HOPKINS – With the game, and a potential playoff berth, on the line, it was obvious how much Friday night’s outcome meant to the Fruitport football team.
The Trojans left everything on the field as they attempted to rally from a 12-0 halftime deficit and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Unfortunately for the Trojans, the comeback effort came up just a bit short and Fruitport fell 12-7 on the road against Hopkins to end the 2025 season.
“There’s no quit in them,” said Fruitport head coach Coach Nate Smith. “There wasn’t, at any point in this game, a time that our guys didn’t think we were going to win. Even down to the last two minutes, guys were still locked in, trying to make plays. I’m really proud of that.”
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The Trojans trailed 12-0 after three quarters before making a valiant comeback attempt.
Fruitport scored its lone touchdown on a six-yard pass from Brady Hanson to Kalan Teeter with 4:58 to play, pulling within 12-7.
On the next Viking possession, David Johnson-Jimenez intercepted a third down pass to give Fruitport the ball at the Hopkins 24-yard-line with 3:31 left.
The Trojans couldn’t take advantage, however, turning the ball over on downs after four plays. Hopkins regained possession and ran the final 2:17 off the clock to seal the win.
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“Obviously you want to put yourself in a position where you can win at the end of the game, and I think we were there, we just didn’t execute,” Smith said.
Fruitport came into Week 9 just outside of the Division 3 playoff picture, needing a win to have a shot at the postseason. Instead the Trojans finished the season with a 4-5 record.
Although the team finished with a better record for the second year in a row, Smith said there was hope for bigger things.
“We fell short of a couple of different goals that we firmly believed we were able to achieve,” he said. “No matter what spin we want to put on things, there is some disappointment.”
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Friday’s loss marked the final game for a group of Fruitport seniors, who saw the program go winless in their sophomore year before totaling seven wins the last two seasons.
“The relationships and the legacy they’re going to leave will be felt for a long while,” Smith said. “This is a group of guys that, maybe on paper, didn’t have a ton of success, but I think a lot of them individually and collectively have really maximized their opportunities.
“Their impact is going to be on the players behind them. That’s something you can’t see on the scoreboard or in our record. That’s where the true legacy of this team will last.”
Hopkins got its lone touchdown on its first possession, a 33-yard pass with 8:38 to play in the first quarter to make it 7-0.
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A series of plays at the end of the first half provided the deciding points in the contest. Fruitport’s defense came up with an impressive goal-line stop on a fourth down play, keeping Hopkins out of the end zone and giving the Trojan offense the ball inside its own one-yard-line.
On the next play, however, Hopkins slipped through the Trojan line to stop Fruitport in its own end zone for a safety, gaining two points and increasing the lead to 9-0.
“We ran a play that we run a ton,” Smith said about the safety. “It’s the play we have the most confidence in. We had a guy slip through. It wasn’t a missed assignment, just one of our guys got beat.”
Hopkins received the ball after the safety with 1:40 left in the half and managed a 31-yard field goal as time expired to extend its lead to 12-0.
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The lone score after halftime was Hanson’s touchdown toss to Teeter in the fourth quarter.
Hanson was 5-for-10 passing for 36 yards and a touchdown. Teeter was his top receiver with two catches for 24 yards. Josh Eppard led the team with 33 rushing yards on eight carries, followed by freshman Jonnie Kempker with 32 yards on 12 attempts.
DayDay Williams ran for 26 yards and had three catches for 12 yards.
Eppard and Teeter led the defense with a dozen stops each. Easton Fett made eight tackles and Blair Zimmer made seven.
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