FRUITPORT – The Fruitport football team has been piling up lots of yards on the ground in the past two weeks.
After gaining only 177 total yards of rushing against Spring Lake in the seasaon opener, and 102 against Big Rapids in Week 2, the Trojans exploded for 322 yards against Kelloggsville and 338 against Napoleon last week.
The ground production has helped Fruitport win two straight games and even its record at 2-2, heading into Friday night’s home game against Comstock Park.
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Fans, of course, will say “Way to go running backs!” and that’s fair praise, because the Trojan ball-carriers have been doing a great job.
But those guys need room to run, and they’ve been getting it because of a vast improvement in the performance of the Fruitport offensive line, which has been moving opposing defenders out of the way pretty consistently after struggling the first two weeks.
The O-Line was a concern going into the season, because it lacked overall experience, with only two guys back who played a lot last year, and because the linemen are relatively small by high school standards.
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But the unit – comprised of starters Mackiel Williams (senior tackle), Chase Rosema (senior guard), Bryson Cena (freshman tackle), Evan LaGuire (senior guard), Ashten Kemp (junior center) and Colton Smith (sophomore tight end) – is proving it can get the job done.
“We got pushed around pretty good in Week 1,” said Fruitport head coach Nate Smith about the offensive line. “We started popping a few holes for decent runs against Big Rapids, then we really started moving people the last two weeks.”
“It was a problem,” said Williams about the early lack of success on the line, particularly against Spring Lake. “It was the first game and everyone was trying as hard as they could. But it was a learning experience, and we learned from it.”
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Williams, the giant on the line at 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds, says the difference is obvious when he watches game film.
“Our biggest improvement is definitely in the running game,” he said. “It’s been crazy seeing the film and seeing guys go as hard as they can. It’s good to see how hard they are working.
“You can say ‘Hey, we’ve got to lock in and do this.’ but everyone has really followed through on it. We’re focused on what we have to do. We’re all lifting and making sure we’re watching film and getting things corrected.”
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Ironically, just a few years ago, Williams never pictured himself on a football field at all, let alone as one of the leaders of the offensive line.
But he decided to try the sport, and by last fall he was on the varsity squad, getting lots of playing time.
“Some of the guys who were already playing got me to come out,” he said. “They brought me out and introduced me to the program. I’m very thankful that they did that. If I hadn’t come out, it would have been a very different path for me.
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“In all honesty, I revolve everything around football. I make sure I don’t miss a single practice or am late to anything. I’ll be late to a doctor appointment before being late to football.”
Coach Smith said Williams took to football like a fish takes to water.
“Mackiel has been a tremendous leader for our program this season,” the coach said. “He goes out of his way to make sure that people are following the standards that we’ve set. He goes out of his way to help young guys get to practice, giving guys rides home, and making sure they have everything they need.
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“Physically he has continued to grow because of his tremendous commitment to the weight room. I think he was 97 percent attendance all season long in the weight room. We start lifting the Monday after Thanksgiving and go all the way up until school is out. Even over Christmas break and spring break, he was asking me about getting into the weight room. The kid is a true football player.”
Williams and Rosema have definitely had an impact on the other guys on the O-line. It’s tough to be a lineman, and easy to fold up when things don’t go well, but Fruitport’s guys up front seem to be determined to just get better, and Coach Smith appreciates that.
“Offensive line is all about chemistry,” Smith said.”You’ve got to communicate, work together and make sure you’ve got each other’s backs. The chemistry on this unit is getting better and better each week. The goal is to get five to play as one. When they do great things happen.
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“I think in the earlier games they were struggling with making adjustments. Now they understand some of the schematic changes we need to make on certain plays. As a coach, when the offensive line comes off and is making adjustments without your prompting, you know you’re moving to a special place.
“These guys love the fact that we want to run the ball, and they take great pride in the number of good running backs that we have. I always make the joke that they make holes so big that even Coach Newt could pick up five yards.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”
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