A look at who holds the most football titles

I live for a good research question, especially when it involves high school football. I received one such question last week, via e-mail, sent in by David from Monroeville.
David wrote "I was looking around the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s (ASHAA) Web site yesterday and saw where, in the football state records, that Hazlewood High School holds the record for most state championships by a single school. The site says that Hazlewood has won 11 all-time championships and won five in a row between 1988 and 1992. For some reason, Hazelwood is the only school listed in the record book. Who comes next on the list for most all-time state championships? Have any other schools won back-to-back championships? I’d also be interested to know which county in Alabama can claim the most state football champions."
Well, David, that’s a tall order, but I’ll see if I can’t shed some light on these subjects. The AHSAA started its state playoff system in 1966, and since that year, 100 different high schools in Alabama have won at least one state championship in football.
Hazlewood has won 11 state championships, which is five more championships than anyone else has ever won. They won back-to-back titles during the 1981 and 1982 seasons and won five-straight between 1988 and 1992.
Four schools are tied for second on the list of all-time championships with six state titles each: Clay County, Colbert County, Homewood and T.R. Miller. Five schools are tied for third place on the list with five championships each: Blount, Courtland, Hoover, Robert E. Lee and Sweet Water.
Three schools are tied for fourth with four championships each: Gordo, Pike County and U.M.S. Wright. Eleven schools have won three championships each: Addison, Alexandria, Briarwood Christian, Deshler, Elmore County, Jeff Davis, Marion County, Oneonta, Oxford, Sidney Lanier and Southern Choctaw.
Twenty-four schools have won at least two championships each: Aliceville, Andalusia, Anniston, Athens, Banks (which no longer exists), Billingsley, Brantley, Carrollton, Elba, Enterprise, Escambia County, Eufaula, Gadsden, Greenville, Lamar County, Luverne, Millport, Mountain Brook, Northview, Reeltown, Russellville, Stevenson, Vestavia Hills and Vigor.
Fifty-two schools have won one state championship in football: Abbeville, Akron, Benjamin-Russell, Berry, Central-Phenix City, Central-Tuscaloosa, Clay-Chalkville, Cordova, Cottonwood, Crossville, Dadeville, Daphne, Daleville, Dallas County, Decatur, Demopolis, Emma Sanson, Etowah, Excel, Fayette County, Glencoe,
Henderson, Hokes Bluff, Jackson, John Carroll, Lauderdale County, Leroy, Litchfield, Lowndes Academy, Maplesville, Marengo County, McKenzie, Montgomery Academy, Murphy, North Jackson, Oak Grove, Ohatchee, Parrish, Prattville, Ranburne,
Randolph County, Sand Rock, St. Clair County, Sylacauga, Tarrant, Thomasville, Thompson, Trinity, Tuscaloosa County, Valley, Valley Head and W.A. Berry.
Hazlewood holds the state record for most consecutive state titles. They won five-straight state titles between 1988 and 1992. Hoover follows with four-straight state titles from 2002 to 2005.
Five schools have won three-straight state titles during their histories: Clay County (94-96); Blount (96-98); Courtland (88-90); Marion County (71-73); and Sidney Lanier (66-68).
Seventeen schools have won two straight state titles in football during their histories: Colbert County (93-94); Homewood (04-05); Robert E. Lee (69-70, 91-92) Sweet Water (78-79); Pike County (88-89); UMS Wright (01-02);
Briarwood Christian (98-99); Deshler (98-99); Oneonta (71-72); Oxford (88-89); Southern Choctaw (98-99); Andalusia (76-77); Athens (75-76); Millport (83-84); Mountain Brook (75-76); Russellville (67-68) and Vigor (87-88).
What county in Alabama can claim the most state champions? This took a little time to research. As far as I know, a list of state champs by county has never been compiled, so you’re getting an exclusive.
Jefferson County, the county where Birmingham is located, leads the state with 25 total state titles in football. Eleven different schools in that county have won state titles since 1966: Homewood (6), Hoover (5) Briarwood Christian (3), Banks (2), Mountain Brook (2), Vestavia Hills (2), Clay-Chalkville (1), John Carroll (1), Oak Grove (1), Tarrant (1) and W.A. Berry (1).
Thanks to 11 state titles by Hazlewood and five by Courtland, Lawrence County (population 34,000) comes in second for most titles by schools in a single county.
Montgomery County is third with 13 titles, and Mobile County is fourth with 12 titles. Calhoun and Colbert counties are tied for fifth place with nine championships each. Escambia and Pickens counties are tied for sixth place with eight titles each.
Etowah County and Marengo counties are tied for seventh with seven titles each. Clay County is eighth with six titles. Pike County is ninth with five titles. Four counties – Coffee, Crenshaw, Lamar and Tallapoosa – round out the Top 10 with four state titles each.
Eight counties have three state titles to their credit: Autauga, Blount, Butler, Choctaw, Elmore, Houston, Jackson, Marion and Winston. Nine counties can claim at least two state titles: Barbour, Clarke, Covington, DeKalb, Fayette, Franklin, Limestone, Tuscaloosa and Walker.
Nineteen counties have one state title to their credit: Baldwin, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Cleburne, Dale, Dallas, Hale, Henry, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Monroe, Morgan, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega and Washington.
Fourteen of Alabama’s 67 counties have never had a school to win a state title in football: Bibb, Bullock, Conecuh, Coosa, Cullman, Geneva, Greene, Lee, Macon, Madison, Marshall, Perry, Sumter and Wilcox.