FRUITPORT – There’s no question that the Fruitport Trojans are a good football team.
But are they ready to finally join the elite and challenge for the championship in the brutal O-K Blue conference?
Trojan fans will get the answer on Friday when their team hosts undefeated Grand Rapids West Catholic in a huge conference matchup.
West Catholic and Hudsonville Unity Christian are both 4-0 in conference play and will go head-to-head in Week 9.
Fruitport is a game behind with a 3-1 conference record.
[1]To have a chance to gain at least a share of their first O-K Blue title, the Trojans will have to win on Friday, and their coach thinks they’re ready for the challenge.
“I think there’s some apprehension – we know how good West Catholic is – but the guys also know that they are capable of playing well,” said head coach Nate Smith, whose team is 4-2 overall on the season. “We’re expecting a heck of a game.
“That great game is still out there in front of us. That’s the big question – what’s it going to look like when we finally put it all together?”
Things have been going well for the Trojans for the past two weeks, since their wild 60-46 loss to Unity Christian in Week 4.
The rebounded nicely by beating Coopersville 37-20 in Week 5, then ended a four-game losing streak to archrival Spring Lake by beating the Lakers 33-6 last Friday.
[2]Paschal Jolman led Fruitport’s offense against the Lakers with 120 rushing yards and 73 receiving yards. Quarterback Collin Jolman completed 9 of 16 passes for 143 yards and ran for 56 more. Cody Nash had 55 yards rushing.
Kayden Beardsley led the defense with six tackles while Ricky Wiggins had five. Wiggins and Andrew B. Fielstra both had a sack and Payton Flores had a 73-yard “strip and score” touchdown.
“It was a good game,” Smith said about beating the Lakers on the road. “It was tough. They are a physical team and they gave us everything they had plus some.
“It was awesome. Our bleachers were pretty packed, and we had a great student section, one of the best traveling student sections we’ve had in a long time. Our guys feed off that energy.”
With two straight wins for the first time this season, Smith thinks his team may have turned a corner.
[3]He thinks the Trojans have more confidence than they had in Week 2 when they blew a big lead and lost to Grand Rapids Christian, or Week 4 when they lost to Unity Christian in the touchdown-fest.
Smith doesn’t believe the memory of last year’s 49-14 loss to West Catholic will haunt the players.
“We talked about making the bad things that happened earlier this year count, and by making mistakes and learning from them in the middle of games, instead of after the games,” the coach said. “I think the team is growing and maturing.
“They’ve matured as far as looking at film and seeing, ‘Wow, we made this mistake or that mistake,’ and how that can change a game. They are understanding schemes and personnel matchups. They believe in themselves and they believe in the work that they’ve done.”
The Trojans will need plenty of confidence against West Catholic, which has outscored opponents 230-65 through six games this season.
[4]The Falcons have several big play threats on offense, including senior running back Tim Klosksa, who’s averaging 132 rushing yards per game with14 touchdowns; senior quarterback Bernie Varnsdeel, who has 14 passing touchdowns; and receivers Ryan Snow and Andrew McAlary, who each have four TD catches.
“They run the ball really well, and when teams load the box they chuck the ball around,” Smith said about West Catholic. “Defensively they know what they are doing. They jump in and out of different fronts and different coverages.”
With one conference loss, the Fruitport coaches and players know there’s no more room for error, at least in terms of the conference race.
If they manage to beat West Catholic, the Trojans will still have to get past Hamilton and Holland Christian to win at least a share of the league prize.
But just being in contention this late in the season is a big step forward for Fruitport, and the best may be yet to come.
“It’s nice to know that some of our goals are still out there, and we’re in pseudo-control of some things,” Smith said. “Our guys believe. They know if they play to their potential good things can happen. It’s a really good spot to be in.”
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