FRUITPORT – There are no guarantees in football, just like there are no guarantees in any part of life.
Sometimes things go badly, and the trick is to just keep plowing ahead and working toward better days.
That describes Fruitport senior Bradon Dornbos, who has continued to go hard and make big plays, despite some frustrating challenges in his football career over the past two years.
He was the starting quarterback last year – and therefore a very noticeable player – when Fruitport lost every game, including some by very ugly scores.
He suffered a concussion in Week 3 this season and had to sit out the next two weeks. Then he had to adapt to a new role, playing a lot less at quarterback as the Trojans broke in a new signal-caller for the future.
[1]Dornbos returned from his concussion just as the Trojans reached what they thought would be the easier part of their schedule, but they have lost three straight disappointing games, including two by a combined seven points.
Despite all of that, Dornbos has continued to give his all and make big plays. He has scored three touchdowns in the past two weeks, and had a really big game last Friday, rushing for 142 yards and two scores.
Now he’s ready for the grand finale of the season and his career when the Trojans host a one-win Kellogssville team on Friday night.
Fruitport head coach Nate Smith knows that Dornbos will be pumped up to do battle one last time.
“People didn’t realize he could do all the things he does,” the coach said. “It goes back to his willingness to do whatever it takes to try to win games. I think he’s got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. This is going to be important for him, going out with a win.”
[2]The varsity football experience actually started out great for Dornbos. He saw a lot of playing time as a sophomore on a Fruitport team that went 8-3, won a conference championship and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
He played with his older brother Brock Dornbos that year and had a season to remember.
“It was nice to be on that team as a sophomore,” he said. “I worked really hard so I could be a part of that.”
Then came the challenges that really tested Dornbos’ character.
He became the starting quarterback last year as a junior, and things went south for the Trojans, who lost every game, including some by very ugly scores.
“It was definitely rough,” Dornbos said. “I ended up having a lot of meetings with coach, just talking about how to get through everything. We had some ugly scores in that nine-game stretch. We put in all that time lifting and doing offseason workouts, then sometimes it runs through your head, why am I doing this?”
[3]Despite the frustration, Dornbos returned as quarterback to start this season, and things started out pretty much the same, with two ugly losses to Spring Lake and Big Rapids in Weeks 1 and 2.
Then came the game that Dornbos will probably be telling his children and grandchildren about for years to come.
The Trojans broke a painful 12-game losing streak with a thrilling 30-27 victory at Comstock Park, and he turned out to be the hero.
He threw the go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass to DayDay Williams with just a few minutes left on the clock.
Comstock Park threatened to steal the victory with a late offensive drive, but Dornbos ended the drama when he picked off a pass in the end zone, sealing up the much-needed win.
[4]“That one was definitely fun,” Dornbos said. “We hadn’t won in a long time. Some of the guys on the team had never won a game at all. That’s definitely one I will be talking about for a while.”
Unfortunately Dornbos had his nose broken in that game, and found out later that he also suffered a concussion on the play. Just when his team had broken through and won a game, he had to sit out until he gained medical clearance to play again.
He ended up missing two games – an exciting victory over Muskegon Catholic and an ugly loss to Belding.
“I was getting really antsy,” he said. “I was taking concussion tests every 2-3 days. I was doing anything I could do to get back.”
His role changed a bit when he returned to active duty, because the coaches started playing sophomore Brady Hanson a lot more at quarterback, and started moving Dornbos around to different positions in the offensive backfield.
That was probably a smart move, because Dornbos is more valuable running the ball than he is handing it off.
“We can move BD all over the place, because he’s a really special athlete,” Coach Smith said. “We knew we could get him 20-25 touches per game in different spots, and he embraced that. The question became, where can we get the most bang for our buck with him? Where can he impact the game the most?”
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“I talked to coach about getting the ball in different ways,” Dornbos said. “I didn’t care about playing quarterback too much. I will do whatever helps the team.”
Unfortunately the three games after Dornbos returned – all viewed as winnable – did not go as planned.
Fruitport was scoreless in the first half against a not-so-great Godwin Heights team and ended up losing 15-13. Nobody was doing much for the Trojans offensively, but Dornbos was able to crank out 63 yards rushing.
The next week against Hopkins, Dornbos broke loose for an exciting 40-yard touchdown run and Fruitport only trailed 7-6 at halftime. But the offense ended up sputtering most of the night and the Trojans lost 27-13.
Last week against Holland, Dornbos had arguably the best game of his varsity career.
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He had a 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, then scored the two-point conversion, giving Fruitport an 8-6 lead. He broke loose for a 61-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, giving the Trojans a 14-9 lead.
The Trojans led in the fourth quarter, and looked ready to claim that elusive third win, but two late Holland touchdowns sealed their doom in a 27-23 loss.
Despite all of that disappointment, Dornbos is fired up and ready to roll again as game time approaches on Friday.
Nobody should be surprised if he produces a few more long touchdown runs or other exciting plays, because he plans to leave it all on the field.
“We’ve had a good week of practice, everyone is locked in, and we really want to win this game,” he said. “I think it’s really important. Not very many people on this team have tasted much success, so if we could end with a win, the juniors will go into the offseason a lot better and us seniors can go out with a bang.”
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