FRUITPORT – When you think about offensive firepower on the Fruitport soccer roster, you think about senior Isaac VanderMolen and junior Jorge Burgos-Yack.

But now the Trojans suddenly have a third offensive threat for opponents to worry about.

Junior Davis Johnson has exploded for four goals in the past two games, leading the Trojans to victory in each.

He scored twice on Thursday, pacing Fruitport to a 3-0 conference win over Comstock Park.

Fruitport’s Carlos Cruz slides in between two opponents to break up a play. 

Then he added two more on Saturday morning, both in the first three minutes of the game, to propel the Trojans to an impressive 2-0 victory over a very good Reeths-Puffer squad in a non-conference matchup at Ken Erny Field.

The victory kept the Trojans’ perfect record intact at 9-0 and provided some assurance that Fruitport can be successful against Reeths-Puffer, a team Fruitport may very well see in the Division 2 district tournament in the postseason.

It also shook up the team’s scoring chart, because suddenly Johnson is tied with Burgos-Yack and VanderMolen for the team lead with seven goals.

“Coach said in the huddle that we need to get started right away, because the game was going to be decided in the first five minutes,” Johnson said. “Isaac (VanderMolen) and Jorge (Burgos-Yack) take a lot of pressure off of me, so it’s easy for a guy like me to sneak in there and tuck a few away.”

Fruitport’s Jayden Booker (9) tries to kick the ball before an R-P player can. 

Fruitport Coach Dan Hazekamp said Johnson gave the Trojans the spark they needed in a game that was certain to be close. Last year the Trojans and Rockets played to a 0-0 tie, also on a Saturday morning.

“To get the momentum for a Saturday morning game, coming off a couple of games during the week, you have to make sure you have the right energy,” the coach said. “His ability to come out fast gave us a jolt of energy that sustained us and allowed us to get to the finish line.”

The first goal came just 2:14 into the game when Grade Anspach sent a ball to the near post off a corner kick and Johnson knocked it home, getting Fruitport off to a very fast start.

Johnson found the net again just 20 seconds later, this time with an assist from Burgos-Yack, and the scoring for the day was done.

After Johnson’s quick start, the teams played pretty even throughout the rest of the first half, with each recording a total of four shots.

Fruitport’s Jorge Burgos-Yack (2) moves in on the ball. 

R-P played more physically in the second half and was able to mount more of a threat, putting up four more shots on goal. But Fruitport’s defenders and goalie Logan Werschem were able to keep the Rockets off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

Werschem made a huge diving save on a hard, high shot just five minutes into the second half. The Trojan defense, anchored by Nathaniel Cribley-Cotto, was able to clean up the trash around the net and clear the ball out of the zone.

“We knew in the second half they were going to come out and push the pace,” Hazekamp said. “They did a really good job making some adjustments at halftime. But Logan was decisive and made some saves he needed to make, and our back line did a really good job holding in and playing tough.”

Burgos-Yack keeps the ball away from an R-P player.

Hazekamp is obviously pleased that his team continues to win, but knows it would be foolish to get too carried away with it.Fruitport has a lot of soccer left to play, against a lot of good teams, both in and out of the O-K Silver conference.

“It’s great that we’re off to a good start, but adversity is bound to set in at some point,” he said.  “We talk about going day-by-day. I’m not to concerned about the record.”

Hazekamp acknowledged that it was nice to get a victory over a quality opponent, however.

“It was good to see, because we know there is a high chance that we will see those guys down the road,” he said. “I think it’s a great win. We have aspirations for big things this season.”

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