FRUITPORT – Fruitport football fans have heard a lot of new, unfamiliar names announced over the PA system in the past few weeks, as their Trojans have pulled themselves together and earned two much-needed victories.

One of those names is Frankie Kotecki, a senior who scored the final touchdown in Friday’s 35-14 victory over Muskegon Catholic Central.

Another is Ethan Riggs, a senior transfer student who recovered the fumble that set up Kotecki’s touchdown and played a great game on the defensive line.

Not so long ago, Kotecki would have laughed at the idea that he would ever wear a Fruitport varsity uniform, let alone score points for the Trojans.

He played football as a youth, then backed away from the sport in middle school and never really intended to play again.

“My older brother said he had a bad experience (in middle school football),” said Kotecki, a small but gutsy 5-foot-7, 165-pound player. “Some of the stories he told me scared me, so I was a little nervous about it, and I didn’t really like the sport back then that much, anyway.”

Kotecki started getting the football itch again during his sophomore year and spent a good part of that winter working out in the weight room with the football players.

He went out for the team last season and earned playing time on the defensive side of the ball, including one game when he started in place of an injured senior.

“Most of my friends played, Fruitport was just coming off a great year, and that made me really want to play,” Kotecki said when asked why he returned to football. “Just coming to the games (as a sophomore) and watching them play, it looked like a blast.”

This year Kotecki is listed as a linebacker and running back on the Fruitport roster, but his offensive duties had been limited to playing running back on the practice scout team. His main job was to help the first-string defense prepare for the next game.

He took that task seriously and put his heart into it. That got the attention of the Fruitport coaches, who took him aside last Thursday and told him to be prepared to see some live action on offense against MCC.

He ended up carrying the ball seven times and gaining 27 yards.

His biggest moment came on his final carry of the game, when he rushed four yards for a touchdown – the first of his career – with 6:26 left on the clock.

“I ran it outside,” Kotecki said. “I was supposed to follow my guard, but I got a little greedy and saw the end zone, so I just kind of took off.”

How to react after scoring a touchdown was a bit of a dilemma for Kotecki, however.

“I just kind of stood there for a second, then I bumped shoulders with DayDay Williams and I ran over to Luke Westerlund and he picked me up.,” he said. “There were some photos of that on Facebook!”

Fruitport head coach Nate Smith said Kotecki’s reaction to scoring a touchdown provided some comic relief on the sideline.

“When he scored he didn’t even know what to do,” the coach said. “We were laughing at him a little bit. He obviously had not been in that situation before, but the guys were all really fired up for him.”

The new kid does good

Kotecki would not have had the chance to score that touchdown without Riggs’ fumble recovery a few plays before.

The defensive lineman, a first-year transfer from Grand Haven High School, saw the ball come loose around the MCC 15-yard line and jumped on it.

In retrospect, he realizes there was nobody between him and the end zone at that moment, and he could have easily scooped the ball up and scored himself.

“I had a clear lane,” Riggs said. “But right at that moment I just saw it and jumped on it. I was really happy when we ended up scoring.”

As exciting as it was to get his first fumble recovery in a Fruitport uniform, Riggs’ biggest contribution on Friday was his consistently strong play on the line.

He finished with three tackles, but even more importantly kept steady pressure on MCC quarterback Kolin Convertini.

“I think it was one of my better games so far,” Riggs said. “I was trying to be really physical, which really helped out. I was up in their face the whole game.”

Coach Smith was very much impressed.

“He changed the game,” Smith said. “He had a lot of solid hits on Convertini, and we told him to hammer their best offensive lineman all night long, and he did that.

“He came to us over the summer, and you never know with a first-year guy, but he fit in with the guys really well. He’s a Trojan through and through.”

Changing teams for one final year of football might be a tough adjustment for a lot of players, but Riggs said he has thoroughly enjoyed his time with his new teammates.

“Everyone here is really nice,” he said. “By the third day everyone on the team knew my name. It’s like a big family. We may get a little chippy at practice sometimes, but at the end of the day we always make up and we’re friends again.”

Riggs is also enjoying the opportunity to play on the winning side for a change.

He battled through a 1-8 season last year at Grand Haven, then was with the Trojans during the two ugly season-opening losses this year.

Riggs said he could tell that his new team had the talent and the work ethic to turn things around and get some victories.

“We really ramped it up at practice the last few weeks,” he said. “Nobody likes to lose.”