High school football: Herschel Turner Jr. of California tops national rushing yardage leaderboard

By Thomas Frey Nov 8, 2023, 2:00pm

Mt. Diablo senior has run for an average of 18.4 yards per carry this season.

According to statistics submitted to MaxPreps, Herschel Turner Jr. of Mt. Diablo (Concord, Calif.) is high school football’s national leader in rushing yardage.

On just 161 carries, Turner has piled up 2,957 yards and 42 touchdowns. In eight of 11 games Turner has rushed for at least four touchdowns, including a five-score, 413-yard performance in a 55-40 opening-round playoff win last week.

In the past four weeks alone, Turner has gone over 1,200 yards. In every game this season he has rushed for a touchdown of at least 58 yards. Also a talented outside linebacker, the senior has 67 tackles and six forced fumbles.

Daniel Thomas of Bell County (Pineville, Ky.) is No. 2 with 2,947 rushing yards and a chance to jump Turner this week. Thomas has helped the Bobcats advance in the playoffs after going for 333 yards and four touchdowns last week. That was the fifth straight game with at least 200 rushing yards for a 10-1 squad.



Kaegan Ash of Mt. Enterprise (Texas) makes the list with 2,480 rushing yards, the highest among sophomores this season. Ash has the Wildcats in the postseason after rushing for more than 300 yards in three straight games. In a win over Carlisle on Oct. 20, Ash had 508 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.

Read on for a look at the top 50 rushers in high school football.

Leaderboard - Player Rushing Yards
12957
22947
32916
42696
52633
62583
72548
82497
92480
102479
112461
122414
132406
142375
152373
162369
172364
182307
192306
202278
212271
222271
232241
242239
252206
262183
272172
282159
292159
302152
312150
322147
332141
342135
352126
362122
372118
382113
392111
402107
412104
422103
432103
442095
452089
462078
472076
482071
492070
502070