Trevor Foster’s football career at Columbus East was in serious jeopardy after he broke his foot in last year’s junior varsity game against Columbus North.
Foster, who had played on special teams in the first two varsity games of his junior year for the Olympians, was returning a kickoff in the JV game at North last August when he suffered a Lisfranc (midfoot) fracture.
“I just took a tackle and landed on it wrong,” Foster said. “It wasn’t a big hit or anything. It was just the way I landed on it more than anything else. Two guys took me down, and one just landed right on top of my foot and bent it almost completely sideways.”
Foster underwent two surgeries. The first was to put a plate and four screws in his foot — a 3-inch screw all the way across the foot and three going down into it.
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The second surgery was to take out all the screws.
“It was a break they weren’t sure if he was going to be able to come back from,” East coach Bob Gaddis said. “They had to put a lot of pins in, so it was a long recovery.”
His junior season was over, but Foster was intent on making it back for his senior year. Doctors told Foster he would need a full 12 months of recovery.
Foster worked out and did as much rehab as he could and was back to full-go midway through this summer.
“They told me as soon as they told me it was a Lisfranc fracture that I might be able to come back, but they didn’t think I’d be at 100 percent,” Foster said. “It was terrible. Football has been my life for as long as I could remember. Hearing that I couldn’t play for almost an entire season, it crushed me. But it took a strong mentality to bring me back.”
And Foster has come back in a big way. In the preseason, shortly after returning to full speed, he earned a starting spot at safety.
This season, Foster has played in all 10 games for the 8-2 Olympians and is the team’s third-leading tackler with 71. He had an interception in a 17-16 loss at North and recorded a safety in a 58-48 win at Bedford North Lawrence that gave East the Hoosier Hills Conference title.
“He works awfully hard, and he’s not going to let anybody tell him he can’t do it,” Gaddis said. “The great news about Trevor is, he’s worked hard in the offseason. He’s always been an all-in East football player. I’m happy that he’s getting his opportunity this year and making the most of his opportunity. He deserves it.”
Foster has made his mark this season despite usually being the smallest player on the field. He stands 5-foot-10, but weighs only 140 pounds.
Still, Foster isn’t afraid to stick his nose in and make a big hit.
“It’s a mentality,” Foster said. “I can’t think I’m the smallest guy, so I’m less powerful than everybody else. You just have to put yourself up there and do your best and put it all out on the field, no matter what you weigh and what your height is.”
Foster said he has tried putting on weight, but to no avail.
“It’s impossible,” Foster said. “I float around 138 to 140, and I can eat four or five meals a day.”
After wrestling his first two years of high school and running track as a freshman and playing baseball as a sophomore, Foster was sidelined by the injury during those sports seasons last year. He is thinking of wrestling this winter and running track or playing boys volleyball in the spring.
Foster, who plans on going into the Air Force after graduation, hopes he can help lead the Olympians to a second consecutive Class 5A state title. East hosts Seymour in a sectional semifinal matchup on Friday.
“He’s a pretty aggressive guy,” Gaddis said. “He understands he’s a little undersized, so he has to play a little bit harder. But we know that he’s going to bring passion to the practice field and to the game. He’s all heart when he’s out there playing. Those are the kinds of guys that you’re happy to see play high school football.”
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Name: Trevor Foster
School: Columbus East
Year: Senior
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 140
Position: Safety
Key stats: Ranks third on team with 71 tackles and one interception
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