CHESTER - The streak started, innocently enough, on January 3, 2011.
Even the most ardent prep basketball buffs probably don’t even remember seeing the score in agate print the next morning.
Chester 73, Williamsport 36.
Four days earlier, on December 30, 2010, Chester dropped a 62-57 decision to the Sanford School from Hockessin, Delaware.
The Clippers haven’t lost since.
It all started with that 37-point romp over the Millionaires. Chester extended its winning streak to 59 in a row on Tuesday night, when coach Larry Yarbray’s Clippers opened their season with an 83-57 runaway win over McCaskey in a rematch of a PIAA-AAAA first-round game last season.
SLIDESHOW PHOTOS: Chester tops McCaskey.
Chester won that game big, too, and went on to beat District 1 rival Lower Merion 59-33 at Penn State for its second state championship in a row; the Clippers beat another District 1 foe, Plymouth-Whitemarsh, 73-50 at Penn State to win the PIAA title in 2011.
Chester owns seven PIAA-AAAA championships. The Clippers also won a state title in 1983 before the PIAA recognized classifications. Chester’s 1983 and 1989 state-championship teams were honored Tuesday prior to tip-off against McCaskey.
The Clippers will try and make it three state titles in a row this season. The only program that’s won more titles in a row is Carlisle, which captured four straight AAAA crowns from 1985-1988. Chester can inch closer to tying that record this season - while adding to this dizzying winning streak at the same time.
According to PA Hoops, the longest boys’ winning streak in Pennsylvania history is 68, set by West Philadelphia between 1976 and 1978.
Other Pennsylvania winning streaks that Chester is quickly approaching:
* Carbondale won 59 in a row between 1992 and 1994.
* Allentown High School won 61 in a row between 1944 and 1947.
* And Pittsburgh West End St. James won 66 in a row between 1950 and 1952.
The national record? That would be - gulp - 159 wins in a row, set by Passaic (N.J.) between 1919 and 1925.
If Chester keeps winning, it would snap West Philly’s mark of 68 in a row on January 15 with a victory at neighboring Chichester. But it won’t be an easy go of it; the Clippers play Lincoln from Brooklyn in the I-95 Showcase on Friday, plus a pair of games in the Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., before Christmas.
The Clippers’ schedule also includes a trip to Reading to take on the Red Knights on January 5, plus trips to Milwaukee and Springfield, Mass. Chester’s final regular-season game this season is another beauty: A trip to Neumann-Goretti to take on the reigning PIAA AAA champs.
For the record: Chester’s last loss to a Pennsylvania team was a 42-21 setback to LaSalle College on March 4, 2009 in a District 1 playoff game.
“Honestly,” Chester senior guard and Division 1 blue-chipper Darius Robinson said, “we don’t really worry about it. I mean, we know we’re on a winning streak, but we just keep going out there and playing one game at a time. It’s fun knowing that everyone gets excited to play us. It makes us want to spend more time in the gym working hard, knowing we have to be ready to play every night.”
Having one of the top recruits in the country playing for your side every night will certainly help Chester this season. Senior swingman Rondae Jefferson, who has committed to the University of Arizona, is back. The all-purpose lefty is the reigning Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year.
Jefferson picked up where he left off last winter, with a pair of first-quarter dunks, a couple of steals, a couple of fancy passes for assists, five rebounds and a team-high 19 points in the win over McCaskey.
“It’s great to represent this town,” Jefferson said. “You can see pretty much everyone was here to give us love and support. It means a lot to us - to the kids playing in this program. We play hard for them. And for us. The last couple of years have been pretty cool. It’s been a great ride. We have a lot fun. But we also understand what it takes to win. Sometimes it’s like a dream around here. But we’re really living this right now.”
And people have taken notice. Once again, Chester is ranked No. 1 in AAAA by the Patriot-News. And the Clippers are the fifth-ranked team in the country by USA Today.
“We’re really looking forward to this season … all the big games and playing against some great teams,” Robinson said. “And we’re looking forward to playing competitive games every time we step on the court because everyone wants us. That just means we have to step it up every night.”
Nine more nights in a row and Chester will tie the winning streak mark; 10 more nights in a row and the Clippers will snap the state mark.
“We try not to worry about those things,” Jefferson said. “We worry about one day at a time. One practice at a time. One game at a time. We strive to do the little things every day, so hopefully we can keep this streak going.”
A streak that is beginning to take on a life of its own.
“It feels really good to be playing for Chester High’s basketball team right now,” Robinson said. “It’s nice walking around the city and getting some attention for doing good things. That’s why I’m always looking out for how I carry myself, because I know there are a lot of people watching.”
All of Chester for sure.
And with a state winning streak record now within sight, and with a very legit shot at making it three PIAA championships in a row, pretty much every prep basketball fan in the state has their eyes squarely on the Clippers.
JEFF REINHART: jreinhart@pennlive.com
ON TWITTER: @JeffReinhartPN