FRUITPORT – Nobody on the current Fruitport football roster has beaten Spring Lake, at least at the varsity level.

Against another team, that might be easier to swallow – but against the archrival Lakers it stings a little more.

Fruitport seniors Brady Kemmerling, Caleb O’Neal and Brock Dornbos have each played against the Lakers for the past three years, came up short each time, and would very much like to get a victory before they graduate.

Their last chance will come on Friday, when the Trojans visit Spring Lake in the always intense “Battle of the Bayou.”

Fruitport comes in with a 3-2 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the O-K Blue conference while Spring Lake is 1-4 and 0-3.

“We’re really looking forward to it,” said Kemmerling, a starting tackle on one of the best offensive lines in the area. “It’s been a while since we won it. The graduating class before us never beat Spring Lake, and we would really like to turn the tide.”

Fruitport has a 40-32 edge in the all-time series between the teams, but Spring Lake has been dominant in recent years.

The Lakers have won the last four matchups, 49-20 in 2018, 21-20 in 2019, 54-22 in 2020 and 35-32 last season. The Trojans last won in 2017, 21-0.

Last year’s game was particularly tough for the Trojans, because of the way it ended.

The Lakers built a 35-17 lead with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter, then Fruitport stormed back with a touchdown run by Cody Nash and a touchdown pass from Gavin Reames to Camden Farrell and pulled within three points.

Spring Lake drove to the Fruitport two-yard line in the fourth quarter, the Trojan defense stuffed the Lakers on fourth down with four minutes to play, but the offense couldn’t muster any more points and the comeback fell short.

“That was a knife through the heart,” Kemmerling said. “We 100 percent thought we could win, but they showed us that they were a quality football team.”

Kemmerling said the rivalry between the two teams and schools is fun, but he also said it comes with its share of pressure.

“No matter what field you’re at, the whole community is there,” he said. “I know the whole Fruitport community is going to be there at their field. It’s the most anticipated game of the year.

“There’s not only some pressure from the community, but from your team. You don’t want to make mistakes or errors. You want to play well, not just for yourself but for your teammates.”

Dornbos and O’Neal both said the Spring Lake game is always a little more intense than other games on the schedule, and it doesn’t matter what each team’s record is coming in.

“It can get a little chippy, and there’s a lot of talk back and forth (on the field) sometimes,” said O’Neal, a center and defensive tackle. “We’ve always been taught that they are our rivals, and one of our main focuses is to beat Spring Lake.”

O’Neal and Dornbos said the team has been extra dialed in during practice this week – because it’s Spring Lake week.

“We’re all locked in, extra focused, and there’s no screwing around and getting off track,” O’Neal said.

Dornbos said the Trojans would very much like to get a win this week, regardless of the opponent, to help build some `momentum for the stretch run of the season.

Fruitport won its opener over Kenowa Hills, lost to Grand Rapids Christian, beat Allendale, lost to Hudsonville Unity Christian, then beat Coopersville last week.

Winning two games in a row would be a nice way to head into the last three weeks of the regular season, according to Dornbos, a middle linebacker who is fifth in the area in tackling this season.

“That’s a big deal,” he said. “We want to go out there and get a win and keep going from there. We’re ready to go at everything 100 percent. We know we need to stay locked in, eliminate the errors and play four quarters of football.”