FILLMORE TWP. — Fruitport star running back Paschal Jolman is no stranger to the end zone, entering Friday’s game against Hamilton with 13 rushing scores. But even for his lofty standards, the senior put on a show Friday.

Jolman rushed for 339 yards on 13 carries and scored a career-high six touchdowns as the Trojans came away with a 61-36 win at Hamilton. 

The running back credited his offensive line for making the big night possible.

“Our O-line did that. It was our O-line, all day,” Jolman said. “It’s so easy to take the spotlight and say I did it all, but our O-line was fantastic. Those holes were massive.”

Fruitport’s Paschal Jolman

Head Coach Nate Smith admitted the team kept running the same play — and it kept working.

“The reality is, it was the same play everytime,” he said. “The offensive line opened up some huge holes tonight. We were getting such a push, our guards were getting great wraps, it was just textbook. And when you’ve got a back like Paschal, he’s going to take that little seam and take off.” 

With the win — and some help from rival Spring Lake, who upset Unity Christian — the Trojans move to 5-1 and into a three-way tie for first in the O-K Blue Conference. Fruitport is tied with Grand Rapids West Catholic and Hudsonville Unity Christian, who play each other next week. 

Paschal Jolman breaks free on a run as part of his 339-yard, six-TD game against Hamilton. Photo/Mitchell Boatman

Fruitport, which is 6-2 overall, can win a share of the conference title by beating Holland Christian next week. 

“The O-K Blue is a tough, tough football conference,” Smith said. “You can’t take anything for granted. For me, it just shows the maturity (the team) has had. This group has been through a lot as far as our program goes. I’m really proud, they bought into the idea that it’s about us, playing our best game.” 

“Ever since Coach Smith got here and we changed conferences, we’ve been building in stages,” Jolman said. “Now finally pieces are coming together. We’re getting to show people what we can do in this conference.” 

While 36 points may seem a little high for a great defensive performance, the Trojan D played a good game as well. Fruitport forced three fumbles in the first half, and 16 of the points allowed came in the final minutes with the game decided.

The Fruitport defense prepares for a play against Hamilton. Photo/Mitchell Boatman

Hamilton scored first with an 11-play drive to open the game. Ben Boehm capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run. Two plays later, Paschal Jolman evened the score with a 58-yard touchdown. 

He added three more TDs in the second quarter on runs of 46, 25 and 14 yards. Collin Jolman had a 10-yard touchdown run in the quarter as well. 

Hamilton scored on a 50-yard run by Boehm with 35 seconds left in the half. Then, after an interception, Brant Goodpaster found Austin Osborne for a 34-yard score on the final play of the half. Fruitport led 36-20 at halftime.

Collin Jolman ran in a 1-yard TD on the first drive of the second half. Paschal added scoring runs of 77 and 57 yards to cap his huge day, making the score 55-20 after three quarters. 

Kayden Beardsly scored on a 36-yard run early in the fourth to make it 61-20. The Hawkeyes then added scores on a 46-yard pass from Justin Mcillwain to Brady Tebo and a 20-yard run by Goodpaster.

Cody Nash reaches to recover a fumble that he forced on a Hamilton kickoff return. Photo/Mitchell Boatman

Beardsley totaled 43 rushing yards for the Trojans. Collin Jolman had 17 and passed for 17 yards. Cody Nash had a 17-yard catch.

Andrew B. Fielstra led the defense with 12 tackles and a sack, while Beardsly had nine stops. Nash, Payton Flores and Andrew J. Fielstra each had a fumble recovery.