The winningest-active football coaches in Alaska will meet in 2022 on week three of the high school football season, when the Soldotna Stars host the West Valley Wolfpack at Soldotna High School on Friday, August 26th.
Soldotna Head Coach Galen Brantley and West Valley’s Head Coach David DeVaughn are (based on available records) currently third and fourth on the Alaska all-time winningest football coach list; Brantley with 138 wins and DeVaughn with 137. Brantley and DeVaughn are the only active coaches on the Alaska list of seven coaches with 100 or more victories. The two coaches were scheduled to face-off on opening day in 2021; however, the game was cancelled due to covid concerns in Fairbanks.
SoHi Stars: Galen Brantley
Coach Brantley, in 15+ seasons as the head coach for the Soldotna Stars, has amassed 138 victories. Brantley’s overall record of 138-8 represents the highest winning percentage for high school football in the United States at .944 (minimum of 100 games). The Stars 59-game win streak from 2012-2017 stands as Alaska’s best. Brantley’s Stars own 12 state championship titles. SoHi won eight-straight Division II football championships from 2012-2019 and finished 2020 undefeated. The Stars under Brantley also won four-straight Small School football championships from 2006-2009.
West Valley Wolfpack: Dave DeVaughn
West Valley High School head football coach David DeVaughn enters his third season at the helm for the Wolfpack. During his two-decade tenure at Eielson High School, DeVaughn led the Ravens to five Division III state championship titles (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018) and two Small School state runner-up titles in 2003 and 2005 ( losing to the Kenai Kardinals each year). In 2020, West Valley was scheduled to play Palmer in the DII semi-final when the state playoffs were cancelled.
Current Alaska Football Winningest Coaches (updated Aug 12, 2022)
#1 Rod Christiansen, 28 seasons (Palmer) 159 wins (retired in 2018)
#2 Buck Nystrum, 31 seasons (Eielson and North Pole) 150 wins Career record 150-88
#3 Galen Brantley*, 15 seasons (SoHi) 138 wins Career Record 138-8; .944 winning %
#4 David DeVaughn*, 19 seasons (Eielson) 133 wins; 2 seasons (W.V.) 4 wins Total= 137 wins
#5 Bruce Shearer, 21 seasons (Kenai, Chugiak and East) 130 wins
#6 Bob Boudreaux, 22 seasons (SoHi, Kenai and Service) 105 wins
#7 Jim Beeson, 19 seasons (Kenai) 103 wins
* active Alaska coaches
Based on best-accounts of win-loss records
