The standard-bearer in this particular category is the most recent Cameron County era under Tony Defilippi and John Fragale.
From 2007-’09, the Red Raiders won 27 straight regular season games, going undefeated in all three seasons. That’s the longest win streak among Big 30 football teams over the last 10 years.
In that span, there have been 10 win streaks of nine games or more, with the powerful Kane programs under Jason Barner and Todd Silfies appearing on that list three times and the state champion Randolph squads checking in twice.
Two current Big 30 teams, one on each side of the border, have cracked that list and are still counting.
Kane has won 23 straight regular season games dating back to 2014, including unbeaten campaigns in 2015 and ‘16. (The Wolves have won the last two Allegheny Mountain League Title Games, which are played during Week 10 and considered regular season games). That’s the second-longest streak over the last 10 years, three games ahead of the Wolves’ 17-game run from 2012-’14. Olean has won nine in a row since the start of last season, tied for the ninth-longest stretch along with the Kane team that went unbeaten (9-0) in 2007.
Both Silfies and OHS coach Phil Vecchio have tangible characteristics they can point to as the reason for their fast starts in 2017 — for the Wolves (3-0), it’s the senior leadership provided by returning Big 30 all-stars Reed Williams and Erik DeLong, among others; for Olean High (2-0), it’s the return, and production, of all three starting linebackers: Dylan Vincent, Nick Fratercangelo and Icar Simon.
Beyond the X’s and O’s, however, there’s an even simpler explanation for why the Wolves and Huskies have remained at or near the top of the Olean Times Herald large school poll since early last season.
They have players who have done it before.
“There’s confidence, especially from the guys who kind of went through it last year,” Vecchio said. “They’re battle-tested, hardened. We were in some tight ball games last year, and I just don’t think they panic.”
“I think they have that been-there, done-that thing and they trust each other and they trust what they’re trying to do. They have a belief that they’re going to have each other’s backs, and they don’t try to do too much.”
The Wolves haven’t lost a regular season game since Week 8 in 2014 — and their three setbacks that year were all by one point. Since then, they’ve won three district titles and advanced as far as the PIAA quarterfinals.
If they win out the rest of this season, as expected, they’ll have the Big 30’s longest win streak since 2007. But that’s not where their focus is week-in and week-out. In fact, Silfies wasn’t even aware of those numbers until being presented with them Monday.
“I don’t think we think in terms of anything like that,” he said. “For us, it’s one game at a time no matter what’s going on. Right now, we’re focused on Cameron County, they’re our next opponent.
“I think we have players and coaches that have done a nice job of, at the beginning of this year, and of course the last several, just really taking that one-game-at-a-time mentality. We commit all of our focus to that one week in addition to trying to get better ourselves, and that seems to be the plan of success so far.”
The Huskies have gone nine up and nine down under Vecchio, their only loss under the second-year coach coming in last year’s Section 6 Class B semifinal. Defense has been the key; Olean allowed two touchdowns or fewer in five of seven regular season games last fall and has surrendered only 19 points in two games this year.
As Vecchio noted, it hasn’t been easy — “Nobody’s as surprised as we are,” he said, with a laugh. The Huskies won a pair of overtime games and two others by one possession in 2016 and held off a Fredonia/Westfield/Brocton rally Friday night at Bradner Stadium.
The key to being successful each night out so far? Having the right mentality.
“They have a pretty even keel, which I love as a coach,” Vecchio said. “They don’t get too high, they don’t get too low. It’s coach speak, but we talk about the 24-hour rule: We play Friday night, we meet Saturday morning, watch some film and we kind of put that week to bed. They just have a real workmanlike approach.”
Of course, it’ll be anything but smooth sailing for both of these teams the rest of the way, especially the Huskies.
Olean will face arguably its toughest stretch of the Vecchio era over the next two weeks when it meets Maryvale and Dunkirk, currently ranked Nos. 3 and 2, respectively, in The Buffalo News’ small school poll. Kane still has the mighty Allegheny Mountain League South to navigate.
No matter if and when those streaks come to an end, however, both the Wolves and Huskies once again seem set up for success this year.
“It’s the leadership I mentioned earlier,” Silfies said. “You’re talking about some really, really intelligent young men: (Reed) Williams, Ray Maze, Ange Costanzo, (Erik) DeLong, any number of our offensive linemen.
“These guys, we’ve got a lot of A’s in the classroom right there, if you know what I mean.”
Said Vecchio: “All credit should go to the kids. Those are the guys that are doing the heavy lifting. They’re the guys that are getting the game plans, they’re studying and watching film.”
The longest win streaks in the Big 30 since 2007
1. Cameron County, 27 (2007-09)
2. Kane, 23 (2014-present)
T3. Kane, 17 (2012-14)
T4. Randolph, 17 (2009-11)
5. Port Allegany, 14 (2011-12)
6. Pioneer, 13 (2010-12)
7. Randolph, 12 (2012-13)
8. Bolivar-Richburg, 10 (2006-07)
T9. Olean High, 9 (2016-present)
T9. Kane, 9 (2007)
