Mount Carmel Among 50 Winningest Football Programs Of All-Time

CHICAGO, IL - The Mount Carmel Caravan are one of the 50 winningest high school football programs of all-time. That's according to a list based on research from MaxPreps, a national prep sports website. The site has ranked the top 50 programs based on single games won.

Mount Carmel just made the cut, taking the No. 50 spot nationally with 743 wins. They came in a tie for 50th with Lawrence (Kansas), although the Caravan have been in existence for 33 less seasons and have 50 less losses than Lawrence.

Schools from southern states dominated the list, with Valdosta (Georgia) coming in at No. 1 with 917 wins. They were followed by two Kentucky schools, Highlands with 885 and Male with 878.

In Illinois, Mount Carmel trails only East St. Louis in wins. East St. Louis is No. 38 overall with 771.

The Caravan weren't the top Mount Carmel in the nation, either. Mount Carmel (Pennsylvania) was No. 6 with 846 all-time wins.

About half of the Caravan's all-time wins came under legendary head coach Frank Lenti, who parted ways with the school after 34 seasons last winter. Lenti led the school to 11 state championships (MC has 12 titles overall) and is the winningest high school football coach in Illinois history. Lenti has since been hired as a football advisor at St. Laurence.

See the full list via MaxPreps

Photo: Mount Carmel High School logo / Gately Stadium via Patch file