Most Passing Yards in High School Football History

The spotlight will always shine brightest on one position in football — the quarterback. And when we come across that rare player who, at a young age, can capture our imaginations with their ability to throw the ball, well, we don’t wait to celebrate them.

We’ve taken the career passing yardage leaders from every state and ranked them based on state record books (where available) that were updated through the end of the 2019 season. In cases where records weren’t readily available, we did our due diligence to find out who the player was.

These are the career passing yardage leaders for high school football from all 50 states. 

High school: Sheridan High School (Sheridan, Wyoming) 

Years: 2014-15

Passing stats: 4,040 passing yards, 47 TD, 17 INT

Bottom line: Blake Godwin came a long ways from fumbling his first varsity snap at powerhouse Sheridan High School — he capped his career by winning a state championship and becoming Wyoming’s career passing leader.

Godwin, at 6-foot and 175 pounds, played basketball for Casper College and averaged 6.2 points in 15.0 minutes per game in 2017-18. 

High school: Franklin High School (Franklin, Wisconsin)  

Years: 2001-04

Passing stats: 9,508 passing yards, 92 TD

Bottom line: Franklin High’s coaches were way ahead of the curve in the early 2000s, incorporating a spread offense that saw Ben Hempel light up the competition.

Hempel was so dominant that no quarterback in Wisconsin has come within 1,800 yards of his passing record since he graduated.

Hempel played collegiately at Northern Michigan University, where he was the full-time starter as a junior. 

High school: Nitro High School (Nitro, West Virginia)

Years: 1995-98

Passing stats: 14,457 passing yards, 145 TD

Bottom line: J.R. House set a national record in his final game at Nitro High, throwing 10 touchdown passes in a state championship game win over Morgantown.

During high school, House spent the first semester in West Virginia and the second semester at a high school in Florida to accommodate his burgeoning baseball career.

It was a good investment. He played 20 seasons of professional baseball, including three as a catcher in the majors. He’s currently the third base coach for the Cincinnati Reds. 

High school: Shadle Park High School (Spokane, Washington)

Years: 2011-14

Passing stats: 13,058 passing yards, 136 TD, 36 INT

Bottom line: The nephew of former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Mark Rypien, Brett Rypien broke all of Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore’s high school records in Washington before going to play for Boise State as well.

Brett Rypien was a four-time All-Mountain West Conference pick and the MWC Offensive Player of the Year in 2018. Rypien spent four seasons with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent before signing with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023.