H&R Staff Writer
MAROA - His all-out smile that charms in an instant, jovial personality and polite "Yes, sir" response helps Jante Newbern fit right in at Maroa-Forsyth. His desire to attack the opposition on the football field with reckless abandon helps, too.
But it hasn't always been that simple.
Newbern, a senior, doesn't give away the struggles he's been through that most at Maroa never think about. That doesn't mean he's forgotten how he and his mom, Carmen Jackson, outran homelessness during his childhood. Or how he's fought to stay on pace to graduate in four years.
For Newbern, who has finally become a starting defensive end for one of the best Class 2A teams in the state, it's all motivation.
‘The ups and downs'
Long before Jackson made the decision to move to Forsyth from Decatur four years ago, she and Newbern had lived everywhere but the streets. As a single mom fighting to find and maintain a job, Jackson struggled to keep her and Newbern in one place for very long.
Lack of financial stability forced abrupt moves for the family, always bringing to mind the possibility of not having a place to sleep.
"We've been through a lot. We've experienced the ups and downs," Jackson said. "When he was an only child, he went through a lot. We have lived in some ratty places and it wasn't always the best living situation.
"Anything a single parent could go through, we've been through."
Newbern remembers the bouncing around, but he also recalls his mom always finding a way to keep a roof over their heads. He's not sure how she did it, but they "always pulled through."
Life has improved for the family since moving to Forsyth, but that does not mean it's easy. Jackson is juggling three kids, an unreliable car and classes for a radiology degree. For now, she is unemployed, but prays every day one of the hundreds of jobs she has applied for will materialize.
The combination of those things clashed with Newbern's first couple years of football and academics at his new high school.
"We've got some kids who grow up here who don't have a silver spoon, but they can walk home from practice," Jostes said. "It's a different case for us. It'll probably make all of us better, all of our coaches, and it's good for our kids to see what this kid has to deal with compared to ..."
When he first began at Maroa, Newbern was upset he wasn't headed to MacArthur with people he knew, he was helping to care for his younger siblings and he did not take his classes seriously. Even though he was kicked off the football team for ineligibility and missing too many practices his freshman and sophomore years, Newbern was happy to be helping his mom wherever he could.
"She just been carrying a heavy load and I totally give her props for that," Newbern said. "Our trip to Maroa was rocky at first."
‘He's always been ours'
When Newbern finished the first half against Sullivan-Okaw Valley in Week 1 with 14 tackles and four sacks, the whispers throughout the Okaw Valley Conference were already circulating.
"Who'd Jostes recruit now?"
That was an easy one for the long-time Maroa coach, who always gets grief when a new player appears on his roster. Newbern had been there all along. In fact, Jostes knew three years ago when he saw him on the freshman team he could be a disruptive player for opponents.
"Even at that point he was always throwing his head in there wherever the ball was and was going to go hard," Jostes said. "He caused a lot of problems as a freshman for our freshman team down there trying to run."
Newbern had the motor and the "God-given ability," but he didn't have the means to stay eligible or get to practice consistently. So, every year when Newbern showed up, he was relegated to the scout team.
"His consistency on being able to count on a kid like that is what has held him back a little bit," Jostes said.
As a junior, it looked like Newbern might break through and be a contributor. But a cruel twist of fate struck when he broke his hand on the first day of contact. Newbern planned to play with it black-and-blue, calling the injury "just a bump." But once the trainers found out, he had to sit a handful of weeks. The lack of football crushed Newbern's motivation academically.
Now, with three years of trying to play and failing behind him and just one opportunity left, Newbern understands the situation. With his younger siblings now in daycare, he has more freedom to fulfill his commitment to Maroa's football program. Even though transportation from Forsyth to Maroa is still an issue, Newbern now has teammates and friends to help out.
During three-a-days, Newbern spent the entire week at fellow defensive lineman Tyler Cisco's house. Newbern and Cisco, who was new to Maroa last fall, hit it off last year in English and immediately became friends. The two have each other's backs.
