ANDALE, Kan. (KSNW) — The high school football season is nearly here, which makes it fitting for this week’s Competitive Drive to be about the winner of the last four KSHSAA Class 3A state championships, the Andale Indians.

“What’s been so neat is when you step back from all of it, you realize how hard it is to do,” said Dylan Schmidt, Andale’s head coach. “So many things have to come together to make it happen the way it was. I just hope we can keep it going as long as we can. We’re going to try our butt off and do the best we can.”

Andale has the longest active win streak at the high school level in the entire United States at 51 games. But none of those wins will matter when the team takes the field on Sept. 1 vs. Wellington.

“I think it’s just the same mindset,” explained senior linebacker Carson Butts. “Go dominate every play. Just try to keep that tradition that we win state each and every year, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Schmidt and the rest of the Andale team are focused on this upcoming season, but that won’t keep us from breaking down just how dominant the team was last season. In five playoff games, Andale shut out four opponents, including Holton in the state championship game. In total, Andale might’ve had the most dominant playoff run in recent history, outscoring opponents 252 to 6.

The entire season was special. In their first six games of the year, the Indians scored at least 49 points every game, and their peak was a staggering 108 points against Nickerson. But again, that’s in the past, the focus is on being even better in 2023. The only way to do that, continue to put the work in.

“I think it’s super exciting,” said Ian Aouad, senior offensive lineman. “The guys are super excited to be out here, everyone wants to get to work so we have a great season this year. We’ve got to step up this year.”

The team knows they are the hunted, but they take pride in being the one to set the standard.

“That’s the challenge, right?” asked Schmidt. “People constantly telling you how good you are, it’s about how can I get better, so it’s the day to say stuff that matters most, just the process you go through and how you attack the process. That’s kind of the constant message around here.”