Most Points Scored in High School Football History

There are only four ways to score points in a high school football game, and these players did it better than anyone.

There are four ways to score points in a football game and an infinite way to go about scoring them. Since the first high school football was played in 1862 in Boston, some players have been better at scoring touchdowns, field goals, safeties and points after touchdowns than anyone else.

In 1920, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) was founded as a national leadership organization for high school sports in the United States to oversee rules and keep track of records with member associations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

These are the players who have scored the most points in high school football history. They are all legends in their hometowns and include Heisman Trophy winners, All-Americans and players who barely saw the field in college.

15. Nick Zachery — 904 Points

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High school: Sheridan High School (Sheridan, Indiana)

Years: 2005-08

Position: Quarterback/return specialist/kicker

Bottom line: Nick Zachery has the most unique combination of points on the list. He racked up over 900 points for Sheridan High playing quarterback, returning punts and kicks, interceptions returned for touchdowns and as Sheridan High’s kicker.

Zachery led Sheridan to four consecutive state championship games in his career and won three consecutive state championships in that stretch. He was named Indiana Mr. Football in 2008 and played two seasons of wide receiver and safety at the University of Indiana before he transferred to Marian, an NAIA school.

Note: All point totals were combined using the NFHS record books, MaxPreps archived stats and Stadium Talk research.

14. Kevin Grady Jr. — 924 Points

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High school: East Grand Rapids High School (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Years: 2001-04

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Kevin Grady Jr. set Michigan state records for career rushing yards, career touchdowns, career points, career rushing attempts and consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards while leading East Grand Rapids High to back-to-back state titles.

Grady’s career at the University of Michigan started strong but was waylaid by injuries and a drunken driving arrest where his blood-alcohol content was measured at .281 — almost four times the legal limit.

13. Reggie Skinner — 936 Points

Newspapers.com

High school: White Oak High School (Vinita, Oklahoma)

Years: 1991-94

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Reggie Skinner was a heralded eight-man running back out of White Oak High who rushed for over 8,800 yards and set the national eight-man record with 156 touchdowns.

Skinner played for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, then the University of Oklahoma, but off-field issues, including a string of arrests, kept him from fulfilling his potential.

12. Derrick Henry – 940 points

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High school: Yulee High School (Yulee, Florida)

Years: 2009-12

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Every football fan knows who Derrick Henry is now after winning the Heisman Trophy at Alabama and becoming an NFL superstar for the Tennessee Titans, but his career got its footing at tiny Yulee High.

In 2012, Henry broke Sugar Land (Texas) High School running back Ken Hall’s national career rushing record by running for 4,261 yards as a senior and finishing his career with 12,124 yards.

Imagine trying to tackle this dude in high school.

11. James Robinson — 948 Points

Rockford Lutheran running back James Robinson

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High school: Rockford Lutheran Academy (Rockford, Illinois)

Years: 2012-15

Position: Running back

Bottom line: James Robinson set Illinois state records with 9,045 career rushing yards and 158 touchdowns at Rockford Lutheran.

He was an FCS All-American and Walter Payton Award finalist at Illinois State, where he rushed for 1,899 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior.

Robinson made the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent rookie in 2020.

10. Brett Law — 952 Points

NFHS

High school: Sheridan High School (Sheridan, Indiana)

Years: 1986-89

Position: Running back

Bottom line: One of two players from Sheridan High to make the cut, alongside Nick Zachery, Brett Law was a sensation at Sheridan in the late 1980s, when he set the state record with 6,863 rushing yards.

Injuries dogged Law during his career at the University of Indiana, but he did have at least one memorable game when he lit up the University of Missouri for 240 yards and two touchdowns on 42 carries in a 20-10 win on Sept. 26, 1992.

9. Terrance Wilkes — 960 Points

Wadley High running back Terrance Wilkes

WadleyAthletics / Twitter

High school: Wadley High School (Wadley, Alabama)

Years: 2003-06

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Terrance Wilkes was one of the greatest running backs in Alabama history. He finished his career at Wadley High with 9,688 rushing yards and 160 touchdowns. Wilkes capped his career with 2,022 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns his senior season.

