MONTGOMERY – It was no surprise that Fyffe High School senior quarterback and linebacker Kyle Dukes guided the Red Devils to what they do best once again last week – run the football and WIN!!!
   The 5-foot-10, 210-pound Dukes rushed for 141 yards on 18 carries as Fyffe beat DeKalb County rival Plainview 45-19. The Red Devils had 55 running plays for 407 rushing yards in what was Fyffe’s 50^th consecutive victory dating back to the third round of the AHSAA Class 2A state playoffs in 2017. Dukes and Coach Paul Benefield’s entire Fyffe football team earned this week’s AHSAA Football Spotlight. Junior teammate Brody Hicks added 67 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in the win over Plainview’s Bears (4-2). Fyffe improved to 37-23-1 in the series with Plainview.
    Since that 35-28 quarterfinal playoff loss to Sulligent in 2017, the Red Devils have posted three straight 15-0 seasons and are currently 5-0 this season. Fyffe became just the third team in AHSAA football history to win 50 in a row in the process and coupled with Southern Columbia Area (PA) High School’s 41-21 loss to Wyomissing (PA) last week, the Red Devils own the nation’s longest current high school football winning streak, according to published AP reports and MaxPreps.
    Southern Columbia Area held the longest streak at 65 wins after Minnesota prep powerhouse Caledonia High School was beaten by Lake City 30-13 in September to end its winning streak at 71 in a row dating back to 2014.
     Fyffe has won 77 of its last 78 games since 2016 and during the same stretch as Caledonia’s winning streak, the Red Devils posted a 120-3 record for a winning rate of 97.6%.
     No team in Alabama has won more games than Fyffe in this century. Since 2001, Fyffe has compiled a 242-26 record – averaging just 1.2 losses per year and 11.5 wins. A 2A school for most of that time, Fyffe won state 2A titles in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2019 and captured the Class 3A state crown last season. The Red Devils also finished as runner-up in Class 2A in 2015 and 2007 and reached the state playoffs every year since 2001. Class 7A Hoover owns a 237-35 record during that same stretch and Class 5A UMS-Wright is 229-31.
     Clay County High School, which closed after the 2011 season and merged with Lineville to create Central of Clay County High School in 2012, set the AHSAA state record for consecutive wins (55) from 1994-97.  Fyffe and Clay County each put together their streaks while also competing each year in the post-season football playoffs. The Panthers won 16 straight playoff games before the streak finally ended in the second round of the 1997 Class 2A state playoffs when Luverne won 20-14.
     Fyffe currently owns a 15-game playoff winning streak. Hazlewood, now closed, holds the record for consecutive playoff wins (29). The Bears won five state crowns in a row from 1988-92.
     Verbena High School won 50 games in a row from 1950-54, and Tuscaloosa High School won 49 straight games from 1926-31. James Porch came close to having an even longer streak at Verbena. The Class 1A Chilton County high school went 9-1 in 1949 losing to Montgomery County 19-14 in the last game of the season. The streak ended in 1955 with Elmore County ending the streak with a 7-0 victory in the second week of the season. Verbena rebounded, however, to finish 9-1 – giving the school a 68-2 record from 1949-55.
     Neither team had a football playoff but Tuscaloosa did play a “national championship” game of sorts in 1926 beating Senn High School in Illinois 42-0 in the last game of the season. Senn had been touted as the top team in the nation but Tuscaloosa Coach Paul Burnum begged to differ, got them to agree to play a game, and went to Illinois to prove who was best. The Black Bears had a streak of 64 straight games without a loss, however, which is still an AHSAA record. During that stretch (1925-1932) Tuscaloosa had seven straight undefeated seasons – including three ties and compiled a 61-0-3 record. Al Clemens coached the three years of the streak, which ended with rival Holt winning 6-0 in the first game of the 1932 season.
    According to published reports, other current football winning streaks nationally include Corner Canyon of Draper (Utah) (48); Kirtland (Ohio) 47; Peabody (Tennessee) (44); Chandler (Arizona) (42); Riverheads (Virginia) (41); and Bixby (Oklahoma) (40). Two other schools, Muskego (Wisconsin) (41) and Landon/Edmore/Munich (North Dakota) (43) had streaks broken this season.
    The second-longest current streak in the AHSAA belongs to defending Class 7A state champion Thompson (7-0), which has won 25 in a row heading into this week’s home game with Gadsden City and defending Class 4A state champion Handley has won its last 10 in a row. The Tigers (5-0) host Cherokee County Friday.
    Fyffe’s Benefield is just the third head coach at his school since 1970. Ron Haushalter compiled a 162-109 record from 1970-1994; David Wofford was 9-13 in two seasons (1995-96), and Benefield is 272-42 at Fyffe since 1997. He is 317-53 with five years at Sylvania High School, located just 10 miles up the road in DeKalb County from Fyffe.
    The milestone winning streak victory by Fyffe edged another outstanding team effort turned in by Slocomb High School. The Red Tops (3-3) tied an AHSAA state record with eight interceptions in a 35-7 Class 3A, Region 2 win over New Brockton last week.
    Brody Campbell and Jaylen Nobles both earned two interceptions for the Red Tops of Coach Richard Tisdale. Campbell returned one of his picks 55 yards for a TD, and Nobles scooted 72 yards for a TD on one of his swipes. Braylon Miller, Cade Birge, Asael Morin, and Caulin Thomas also had one interception each for Slocomb in the win.
    The record tied the mark listed on the AHSAA website of eight by Talladega County Central in a 25-14 win over White Plains in 1999.