FRUITPORT – Coming off an exciting 8-3 season last year, the Fruitport football team never dreamed it would start out 2023 with an 0-4 record, even with a lot of new faces in the lineup.

But that’s the hard reality, following last Friday’s disappointing 64-27 loss at Holland Christian.

The good news is that the Trojans, despite the rough games they’ve been though, have definitely not given up on the season.

Defending their share of last year’s conference championship would require a big turnaround, and a playoff berth might be a stretch at this point. But the players know they are building for the future, and they want to get as many wins as possible in the last five games of the regular season.

It won’t get any easier this Friday for the Trojans when they visit undefeated Allendale in another tough O-K Blue conference game, but head coach Nate Smith said the team spirit remains high in practice.

‘It just goes back to the resolve of this team,” Smith said. “Like one of our coaches said yesterday, from watching these guys practice you would never know this team is winless. They are working and picking each other up and pushing each other.

“We’ve talked a lot about legacy and playing for the Fruitport teams of the past and future, and we can still do that. The guys are playing physical and not quitting. They are believing in each other.”

Last week’s loss to Holland Christian was a lot like the previous week’s loss to Hamilton. The Trojans fell behind early and never gave themselves much of a chance to catch up.

Holland Christian scored the first four touchdowns of the game and led 29-0 in the second quarter. Against Hamilton, the Hawkeyes scored the first five touchdowns and led 36-0 in the second quarter.

Bad starts are obviously an area that the Trojans will have to address.

The defense has also been an issue. Fruitport has a potent offense that can put up points and get the team back into games, but every time that happens, the opponent scores even more points and pulls away again.

That happened last week. After falling behind 29-0, the Trojans scored three of the next four touchdowns and cut their deficit to 36-21, but then Holland Christian ripped off three more scores and took control for good.

Overall the Trojans have been outscored 183-79 in four games.

“We’re scratching our heads in a lot of ways,” Smith said. “We’ve tried changing different things, like our practice plan, schemes and different drills. I really think a lot of the problem on defense is that the kids are too aggressive. They are not playing under control. They are working so hard to make plays that they put themselves out of position.

“We don’t want to tell them to slow down and not be physical, but they need to be in the right spot to make a tackle. They are pressing so hard, and they need to play under control. We remind them that fire can keep you warm, but it can also burn down the house.”

Statistically, a few players put up some pretty good numbers against Holland Christian.

Junior quarterback Bradon Dornbos had his best game so far, completing 20 of 27 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, along with one interception.

Wide receiver Bobby Canfield had eight catches for 143 yards, including two long touchdown receptions, and DayDay Williams caught nine passes for 74 yards.

Kayden Beardsley led the defense with 5.5 tackles, Kalan Teeter had 4.5 and Canfield had 3.5. Williams had an interception.

The Trojans are going to need those guys, and many others, to step up big in the coming weeks, because the schedule does not get any easier.

Allendale, Grand Rapids West Catholic and Spring Lake, three of the five teams left on their schedule, all have 4-0 records so far. Coopersville is 2-2 and Hudsonville Unity Christian is 1-3.

All of those O-K Blue conference opponents will pose a big challenge for the young Trojans, but Smith is excited about the opportunity to play them.

“Now we get into the meat of the schedule,” Smith said. “The perennial powers are coming up. I hope that will drive us to have our best games. We have the potential to play with every one of those teams, and I think the kids know that.

“What a story it would be to win some games against some statewide powers.”