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More important to Wayne is that a victory assures its third state championship in a row. No team has ever won four straight, but Martinsburg also goes for its fourth straight title Saturday in Class AAA against Huntington High.

"We don't want to be the team that ends our school's winning streak," said Wayne receiver Kurt Langdon-Arthur. "We don't really talk about it. It's a little thing to worry about."

Wayne is tied with now-defunct Ansted, which consolidated with Nuttall High School in 1976 to form Midland Trail High in Fayette County. Ansted won 36 consecutive games from 1970 through 1973. Ansted's streak ended with a Class A playoff loss to Monongah.

"We're honored to be a part of that record with Ansted," Wayne defensive end Curtis Followay said.

Wayne's streak began Oct. 7, 2011, with a 50-20 victory over Scott. The Pioneers haven't lost since a 16-14 defeat to Point Pleasant on Sept. 30, 2011. That game ended with the Pioneers possessing the ball on the Point Pleasant 1-yard line. Wayne avenged that loss two months later, topping the Big Blacks, 34-7, in the state championship game.

Wayne would like to break Ansted's record, but hasn't focused much on it.

"You really don't talk about breaking the record until you get within 10 or so games of it," Pioneers coach Tom Harmon said. "Nobody here has talked about it much at all. To win that many games in a row takes a lot of discipline and hard work with the absence of arrogance."

Even though the streak doesn't generate much discussion in the Wayne locker room, it is not without value. Harmon said the winning string connects players from Wayne's championship past to its current squad.

"Even though the faces and the names change, the goal here remains the same," Harmon said.

During the record-tying streak, Wayne has beaten 18 different opponents, including two -- Keyser and Point Pleasant -- in state title games. It has defeated nine others -- Clay County, Grafton, Keyser, Nicholas County, Philip Barbour, Robert C. Byrd (twice) and Shady Spring -- in the playoffs.

Bluefield, Chapmanville, Poca, Scott, Sissonville and Tolsia have been victimized by the Pioneers three times apiece. Chesapeake, Chapmanville, Mingo Central, Poca, Ravenswood and Robert C. Byrd have lost twice to Wayne. The Pioneers defeated Clay County, Grafton, Keyser, Nicholas County, Philip Barbour, Point Pleasant and Shady Spring once apiece.

"There are always going to be people who say you didn't play anybody or you have great players," Harmon said. "It's a really nice statement for the guys on this team and previous teams about their levels of commitment."

During its record run, Wayne has scored more than 40 points 30 times, topped the 50-point mark in 16 games and bettered 60 points three times. The Pioneers' highest score and most points surrendered during the streak came in the same game, an 84-42 victory over Ravenswood in 2012. Wayne's lowest point total during the streak was 18 in a shutout of R.C. Byrd in the 2012 playoff semifinals. The largest margin of victory was 56 points in a 63-7 rout of Chesapeake this season. The closest call also came this season in a come-from-behind 29-27 victory over Bluefield.

Wayne is 23-0 at home 11-0 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites during its run.and has outscored foes 1,776 to 566. The Pioneers have averaged 49.3 points per game and given up 15.7. Among the victories are five shutouts. In 10 other games, Wayne held foes to fewer than 10 points.

Wayne's coaches and players say they feel no pressure from the winning streak, but they don't want to be the team known as the one that had it broken.

"Any letdown emotionally is a bit of disrespect the players who came before them," Harmon said.