Football

Top returning NCHSAA football stat leaders in 2024: 2A Rushers

HighSchoolOT is back with more football preview coverage in the spring. Today, a look at the best statistically returning rushers in the 2A classification.

Posted 2024-04-15T19:32:54+00:00 - Updated 2024-04-15T19:16:00+00:00

Jason Willis Jr. (5) of Bunker HIll. Bunker HIll takes on Reidsville in the 4th Round of the 2023 NCHSAA Football Playoffs on Nov. 24, 2023. (Photo by: Jerrell Jordan.

Joel Bryant

Throughout the month of April, we'll have some kind of football preview coverage released to HSOT Insiders each day.

Today is a look at the top statistically returning rushers in the 2A classification. These players could be running backs, quarterbacks, or any other kind of offensive weapon. The only requirement is that they had 100 carries last year.

We have four sections: Yards/Game, Yards/Carry, Touchdowns/Game, and Touchdown Rate (touchdowns/carry). We are using these efficiency stats because the bulk numbers like total yards and total touchdowns can be deceiving and don't always correlate year-to-year.

Note: If your player's stats have not been published to MaxPreps or have not been sent to me, they are not going to be included below.

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Top Returning 2A Rushing Leaders: Yards per Game

Players are listed with their rising class year and school. Minimum 2023 carries to qualify: 100. Ties broken by total rushing yards.

Jamal Rule, senior, Salisbury — 208.6 YPG
Austin Lewallen, junior, Princeton — 203.3YPG
Jason Willis Jr., senior, Bunker Hill — 166.0 YPG
Malik Fuller, senior, North Lenoir — 160.9 YPG
Irving Brown, senior, Wallace-Rose Hill — 141.3YPG
Cody Ammons, senior, Midway — 126.7 YPG
Jaylin Winnex, senior, West Lincoln — 122.7 YPG
Juhron Clemmons, junior, North Pitt — 119.5 YPG
James Rodgers, senior, Nash Central — 118.1 YPG
Jakelsin Mack, senior, Red Springs — 117.5 YPG
Brandon Pinkerton, junior, East Rutherford — 116.7 YPG
Jazear Griffin, senior, Anson — 112.9 YPG
Hezzie Rudisill, senior, Hendersonville — 107.9 YPG
Shawn Davis, junior, East Duplin — 104.0 YPG (1,144 yards)
Allen Huffman, senior, Surry Central — 104.0 YPG (1,040 yards)

Finalized schedules for the 2024 North Carolina high school football season

Top Returning 2A Rushing Leaders: Yards per Carry

Players are listed with their rising class year and school. Minimum 2023 carries to qualify: 100. Ties broken by most carries.

Juhron Clemmons, junior, North Pitt — 10.3 Y/C
James Rodgers, senior, Nash Central — 10.2 Y/C
Jamal Rule, senior, Salisbury — 9.9 Y/C (274 carries)
Jaylin Winnex, senior, West Lincoln — 9.9 Y/C (149 carries)
Jhakari Lovely, senior, SouthWest Edgecombe — 9.8 Y/C
Brandon Albert, senior, Community School of Davidson — 9.7 Y/C
Irving Brown, senior, Wallace-Rose Hill — 9.3 Y/C
Jason Willis Jr., senior, Bunker Hill — 8.5 Y/C (273 carries)
Jakelsin Mack, senior, Red Springs — 8.5 Y/C (152 carries)
Malik Fuller, senior, North Lenoir — 8.4 Y/C
Yoshua McBryde, junior, St. Pauls — 8.3 Y/C
Shawn Davis, junior, East Duplin — 8.1 Y/C
Austin Lewallen, junior, Princeton — 8.0 Y/C
Jariel Cobb, senior, Reidsville — 7.9 Y/C
Elijah Able, senior, Farmville Central — 7.6 Y/C

Top Returning 2A Rushing Leaders: Touchdowns per Game

Players are listed with their rising class year and school. Minimum 2023 carries to qualify: 100. Ties broken by most touchdowns, then fewest carries).

Jamal Rule, senior, Salisbury — 2.8 TD/Gm (36 TDs)
Jason Willis Jr., senior, Bunker Hill — 2.5 TD/Gm (35 TDs)
Austin Lewallen, junior, Princeton — 2.2 TD/Gm (29 TDs)
James Rodgers, senior, Nash Central — 1.9 TD/Gm (27 TDs)
Irving Brown, senior, Wallace-Rose Hill — 1.9 TD/Gm (23 TDs)
Cody Ammons, senior, Midway — 1.9 TD/Gm (19 TDs)
Jaylin Winnex, senior, West Lincoln — 1.8 TD/Gm (22 TDs)
Shawn Davis, junior, East Duplin — 1.6 TD/Gm (18 TDs)
Brandon Albert, senior, Community School of Davidson — 1.5 TD/Gm (20 TDs)
Malik Fuller, senior, North Lenoir — 1.5 TD/Gm (15 TDs)
Josh Stover, senior, Maiden — 1.3 TD/Gm (15 TDs)
Jazear Griffin, senior, Anson — 1.3 TD/Gm (14 TDs)
Tristan Tate, senior, Shelby — 1.2 TD/Gm (18 TDs)
Jariel Cobb, senior, Reidsville — 1.2 TD/Gm (17 TDs)
Bryson Taylor, senior, Forbush — 1.2 TD/Gm (11 TDs)

2023-2024 North Carolina high school football coaching changes

Top Returning 2A Rushing Leaders: Touchdown Rate

This is the rate of total rushing touchdowns scored to number of carries. Players are listed with their rising class year and school. Minimum 2023 carries to qualify: 100. Ties broken by most carries.