FRUITPORT – Every week the Fruitport football team gives out the ‘Shield” award to a player, based on performance in the previous week’s game.

As head coach Nate Smith explains it, the award is “based on the old Trojan saying, it’s better to come home on your shield than without it.

“Your shield is obviously there to protect you and your fellow soldiers. It’s better to come home on it – dead – than without it, because that means you didn’t protect your soldiers.”

Smith was obviously describing self-sacrifice, which is common among football players.

But sacrifice is not necessarily limited to games.

It can come in practice every day, from a player who goes all out to help his teammates prepare for the next game.

It can come on the sidelines during a game, from a player who is cheering on the team and tries to keep everyone fired up.

It can come along snowy roads at 3 a.m., from the player who drags himself out of bed at that hour to walk to school and be on time for red-eye weight training.

All of those things describe Fruitport senior Landon Bourque.

Earlier this week, when the coaches discussed who should get the Shield award, someone mentioned that Bourque is a player who gives the team everything he’s got, even though he doesn’t play much.

Several of Bourque’s teammates agreed with that assessment, and on Wednesday, at the end of practice, he  received his award from Coach Smith in front of the entire squad.

He will carry the team shield out on the field on Friday night, before the Homecoming game against Hopkins.

It’s a cool honor, and deserved recognition, for a kid who will never be All-State or All-Conference, but will always be All-Fruitport.

“He comes early, stays late, and gives an incredible amount of effort,” Coach Smith said. “He loves this program. He’s just a non-stop Fruitport football kid.

“He knows his role is to be a great practice player and a huge supporter and encourager on the sideline. He’s very loud!

“We will talk about him for years to come. He’s part of the story of how we do things here.”

Bourque’s teammates have witnessed the effort and passion that he brings, and have developed a lot of respect for him.

“I always make sure to be 15 minutes early (to practice), and Landen has always been there before me,” Bradon Dornbos said.

“He has a really positive mindset and is willing to get better every day,” Caden Carillo added.

“He’s been moved from position to position and still tries his best, even when he doesn’t know what’s going on!” Alex Morse said.

‘I just do what I can to help the team’

Bourque had to be a little sneaky to get started in football. He said he wanted to play since he was small, and his dad supported him, but his mom was opposed to the idea.

That lasted until his freshman year, when he took matters into own hands.

“I found out the schedule for the freshman team, went to the meeting and started going to practices,” he said. “My mom was a little mad when she found out I joined without her knowing, but…”

Bourque has never gotten much playing time, outside of special teams or going in for a snap or two, but he keeps coming back to the Trojans, year after year, week after week, to help in any way possible.

“I just do what I can to help the team,” he said. “Even if I’m not starting, even if they just put me in for someone to take a breather, I’m okay with that.”

Bourque goes hard in the weight room to add strength for practice, and practices hard as a member of the scout team, because he knows all of that helps get the starters ready for games.

He does not miss early-morning weight training in the offseason, even when he doesn’t have a ride to the school.

“I’ve walked a few times,” he said. “I go to bed at 9, get up at 3, then walk three hours to get here. I will wear a jacket on top of two sweaters, and two layers of gloves. As long as I get to be here with my team, I feel fine.”

Bourque takes special pride in being a morale booster on the sidelines. He leads the other players in chants and works to keep everyone’s spirits up.

That can be difficult sometimes, particularly during a first half like the Trojans played last Friday, when they had four turnovers and failed to score.

 

At halftime Bourque told one of the coaches that he was exhausted from trying to keep everyone fired up.

“I was trying to get some of the younger guys to help me get the chants going,” he said. “I felt like some of them were being too quiet.”

Bourque said he was really fired up in the third game of the season, when the Trojans beat Comstock Park 30-27 to break a long 12-game losing streak.

Comstock Park was driving for the go-ahead touchdown near the end of the game and faced a fourth-down situation. Bourque said he did everything he could to get the Fruitport sideline and fans to make noise before the critical fourth down play.

Maybe it helped, because the Panthers threw an interception in the end zone and the Trojans hung on to win.

“I was just screaming for people to yell, stomp their feel on the bleachers, anything they could do to make some noise,” he said. “I really wanted us to win that game. It was amazing when he threw that pick!”