FRUITPORT – The Fruitport football team hadn’t won a conference championship since 2012.

That long, frustrating dry spell finally ended on Friday night with a 52-21 win over Holland Christian that gave the Trojans a share of the O-K Blue conference title.

Fruitport finished the regular season 7-2 overall and 6-1 in conference play.

The Trojans share the top spot in the conference with Grand Rapids West Catholic, which defeated Hudsonville Unity Christian 39-18 on Friday.

Fruitport’s Cody Nash (8) tries to get past a Holland Christian defender. Photo/Andrew Johnson

“Our guys believe in what we’re doing,” said Fruitport head coach Nate Smith, who won his first conference title. “We’ve been building for this the last five or six years. The message at the end was ‘You guys have done it. You’ve accomplished your goals.’ This is a credit to the foundation that was laid before us. I’m really proud of our guys.”

Senior running back Paschal Jolman, who rushed for 212 yards and three touchdowns, shared in the joy.

“It’s a lot to take in,” he said. “For this group of guys to come out here and do it together is the best thing in the world.”

Quarterback Collin Jolman said he knew the Trojans had something special, all the way back in Week 1 of the season.

“It means a lot,” he said. “We’ve worked really hard to get here since we were little. I knew during the first game we had a special group of guys. We all play hard and play together and love football.”

Paschal Jolman (21) finds a big hole to run through. Photo/Andrew Johnson

The Fruitport offense has been explosive all season, averaging more than 40 points per game, and it didn’t take long on Friday for the Trojans to get rolling again.

Just 4:34 into the first quarter, Paschal Jolman broke loose for a 19-yard touchdown run, and a two-point conversion put Fruitport ahead 8-0.

After an Eli Boyce three-yard touchdown run cut the Trojan lead to 8-6, Collin Jolman punched in a one-yard score to give Fruitport a 16-6 lead with 6:21 left in the second quarter.

Collin Jolman found Paschal Jolman for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left in the first half to give Fruitport a 24-6 lead at the break.

The quarterback did it again just 57 seconds into the third quarter, throwing a 52-yard TD pass to Cody Nash, and the two-point conversion made the score 32-6.

Fruitport head coach Nate Snith, who won his first conference championship with the Trojans. Photo/Andrew Johnson

Less than two minutes later, Paschal Jolman broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown, making the Fruitport lead 38-6.

Collin Jolman dashed to the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown run with 4:48 left in the third quarter to give Fruitport a 45-6 cushion after three quarters.

“It feels great,” Collin Jolman said about quarterbacking such a quick-strike offense. “Just going out and making big plays, especially on Senior Night, is a lot of fun.”

Holland Christian scored nine seconds into the fourth quarter when Boyce connected with Luke Michmerhuizen for a 15-yard touchdown.

Paschal Jolman quickly answered with a 90-yard TD dash that extended the Trojan lead to 52-13 with 11:30 remaining.

Fruitport’s Andrew B. Fielstra leaves a Holland Christian defender in his dust. Photo/Andrew Johnson

“It almost feels like going back to little league when everything was so simple and worked,” Paschal Jolman said. “We take advantage of those big plays and get a good result.”

Boyce connected with Meta Hoekstra for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 3:41 left to make the final score 52-21.

Collin Jolman completed 4 of 7 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns and run for 107 yards and two TDs. Nash caught two passes for 87 yards and one touchdown and led the defense with six tackles.

While the Trojans have waited a long time to celebrate a conference title again, Paschal Jolman said the celebration won’t last long before the Trojans turn their attention to Division 4 playoff football.

“It will be done by tonight,” he said.