Coach John Lowery, Sr., left, talks with the home plate umpire before a Class AAA state semifinal game with Greenbrier East in 2015. File photo

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION — The Streak.

It started back 46 years ago. And is just as relevant now as was nearly 50 seasons ago in 1977

Jefferson High School baseball has won at least 20 games in every season streaking from 1977 through the just-completed 2023 campaign.

And these Cougars are not playing 60 games in any season. Not 50 games. And usually when the team has played 40 games it’s because the season was extended by competing in a state championship game.

Oddly enough, the most games won by any Jefferson team came without a state championship, when that Cougar edition posted an enviable 39-4 record in 1983.

In Jefferson’s first four years in existence, the Cougars had a 61-29-1 overall record, but never won as many as 20 games. That all changed in 1977, when the first 20-win season was accomplished with a 24-6 mark.

And little has changed since that long-ago season, because here it is 45 years later and no Jefferson team has failed to win at least 20 games.

One time the Cougars reeled off three consecutive state championships (1991-1993) and achieved a 104-9 record in those blessed seasons.

Three other times there have been back-to-back state championships under Coach John Lowery, Sr.

It may seem strange to name the coach who has done all this winning. But it’s not hard to remember because Lowery, Sr. has been Jefferson’s only coach since the school opened in the fall of 1972 and completed its first season in the spring of 1973 with a 16-6 record.

During that never-ending stretch of 20 or more wins, Jefferson’s winning percentage has exceeded .800.

There have been a staggering 36 seasons, which were completed with fewer than 10 losses.

From the time the fledgling Cougars played their early-age games without a backstop and even in Leetown at the Fish Hatchery to 2023 there have been infrastructure improvements almost beyond counting.

The home grounds at Sager Field have seen continuous upgrades and any season that goes by includes some improvement to the infield in general, the grass surfaces or erecting a building for cold weather workouts.

A large group of assistant coaches over the years have helped Jefferson reach the baseball pinnacle it has achieved.

This past season featured John Paul Jones, Arthur Dodson and Ken Cross, who have the longest tenures as the team’s assistant coaches.

Some assistants have gone on to become head baseball coaches, such as Bruce Davidson and Mark Hash, and even a student teacher — Greg Chandler, who was at Waynesboro (Pa.) High School until his recent retirement — have moved ahead in their careers.

Ron “Pap” Kelchner has tirelessly supervised or physically done work on Sager Field for the past 17 years.

The Streak continues. With no end in sight.