Remembering a historic Florala football record that’s stood for almost 100 years

It’s a record that’s stood for almost a century in Alabama high school football history and it may stand for another hundred years after that.

AL.com released its picks of some of the most unbreakable high school football records, with readers selecting their choice for which mark will be the toughest to beat.

Thirty-two percent of readers voted that Florala High School’s record of most consecutive shutout victories is least likely to be broken.

The record of 17 straight games goes back to the 1927-1929 seasons for the Wildcats.

A record by former Straughn star Russell Gunter for most rushing attempts in a game (72 vs. Coffee Springs, 1986) garnered 25% of the vote and Clay County’s record for most shutouts in a season (11 in 1996) totaled 22%.

According to information gathered by the Alabama High School Football Historical Society, the streak of shutouts started for Florala with an 18-0 shutout of Geneva on Oct. 7, 1927.

The 1927 season saw Florala go 6-0-2 with a pair of ties against T.R. Miller (Week 1, 6-6) and Enterprise (Week 3, 0-0). It was also the first undefeated season for Florala.

In 1928, the Wildcats went 9-0, shutting out every opponent they played and outscoring opponents 203-0. Florala opened the season with a 56-0 shutout of Rawls under third-year coach James Jenkins.

After a 46-0 shutout of Rawls again to open the ensuing year, the streak was snapped the following week of the 1929 season as the Wildcats beat T.R. Miller 44-7.

During the 17-game stretch for Florala, the program outscored opponents 402-0 and held a scoring average of 23.6 points per game.

Florala’s mark is one of three programs with double-digit shutouts in a row, along with Hamilton (1928-1930) and Sidney Lanier (1920-1921) which both had 14 straight.

The only team among the top nine from the 2000s is Donoho in Anniston, which recorded eight straight shutouts in 2006 under former head coach Shannon Felder.

The Falcons allowed just nine points during a 10-0 regular season, with a 32-6 win over Lyman Ward to start the year and a 52-3 victory over Pleasant Valley to close the regular season. Donoho would fall to Cedar Bluff in the third round of the Class 1A playoffs.