FRUITPORT – It was the best of nights and the worst of nights for Fruitport senior football player Carsen Crow.
He was excited about playing archrival Spring Lake in the season opener, probably even a little more than his teammates, because he’s a former Spring Lake High School student who chose to transfer to rival Fruitport.
He even carried the giant Fruitport flag when the Trojans took the field before the game.
From a personal standpoint, Crow had the best game of his career, particularly on offense.
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He is usually a starting linebacker who does great things for the Fruitport defense, but until last Thursday, his time on offense had been very limited. The Trojans have a talented offensive backfield, and Crow has not been listed among the team’s top running backs.
But one of the best running backs, Kalan Teeter, missed the game with an injury, so Crow was called upon to start, and he made the most of it, to say the least.
He led the Trojans with 83 yards on only five carries – a whopping average of 16.6 yards per carry – and scored his first varsity touchdown. Crow broke loose for runs of 20, 32 and 22 yards, creating some offensive excitement on a night when that was pretty rare.
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“Kalan Teeter went down with a knee injury in our scrimmage and I was thrown in there,” Crow said. “I was not expecting to get a lot of reps. It was very new to me. Last year I played a little bit of offense, here and there, but mostly defense. It was a big step for me.”
For a moment Crow thought his first touchdown was going to happen in the second quarter, when he took a handoff on a reverse play and broke loose for 32 yards. At first he thought he had clear sailing all the way to the end zone, before a Laker caught him from behind.
“It was really fun to get a couple of good runs in there,” he said. “I thought I broke through on the one. We were on our own 15 on third down, then they called that play in, and I just smiled. Then I broke through and had open field, but then I felt the guy catch me.”
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He finally got that first touchdown late in the game, scoring from five yards out.
“There was just a giant hole there and we punched it in,” Crow said. “It felt good, especially coming against Spring Lake, and it felt good as a team to finally just put one in the end zone.”
Fruitport head coach Nate Smith has always like the way Crow plays, and was thrilled with his performance on offense.
“He had a really good game,” Smith said. “He maximizes his skill set and gets the most out of what he does. He works his tail off, and he’s incredibly smart and disciplined. I don’t think anybody would have guessed he would be our leading rusher, but that’s just a testament to his hard work and determination.”
No win on rivalry night
The worst part of the night for Crow was the final score, of course. The Trojans kept it close for the first half, but ended up losing 42-14.
Crow took the loss a little personally, because he desperately wanted to beat his old school and former teammates.
He transferred to Fruitport after his freshman year, and paid the price the following fall when he had to skip football for one season, due to MHSAA rules.
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Those months were not a complete waste, however. He worked out with the Fruitport varsity all season and greatly sharpened his skills. But he said it was hard to watch games when he knew he could not suit up and assist the Trojans.
“It was really hard, because the team went 0-9, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I could have helped the team,” Crow said. “But I’m happy I practiced with the varsity every day and did all the lifts. It helped me a lot.”
Crow finally suited up last year, and was on the field when the Trojans lost to Spring Lake in the 2024 season opener. Last Thursday was his last chance to beat the Lakers and check that goal off his list, but as well as he did as a fill-in running back, it was not enough to keep the Trojans in the game.
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“There were just a lot of mental errors,” Crow said. “Our first drive took up most of the first quarter, then we got stopped in the red zone. If we had scored on that drive I really think it would have been a totally different game.”
Crow understands that there are still eight games left, however, with all sorts of possibilities for the Trojans. He thinks his team has already mentally moved on from the Spring Lake game and will be ready for Friday night in Big Rapids.
“We had one of our better practices of the season and put in a couple of new plays for Friday’s game, and we’re looking good,” he said.
“I think people will see a much more physical group on Friday. That’s been a big word for us in practice this week – we need to focus on being more physical. I don’t think we played the most physical game last week.”
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