FREMONT – The Fremont football program has really struggled in recent years, winning just four games over the last seven seasons.

But you wouldn’t necessarily know that If you watched the 2021 Packers, who have shown fight and determination in every game.

They’ve lost two game by one score, and two more games by two scores.

They kept getting closer to that first victory, and finally broke through last Friday in Week 7, beating Central Montcalm 32-6 in front of a happy Homecoming crowd.

“It was the first time Fremont won a home game since 2018,” said second-year Fremont Coach Jason Carpenter. “It was huge. We only have three seniors in the program, and they’ve done everything that we’ve asked. It was super cool for it to be Homecoming and the seniors’ last home game.”

Every player had a role in the first victory, but the star of the game was junior running back Justin Dirheimer, who rushed for 231 yards and three touchdowns.

“It was very important to us,” said the junior who’s totaled 902 yards and 11 touchdowns on 151 carries so far this season. “The seniors mean so much to us, and they’ve done so much for the program. It was probably my biggest night all season, and it was just great to see how well our team played.”

While Fremont currently has a 1-6 record, the numbers clearly show that things are getting better.

Over the past seven seasons, the Packers have been outscored 2,304-685. Last year they were outscored 223-98 in the COVID-shortened seven game season.

This year the Packers have only been outscored 197-119 through seven games.

“Our future looks bright,” said Coach Carpenter, who currently has seven sophomores in the starting lineup. “Our program is going to be successful in the future. I didn’t know what to expect this season because it was going to be based on how quickly our sophomores grew up.”

Dirheimer gives a lot of credit to the sophomores, especially the three who start on the offensive line.

“My offensive line is great,” he said. “We’ve got a young line and they’re doing awesome. I could’ve walked through the holes they’ve made me. They’re getting really good.”

The Packer O-line/tight end unit consists of senior Colby Wright, senior Noah Baker, junior Briar Hambrock, sophomore Preston Hunt, sophomore Kyle Nagel, sophomore Andrew Steger, junior Michael Romero and junior Owen Vandenberg.

“The last two weeks we’ve definitely seen the growth,” Carpenter said about the line. “They’ve really matured and when bad things happen, they’re not dwelling on them.”

Winning the battles in the trenches is crucial, but it also help to have talented backs like Dirheimer, who can take big advantage of the holes created for them.

Dirheimer says he also takes pride in trying to be a leader on the team.

“It means a lot to me,” he said. “Being a leader and helping win games is important. We haven’t won a lot of games, but it means a lot to help my team get better every day and keep our heads up.”

Dirheimer’s leadership hasn’t gone unnoticed by his head coach.

“It’s absolutely huge,” Carpenter said. “He’s doing a great job of letting them know they’ve done a great job of blocking. He comes back and tells them what a great hole they’ve made. He told a tight end last week, ‘Your block got me into the end zone.’ They’ve appreciated how much he’s appreciated them.”

While Dirheimer still has another year of football ahead of him, he’s hopeful to end this season with a 3-6 record by defeating Reed City on Friday night and Cadillac next week. Both are good teams and will be stiff challenges for the Packers.

“I hope we get some momentum going and beat Reed City Friday,” Dirheimer said. “I hope we end up with two more wins.”