game on the only occasion the team advanced past the third round of the playoffs. Even changing the school name from Walker to Jasper has not helped the luck of the Vikings recently.

      1. The Hamilton Aggies (629 wins) have won the most football games without managing to bring a championship trophy to their hometown. The Aggies have reached a title game only once in their storied history. In 2010 they came up short in Auburn against Leeds, losing 42-32. It is also the only time they have gone further than the third round in the playoffs.

No State Playoff Championships
Team	Won	Lost	Tied
Hamilton	629	381	36
Jasper	615	389	33
Cullman	610	405	33
Opelika	598	404	18
Auburn	595	390	35
Winfield	593	367	48
Bibb County	582	425	38
Foley	576	352	27
Lineville	575	324	25
Fort Payne	574	400	30

David Parker
AHSFHS.org
dparker@ahsfhs.org

Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History

The first football game played by a high school team in Alabama was in 1892 when Central Birmingham (Phillips) lost to Alabama 56-0 on November 11.