Princeton – Ahead of the 2025 prep football season, Play Sheet Sports will be running down the area’s top returning players based on their 2024 statistics.
We’ll start with the returning crop of quarterbacks and the top five returners in the area based solely on their 2024 passing yardage totals.
Four of the top nine passers (Kadien Vance, Jaylen Younger, Devin Richardson and Thad Brown) graduated but there’s still a talented crop of established passers.
No. 5 Cal Culicerto, Shady Spring (1,140 yards)
Culicerto missed two games due to an injury but closed strong for Shady, completing 80 of 145 passing attempts (55 percent) for 1,140 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions. Culicerto helped Shady to the playoffs where it fell against Nitro.
No. 4 Brody Hamric, Greenbrier East (1,221 yards)
For the second consecutive year Hamric comes in as one of the top established passers. Following a breakout campaign in 2023, Hamric followed up with 1,221 passing yards in eight games, losing 14 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He did all of that while completing 78 of 136 (57 percent) of his passes. He’ll look to string together his third consecutive 1,000-yard season.
No. 3 Max Simpson, Bluefield (1,251 yards*)
Simpson had a historic freshman campaign for Bluefield. He became the first freshman to start for the program, guiding the Beavers to the Class AA quarterfinals where they fell to eventual state champion Frankfort. Simpson threw for over 1,251 yards with eight touchdown passes and three interceptions.
*Simpson’s statistics in the 2024 quarterfinal game against Frankfort went unreported.
No. 2 Brock Green, Independence (2,038 yards)
The second freshman to grace this list, Green hit the ground running against eventual Class AAA state runner-up Herbert Hoover. Along the way he improved, eventually breaking the program’s single-game and season passing yards records. He finished with 2,038 yards passing with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He completed 120 of 208 passing attempts (57 percent) while helping the Patriots to the Class AA semifinals.
No. 1 Chance Barker, Princeton (2,732 yards)
Barker enters the 2025 season in the same way he entered ’24 – as the area’s reigning passing king. He was third in the area in completions (144) and attempts (212) but tops in yards (2,732) and touchdown passes (36) while throwing just three interceptions. In the last two seasons he’s thrown for 6,284 yards with 85 touchdown passes and just seven interceptions. His efforts were enough to help the Tigers to No. 1 seed in Class AAA and the Class AAA semifinals.
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