Oregon high school football coach becomes state's all-time wins leaders

Portland Jesuit (Oregon) head coach Ken Potter is one of the deans of high school football in Oregon, winning four OSAA state championships in his nearly four decades at the Southwest Portland school.

The 64-year-old is in his 38th season coaching the Crusaders after taking over in 1987. And on Friday night, Potter officially became the winningest coach in Oregon state history with his 353rd victory.

That broke the previous record of 352, held by Dewey Sullivan, who led Dayton for 42 years from 1965 to 2006.

His Crusaders beat rival Oregon City 38-15 in their home opener to secure the record-breaking victory, but also to move to 2-1 on the season.

The coach told OregonLive.com that while he appreciated the record, he was ready to get the focus back on his team and the rest of the season. His biggest goal when he started coaching, he said, wasn’t to just win games. It was to help the young men in his program off the field as well.

“I just hope that I’m still teaching kids educational lessons that will help them 20, 30 years from now,” he said. “That’s when you find out how much success you’ve had as a coach, what are your players like when they’re husbands, workers and as family people.”

As for what he’s looking forward to next, Potter said: “Hopefully [win] No. 354.”

Jesuit will be back on the road this week looking for its third win of the season against Grant.