FRUITPORT – Nail-biting games just don’t scare the Fruitport soccer team.

The undefeated Trojans get challenged from time-to-time, but almost always find a way to escape with a victory.

That was the case on Monday when Fruitport hosted Calvin Christian in the championship game of the O-K Silver conference tournament and emerged with an exciting 2-0 win.

The Trojans were clinging to a precarious 1-0 lead when the Squires were given a corner kick with less than a minute remaining in the contest.

Calvin Christian, desperate to tie the game, pulled its goalkeeper and put 11 players in the Fruitport box, hoping one of them would take the corner kick and score the equalizer.

Fruitport Coach Dan Hazekamp countered by moving the speedy Jorge Burgos-Yack to the midfield circle before the play began.

The corner kick ended up in the hands of Fruitport goalkeeper Logan Werschem, who forwarded it to the waiting Burgos-Yack.

He proceeded to score in the empty net with 13 seconds left, sealing up the victory for the Trojans.

The move was a bit risky, because it left the Trojans a man short in the box to defend against the corner kick, but it all worked to perfection.

Coach Hazekamp gave a lot of credit to Werschem for keeping his head in the crowded box and making the play.

“It was an old-fashioned roll of the dice,” the coach said. “We were playing some odds there. We have a ton of trust in Logan and the guys back there.

“The soccer IQ (from Werschem) was great to see, to not only make the save, but to snap your eyes up field, play a great ball, and then we got that finish from Jorge.

“What a great way to end it!”

The latest victory completed the circle for Fruitport in its first year in the O-K Silver. They went undefeated in the regular schedule, won two more games in the conference tournament, and captured the overall conference championship along the way.

It also completed an undefeated and almost perfect regular season for Fruitport, the No. 1 ranked team in the state in Division 2.

The Trojans finished with a 17-0-1 overall mark and a 10-0 record in conference play.

Fruitport Coach Dan Hazekamp said his team accomplished all of it with a gritty, physical style of play, plus lots of unselfish teamwork and determination.

That gritty style may not always sit well with some observers, but they aren’t the ones holding the conference trophy.

“I’m proud of the boys,” Hazekamp said. “The grit of this team is the way that we want it. That’s how we play, and that’s how these boys were raised.

“Some people may feel a certain way about it, but we’re not going to apologize for who we are.”

There wasn’t a great deal of offense in the game, with Fruitport outshooting the visitors 5-3.

Calvin Christian actually controlled the play through the first part of the contest, but the Trojans were the only team to find the net.

Midfielder Hudson Hazekamp got the only goal of the first half at the 25:43 mark.

“Our whole team sets up everything for me,” the sophomore said. “We out-grit teams, outwork teams, and that’s what gives us the momentum.”

The scored stayed 1-0 until the final drama that led to Burgos-Yack’s goal.

Werschem, aided by the always strong Trojan defense, earned his 12^th shutout of the season.

The Trojans, ranked No. 1 in the state in Division 2, will now dive into the postseason with a lot of momentum and high hopes.

They will play next Tuesday in the district semifinals against the winner of Wednesday’s Spring Lake-Kenowa Hills first-round game.

Spring Lake put the only blemish on Fruitport’s record this season, playing the Trojans to a 1-1 tie.

“We have some guys banged up, so we will get some guys healthy,” said Coach Hazekamp, whose team advanced all the way to the state quarterfinals last year. “We will push them at the end of the week, get them in full prep mode.”