FERRIDAY — At 6-foot-5-inches tall, very few people miss J’Shon Foster when he straps up his helmet and takes the field for Ferriday High School.

But last season, the stat book seemed to be missing Foster’s name. He and his coach plan to change that this year.

“He better make some plays,” Ferriday head coach Cleothis Cummings said. “I think for J’Shon, last year wasn’t a great year. He made some big plays in certain games, but I told him that I’m not looking for anything less than greatness from him and I think he has that ability in him.”

Last season, Foster finished with 13 catches for 376 yards and three touchdowns. He ranked third on the team in yards and second in touchdowns, but now, he knows those numbers will have to grow.

“I just have to run my routes hard in the game and put in the work,” Foster said. “I have to get my team pumped up so they can put in the work with me too.”

Foster is gearing up for his senior year and he wants the last few times he puts on a Ferriday jersey to be special.

“This is my last year until I go to college and play and I’m going to really miss the team,” he said. “But I want to come out and show out with it being my last year at Ferriday.”

Cummings said he and the team will rely on Foster to step up as a leader as well.

“Since J’Shon came up he has always had a good attitude,” Cummings said. “There are times when he gets frustrated in practice and in games, but he’s one of those kids that can shake back at any given time.”

Foster said he has been pleased with how the team has performed in spring practice and he can sense the urgency of everyone after a mediocre finish last season.

“We are hungry this year after getting put out in the first round of the playoffs,” he said. “We want to go to New Orleans and play in the dome.”

And for Foster, it would be the icing on the cake for his high school career.

“It would feel great for me to go since this is my last year playing,” he said. “It would be my first time playing for a championship and first time to play in a dome. It would feel really good to play down there.”

Ultimately, Foster said he knows the day will come when high school football will come to an end, but his plan to play college football keeps his spirits up.

“It is going to be tough and I’m going to miss playing football for the high school,” Foster said. “I’ve been playing football with all these guys since I was little. But I just have to put in the work and I’ll play in college.”