The last three football seasons for the Westside Patriots have been a bit of a roller coaster ride, from a 9-3 2021 campaign to open coach Lee Hutto’s head coaching tenure with the program to a tough 2-8 season last year that felt like more of a rebuild than anything.
So far in 2023, the Patriots haven’t gotten into the win column yet. But they’ve been competitive in losses to Hephzibah and Class A top 10 Aquinas. In fact, the Patriots’ 14-12 loss to the Fighting Irish last Friday displayed the fact that Westside has loads of potential.
Perhaps no one on the roster embodies that more than 5-foot-8, 170-pound junior running back Jeanarion Kamga.
Kamga was a bright spot for Westside last year on both sides of the ball. He rushed for 303 yards on 90 carries offensively while registering 72 tackles and nine behind-the-line-of-scrimmage stops from his outside linebacker position.
This year, in just two games, Kamga has already eclipsed his offensive output as a sophomore. He’s rushed for 325 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 8.6 yards per carry. Defensively, he’s got five tackles, two for losses and a forced fumble.
As this week’s Athlete Spotlight feature, Kamga talked with The Augusta Press about his early-season play, his personal and team goals and what he hopes recruiting will begin to look like for him in the future.
STOVALL: These first two games you’ve rushed for a lot of yards against pretty good competition. Did you expect to have such big games against these two teams, and what do you think is the reason for such success?
KAMGA: “Yes, I definitely expected to have big games against Hephzibah and Aquinas, and the reason for the success with those games is just that having amazing blocks from my o-line and receivers to help me move the ball on the field. But it’s also the amount of work I put in during the offseason in the spring and summer and, until now, doing extra work during the weekends.”
STOVALL: In the game against Aquinas especially, what was the moment or the play that you knew you were about to have a huge game?
KAMGA: It came on my second carry of the game. On that play, I broke one tackle, juked a defender to the ground and ran 14 yards. After that play, I thought, ‘I did that pretty easily, and I can do it for the rest of the game.’”
STOVALL: How did you approach this off-season knowing you were going to be a major part of the offense this year?
KAMGA: “I hit the weight room very hard trying to gain weight and muscle to be able to take the increased hits I knew I would take, but also to be able to block better and secure the football as a ball carrier. I also did lots of training to help with the running back position.”
STOVALL: What made you want to play football anyway? How and when did you get started?
KAMGA: “Honestly, for me it started when I watched [NFL running back] Ezekiel Elliot in 2016 with the Dallas Cowboys, which made me ask my parents to play football. They said yes, and I got started by playing on a rec team called the Falcons.”
STOVALL: What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve faced in your football career so far, and how did you overcome it, or how are you overcoming it?
KAMGA: “I’d say that my biggest obstacle came when I suffered a back injury and had multiple surgeries and check ups and had to sit out for one year doing no sports. So it feels good to be able to be healthy again and able to compete and play like I am.”
STOVALL: If you had to pick a top 5 in terms of schools you’d like to play for in college, what would that be?
KAMGA: “My top five would be Coastal Carolina, South Alabama, James Madison, TCU and UCF. I’ve not received any offers or interest yet from those kinds of schools, but I hope to keep playing well enough to where I’ll see them soon.”
STOVALL: What are your goals personally for this season, and how good do you feel like this team can be this year?
KAMGA: “For myself, I want to be academically and athletically great. I want to be able to achieve 1000-plus yards rushing with 15 touchdowns and less than three fumbles. I feel like this Westside team can be great this year. I mean, we put in so much work this off-season and gained lots of experience coming into this season. We have the skill, we have the size. At this point, it’s all about effort. It’s if you want to be the best team you have to give the effort. You have to work hard, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
