Andale extends nation’s second-longest high school football winning streak to 50 games

The Andale high school football team notched its 50th straight win in dominant fashion on Friday, pitching a 36-0 shutout of Clay Center in the Class 3A semifinals.

The three-time defending state champions will have the opportunity to win their fourth straight 3A title next Saturday when Andale (12-0) faces Holton (11-1) at 1 p.m. at Hutchinson Community College.

Andale has outscored opponents 2,614-309 with a winning margin of 46.1 points during its 50-game winning streak, which dates back to the first game of the 2019 season. Andale currently has the second-longest winning streak in the country, only behind Austin Westlake’s 52-game winning streak in Texas.

Andale is also the fifth program in Kansas history to win at least 50 games in a row, joining Smith Center (79), Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan (66), Conway Springs (62) and Claflin (51), per KSHSAA Covered.

“When there’s pressure (to continue winning), that’s privilege,” said Schmidt, who improved to 73-2 as head coach at Andale. “When you’re in a situation to feel pressure, that’s why you play the game. That’s why we coach. It’s a tough balance to enjoy the victories, but at the same time to know that we’ve got to keep attacking the process every day and try to keep getting better. We know there are better teams we are going to play, but sometimes that message can go through one ear and out the other. Our kids have done a really good job of that. They come to work and they want to get better.”

What surprised Schmidt after Friday’s victory was how many of the seniors were emotional after playing in their final home game. The 13 seniors on the team have a chance to become the first class in school history to win four straight state championships next week.

Senior standouts on Andale this season include Riley Marx, Cody Parthemer, Jack Kraus, Kelby Eck, Noah Bruce, Jonah Meyer, Wyatt Spexarth, Tegan Orth, Brayden Weber.

The class of 13 is one of the smallest to come through Andale in quite some time, which Schmidt says is a testament to how much talent there is among those 13 players.

“Normally with a small senior class like that, you don’t have the success because you don’t have the depth or the numbers,” Schmidt said. “But the 13 seniors we have are all studs. They’re workers. You go across the board and try to pick the top four or five guys and you can’t because they’re all top-notch players — athletically, but also the way they prepare and approach the game and practice. There’s physical talent, but they are great with the mental side of the game.

“That’s what makes it fun, when you’re around guys that are champions and want to work like this group does. I’ve enjoyed the heck of them.”