It took a Spartan effort to become District 3’s top program of the 2000’s
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When it comes to winning championships, no District 3 football program has been better at it over the last 25 seasons than Steel-High, which has won five PIAA titles and taken home 14 district trophies.
Bishop McDevitt is close behind, with a pair of state titles and 13 district championships.
When it comes to consistency, no District 3 program has been better than Wyomissing, which won at an 82 percent clip on the way to a PIAA title and nine district championships during the 2000’s
Earlier this year, MikeDragoSports.com, in conjunction with Pennsylvania Football History (pafbhistory.com), took a deep dive into the numbers to determine the most successful football programs of the 2000’s.
With 25 seasons in the books now, enough games have been played to give these numbers legitimacy.
Wyomissing has enjoyed a run of excellence over the past 2 ½ decades. The Spartans have had just one losing record over the past 25 seasons, in 2004. They’ve had winning records in 23 of the 25 seasons, capped by their 16-0 run and PIAA Class AA championship in 2012.
(Chris Knight/LNP photo)
They have recorded 10 or more wins eight times in the past 10 seasons with an incredible run from 2019-2022 which saw them go 49-4 and reach back-to-back PIAA championships. In 2023 they became the first Berks team to win five straight district titles.
Bob Wolfrum has known just one losing season in his 38 years as Spartans head coach; with 372 victories he ranks No. 2 among active coaches in the state, behind only Roth. He is tied for No. 6 all-time.
Bishop McDevitt is a close No. 2, with an .810 winning percentage. Because of their success in the postseason, the Crusaders have won more games (264, four more than Wyomissing) during the 2000’s than any other team in District 3.
Wilson comes in at No. 3, with an .807 winning percentage, just ahead of No. 4 Manheim Central (.803).
Berks Catholic is No. 5 with a .735 win percentage. The Saints were much closer to the top a few years ago but suffered back-to-back losing seasons in 2022 and 2023 and are just 17-17 over the past three seasons.
Through their first 11 seasons the Saints recorded a .788 winning percentage, which would’ve been among the Top 15 in the state.
The only other Berks program with a winning percentage above .650 during the 2000’s is Gov. Mifflin (.652). Conrad Weiser (.593) and Exeter (.589) are the only other Berks programs among the Top 25 in the district.
Wilson has achieved its high ranking with unprecedented consistency. The Bulldogs have recorded 49 consecutive winning seasons, the longest active streak in the state. They have enjoyed 61 straight non-losing seasons.
Gerald Ford, a former University of Michigan lineman, was in the White House the last time the Bulldogs didn’t finish with a winning record (1975). John F. Kennedy was President the last time they had a losing record (1963).
The Bulldogs have won 10 or more games in a season 25 times since, particularly remarkable considering teams were limited to 11 games per season before the district playoffs kicked off in 1982.
Wilson has only gotten better in recent decades. It won 10 or more games nine straight seasons from 2008 to 2016 (an era which saw the Bulldogs set a Lancaster-Lebanon League record with 68 consecutive league victories).
When we compiled a state-wide list of the top teams of the 2000’s, No. 1 was no surprise: It was Southern Columbia, which has made 17 appearances in a PIAA championship game since 2000, winning a whopping 13 state titles. Overall, Southern has 325 wins since 2000, with an incredible winning percentage of .895.
Here’s a list of the Top 25 programs in District 3:
District 3’s winningest programs of the 2000’s
(ranked by winning percentage 2000-24; minimum 100 games)
| Program | Wins | Pct. | Titles | |
| Wyomissing | 260 | .820 | 9 | |
| Bishop McDevitt | 264 | .810 | 13 | |
| Wilson | 246 | .807 | 4 | |
| Manheim Central | 257 | .803 | 8 | |
| Berks Catholic | 125 | .735 | 4 | |
| Central Dauphin | 206 | .708 | 3 | |
| Cumberland Valley | 214 | .706 | 6 | |
| Delone Catholic | 197 | .706 | 5 | |
| Lampeter-Strasburg | 206 | .705 | 4 | |
| Steel-High | 219 | .704 | 14 | |
| Cocalico | 200 | .690 | 3 | |
| Lancaster Catholic | 200 | .690 | 4 | |
| Harrisburg | 195 | .663 | 7 | |
| Bermudian Springs | 179 | .658 | 1 | |
| Manheim Township | 183 | .656 | 1 | |
| Governor Mifflin | 189 | .652 | 1 | |
| Central York | 185 | .649 | 1 | |
| Northern York | 172 | .637 | 0 | |
| Milton Hershey | 155 | .603 | 0 | |
| Conrad Weiser | 163 | .593 | 0 | |
| East Pennsboro | 155 | .592 | 0 | |
| Exeter | 162 | .589 | 1 | |
| Trinity | 157 | .579 | 3 | |
| Cedar Cliff | 154 | .572 | 0 | |
| Shippensburg | 154 | .572 | 0 |