Wilkes was shot and killed at a park in Wadley just weeks after his last high school football game. He was just 18 years old.

8. Nick Brosette — 1,002 Points

U-High Athletics

High school: University Laboratory School (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

Years: 2010-14

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Nick Brossette started as an eighth grader and played five seasons of varsity football at University Lab High, which is allowed in Louisiana.

At LSU, he spent his first three seasons as a backup to future NFL stars Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice before finally becoming the full-time starter in 2018, one year before the Tigers went undefeated and won a national title.

7. Kellen Overstreet — 1,020 Points

Penney High running back Kellen Overstreet

Jeff Roberson / AP Photo

High school: Penney High School (Hamilton, Missouri)

Years: 2011-14

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Kellen Overstreet put together one of the greatest seasons for a high school football player of all time as a senior at Penney High. H is 4,259 rushing yards and 70 touchdowns are both top five single-season totals nationwide.

Overstreet scored 168 total touchdowns in high school and was the first Parade All-American to sign with the University of Wyoming, where he only played two seasons.

6. Cory Eikmeier — 1,021 Points

NFHS

High school: Dodge High School (Howells, Nebraska)

Years: 1993-96

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Cory Eikmeier played eight-man football and still holds the Nebraska all-class rushing record with 8,330 yards and 156 career touchdowns.

Eikmeier led Dodge High to three consecutive state titles to close out his career, played college football at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and was inducted into Nebraska’s Eight-Man Football Hall of Fame in 2019.

5. T.A. McLendon — 1,076 Points

Albermarle High running back T.A. McLendon

NFHS

High school: Albemarle High School (Albemarle, North Carolina)

Years: 1998-2001

Position: Running back

Bottom line: In his final game for Albemarle High, T.A. McLendon scored seven touchdowns in the Class 1A state championship game and set the national career record for touchdowns.

McLendon was one of the best running backs in the nation as a freshman at North Carolina State, when he set the school’s single-season record with 18 touchdowns and was named ACC Rookie of the Year.

McLendon left school for the NFL draft after his junior season, but wasn’t picked. Two years later, he was busted for drug possession in his hometown.

4. Arkeel Newsome — 1,162 Points

Ansonia High running back Arkeel Newsome

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High school: Ansonia High School (Ansonia, Connecticut)

Years: 2010-13

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Arkeel Newsome set the Connecticut state record with 10,672 career rushing yards and holds the career record for touchdowns with 187. He also owns the single-season record with 68 touchdowns.

Newsome stayed in-state to play for UConn, where he rushed for 1,956 yards and scored eight touchdowns in four seasons.

3. Charlie Spegal — 1,164 Points

New Palestine High running back Charlie Spegal

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High school: New Palestine High School (New Palestine, Indiana)

Years: 2016-19

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Charlie Spegal capped his career with back-to-back state championships at New Palestine High and became one of just five players nationally to rush for over 10,000 yards and score over 1,000 points in their career.

Spegal chose to be a preferred walk-on at the University of Indiana, where the running backs coach is former Michigan star Mike Hart, who recruited him to play there. Spegal capped his career by being named Indiana Mr. Football in 2019.

2. Johnathan Gray — 1,232 Points

Jack Plunkett / AP Photo

High school: Aledo High School (Aledo, Texas)

Years: 2008-11

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Johnathan Gray is one of the most celebrated high school football players to ever come out of the state of Texas, which is saying quite a bit.

Gray rushed for 10,881 yards to go with his national record 211 touchdowns at Aledo High, capping off his career by winning a state title and being named Gatorade National Player of the Year.

Gray’s college career at the University of Texas was snakebit. He tore his Achilles tendon twice in four years.

1. Michael Hart — 1,246 Points

NFHS

High school: Onondaga High School (Nedrow, New York)

Years: 2000-03

Position: Running back

Bottom line: Michael Hart led Onondaga to three state championships and set the national career record for touchdowns, which was broken eight years later by Aledo High’s Johnathan Gray.

Hart set the career rushing record at the University of Michigan, was a three-time All-Big Ten pick and played three seasons in the NFL.