"He needed help, so I was there," Cisco said. "He said he needed someone to push him to get to practice, so I do.
"He's the friend I trust the most."
So far, Newbern has missed just one practice, a morning workout he slept through, which he paid for with a healthy dose of running.
The help Newbern's getting from friends and teammates is all part of a plan Jostes and others have put in place to keep Newbern on the field and on pace to graduate. The Trojans have someone they can plug in on the defensive line, but it's no one as explosive as Newbern. Against a much better and bigger Week 2 opponent in Tolono Unity, he finished with 11 tackles and three sacks. That's 25 tackles and seven sacks in just two games.
"He's not intimidated or afraid of anyone," Jostes said. "He's going to go as hard as he can. He's one of the few high school kids who truly goes until the whistle is blown.
"I don't know that anybody that we have is going to beat him, ‘Go get the ball until you hear a whistle. Go.' I mean, he's only got one speed. We've got to shut him down in practice."
Newbern's hitting ability separates him from other special athletes who have come through Jostes' program. And it would be hard to find someone who has been as up-and-down as Newbern that gets such high praise for his play and character.
"This kid's special," Jostes said. "He hits. This kid's not afraid to run through that wall with really no reward.
"I say, ‘You got the quarterback?' ‘I'm gonna' hurt him.' Go get him, big boy!"
Newbern said he will go through anybody to get the ball and that comes from watching his favorite football players, Texans defensive end Mario Williams and the Redskins' Brian Orakpo. But that didn't mean he expected to be such a force.
Newbern's strength was on display over the summer when he earned the team's lifting award. He made only 58 percent of workouts, which isn't committed but Newbern's highest ever, and saw his bench press increase from 235 pounds to 290.
His speed became evident when he tracked down one of Unity's fastest athletes Michael Lafenhagen in the open field and made a tackle. The play sent Maroa's sidelines into a frenzy.
"Man, it's been amazing," Newbern said. "I never thought I would come through with that many tackles.
"I've just been blowing my team away with how many tackles I've been getting. I'm just so happy to be playing with this team right now."
Jackson's happy, too. She's been to both games this season and will be in the stands tonight when Maroa plays host to Clinton.
"It's wonderful," Jackson said. "You hear his name get called. Come on now, you're going to have me crying.
"It's a beautiful thing. You hear so much about kids getting involved in other stuff and I'm just glad he's doing something positive."
‘I knew I was going to pull through'
Newbern struggles to put his academics during his junior year into words at first then settles on calling it "a big mess." After suffering the broken hand, he stopped putting in the necessary work in the classroom and started failing a couple classes.
Now, that's not an option.
Jackson, Jostes and Newbern all echoed the same sentiment that this is Newbern's last chance to play football and he sincerely wants to graduate on time, which means a significant credit difference from the city schools.
Plus, Newbern is putting in extra time after school several days a week before he has to join the defense on the practice field.
"It's just been a work in process that we to have figured out," Jostes said. "I'm confident that he has a big enough support system and he's a good enough kid and he truly appreciates any help he gets that it will be taken care of."
Newbern legitimizes Jostes' stance. The senior is taking school more seriously and doesn't expect the grades to be handed to him. He also wants to try and reach the next level playing football or pursue an art career.
Newbern even went as far as saying he thinks he has straight As right now. Even through all the academic problems, he never doubted pulling through it.
"I always had my faith in God and just believed in myself and always had a point where I knew I was going to pull through," Newbern said. "It was always like if I just keep trying and I stay devoted that I'm going to make it."
Going full circle to make it through a football season and graduate in the spring would make Jostes happier than any number of tackles and sacks.
"That's what I'm going to be most proud of," Jostes said. "He's a good boy."
lbridges@herald-review.com|421-6970
Published in the Herald & Review in September 2011.
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