Waubonsie Valley enters this weekend's Class AA state finals riding a 55-game unbeaten streak. So where does that put the Warriors' on the IHSA's list of unbeaten streaks?
Well, it took some time to research to make sure the IHSA had its facts straight. And guess what? The record book is a bit misleading.
The IHSA list St. Charles and New Trier as having the longest unbeaten streaks in state history at 88 games each. The only problem is that the Trevians lost a game during that stretch from 2003 until 2005.
New Trier opened the 2005 season with a 2-1 loss to St. Joseph, a school in Missouri. The IHSA disregards the defeat by adding in parentheses that the streak is against teams from Illinois. Fair enough. The Trevians actually had an 89-game unbeaten streak, but a win against Wisconsin's Brookfield Academy is also disregarded.
Still, the Trevians' did not have an 88-game unbeaten streak in the strictest sense. It was 60 games, still good enough to be the second-longest in state history.
But the St. Charles teams deserve sole credit for an actual 88-game unbeaten streak, which the Saints did from 1997 through 1999. As far as the research shows, all those games came against Illinois schools.
Where it gets tricky is when looking at the third-longest streak of 55 games, which the IHSA indicates was a winning streak for St. Charles from 2000-01. However, it clearly wasn't a winning streak when the Saints finished with seven ties in 2001 alone.
So here's how the IHSA record book should read under the category of consecutive games without a loss (regardless of opponent):
88, St. Charles, 1997-99
60, New Trier, 2003-04
55, St. Charles, 2000-01
55, Waubonsie Valley, 2007-08
Should the Warriors run the table this weekend, they will own the third-longest streak by themselves and will need only three more games without a loss in 2009 to pass the Trevians for second.
Breaking the St. Charles mark? That would take until 2010 unless the Warriors play -- and don't lose -- at least 31 games next season.
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