by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America
Growing-up in eastern Pennsylvania, I always knew about the football tradition at Mt. Carmel High School. Long before Hollywood glamorized Friday Night Lights, Mt. Carmel fans were creating a Friday night trend by turning the tiny community into a ghost town when their dearly-loved Red Tornadoes took to the road for away games.
Last Friday, on the road, Mt. Carmel became just the fifth team in America to reach the 800 win mark.
The Red Tornadoes, led by 1971 alum Carmen DeFrancesco, improved to 800-289-57 overall with a 35-14 win over Shikellamy. Mt. Carmel has been playing football since 1893.
Valdosta (Georgia) still is America's winningest team with 868 victories, followed by Highlands (Kentucky) with 822, Male (Kentucky) with 814 wins and Washington Massillon (Ohio) with 810.