Foston, Roberts head up
strong returning group
By GIL POUND
Five
of John
Milledge’s
seven GISA
AAA All-State
players are back
from a season
ago, and none is
a bigger asset than
senior Amaad Foston.
When he was in
middle school, a lot of people
were looking forward to
Foston’s high school career,
and he has in no way
disappointed. His totals
through his first three years
are video game-like at 5,215
yards and 75 touchdowns.
Foston has a chance to pass
Herschel Walker in both
career yards and touchdowns
with another strong
season in 2020. Walker, a
University of Georgia great
who really needs no introduction,
rushed for 6,137
yards and 86 touchdowns
in his time in Wrightsville.
Neither mark stands as the
state record according to the
Georgia High School Football
Historians Association,
but his 3,167-yard total in
1979 is the second-most in
a single season. Like Walker,
Foston has a Division I
college football career ahead
of him as he’s committed to
the University of Virginia, a
decision he made not long
after his junior season. Many
other schools had offered
Foston and there was still
time for more to roll in, but
a visit up to Charlottesville,
Virginia was enough to
make the running back
say the magic word
and commit. All that
came not long after
Foston had just put
up his best season as a
high schooler. Entering the
state championship game
against Valwood though,
he was in danger of finishing
behind his sophomore
season yardage total. Foston
had just shy of 2,000 yards
going into the title game
after having finished at 2,199
as a 10th-grader. He blew
right past that mark though
when he rushed for over 400
yards and eight touchdowns
to help John Milledge get its
second football state championship.
The Georgia High
School Football Historians
Association does not track
GISA schools in its records,
but Foston’s big night would
have landed him in the top
10 as far as single-game
performances go. The senior
wearing No. 20 looks poised
to put together another huge
season before finishing up
his high school career.
Both Trojan All-State
losses from last year come
from the defensive side of
the ball, but that’s no reason
to be down on the unit that
allowed only 70 points all
last season. The other nine
starters are back, including
2019’s second-leading tackler
Je’Mazin Roberts. A
newcomer to JMA last year,
he finished with 113 total
tackles, nine of which
went for loss, and six
sacks in what was really
his first season playing
out of a twopoint
stance.
At his previous
schools, he had
played defensive
line and even tight
end, but when he
became a Trojan
he found his
new home as a
Mike linebacker.
Roberts has offers
on the table
from Stetson,
Bucknell, Presbyterian
and others
as he gets ready
to enter his senior
year. But Roberts
is far from the only
difference-maker returning
on the Trojan defense. He’s
joined by fellow All-State
honorees Carson Dyer (12
tackles for loss) and Devin
Kitchens (10 tackles for loss)
on the defensive line as well
as Taylor Dixon (four interceptions)
in the secondary.
Seniors Patrick McDonel
(four interceptions also) and
Kevin Kitchens (eight tackles
for loss) are back and ready
after missing a good bit of
their junior seasons due to
injuries.
Put all of that together
and opponents have a
frightening prospect ahead
of them as they get ready to
take on the Trojans in ’20.
Football Preview 2020 35