Victory number 300 in Bruce Hanson’s high-school football coaching career could come early in the 2024 season.
The longtime Yorktown Patriots head coach begins the campaign with 296 career wins – 266 of those at Yorktown. The other 30 came in his only other gig as a head coach, from 1974 to 1979, of the Wakefield Warriors. Both schools are in Arlington.
Hanson’s first season as Yorktown’s coach was in 1985.
Yorktown’s early-season schedule is favorable for four victories. Its first two games are against teams that each finished 1-9 last fall and its third is against Wakefield, which was winless in 2023.
Hanson said he hasn’t given much thought to reaching the 300 milestone, which would make him one of the winningest football coaches in the history of Virginia High School League public-school teams, as he begins his 45th season in that position (39th at Yorktown).
“I really don’t think about that much. I’m more concerned and worried about the teams we are going to play,” Hanson said. “If 300 comes, maybe I’ll celebrate a little bit.”
There are only seven coaches listed with 300 wins in the VHSL’s football record-book section for that category. Former Hampton Crabbers coach Mike Smith has the most with 506 over 50 years.
Former Stone Bridge of Ashburn head coach Mickey Thompson (336 career wins) is the only VHSL coach in the Northern Virginia area to have more wins than Hanson.
Hanson’s very first game as a head coach for Wakefield resulted in a 14-6 victory over Falls Church. His first game at Yorktown in 1985 resulted in a 30-0 loss to private school Bishop O’Connell of Arlington. He won his second over Washington-Liberty (then Washington-Lee), 10-0, and finished 2-8 that first year.
Last season, Yorktown went 7-5, going 1-1 in the region playoffs.
Hanson’s Yorktown teams have won multiple district championships, two region titles and have lost in the region finals a few times.
