FRUITPORT – The Fruitport football team’s offensive backfield is loaded with talented weapons this season.

Guys like Liam Campbell, Alan Jackson, Johnnie Kempker and several others have the skills to pile up yards on opponents in a number of different ways.

Yet one running back, senior Josh Eppard, has emerged from the pack as the featured ball carrier so far this season, and it’s working out very well.

Eppard had his first highlight game of the season last Thursday, rushing for 162 yards, including three touchdowns, on 28 carries in the extreme heat and humidity.

He played a huge role in keeping the Trojans’ offense on the field, churning out yards and scoring points in a 27-16 conference victory over Godwin Heights.

“It was exhausting,” Eppard said about his Thursday effort. “In the second quarter, I felt dead already. The heat was just unbearable, so it really was just a mental game to keep going. But all the work, including the 6 a.m. lifts and runs that we did, paid off.”

So how did Eppard, who was Fruitport’s second-leading rusher last year, emerge as the leader of such a talented pack of offensive players this season?

“He’s just a workhorse for us out there,” said Fruitport head coach John Shipley. “I can count on one hand the number of workouts he’s missed since February.

“We’re just going to ride the hot hand, and he’s certainly been that. We’ve got to get the ball into his hands.”

Eppard said all the Trojan ball-carriers operate as a team, and help each other be the best they can be.

“We all push each other,” he said. “We all want to continue to get better during the week. We’re all a brotherhood and competitive with one another, which helps us all get better.”

While some other runners in the Trojan backfield are perhaps a bit more fast and elusive, Eppard is strictly a straight-ahead, smash-mouth runner who is not afraid of contact.

He wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“It gets the blood pumping,” he said. “It’s fun getting yards and first downs for the team. When I get the ball, I just look at my guards and find the hole. Once I find the hole, I go and I don’t really look for a cut because I run downhill.”

Coach Shipley has come to admire Eppard’s running style, which has produced 233 yards in two games.

“He trust his line and his aiming points,” the coach said. “He is fast, but it’s the way he hits his aiming points. He’s strong and hard to bring down. He doesn’t panic and just gets behind his linemen.”

While his offensive numbers alone were impressive last Thursday, Eppard didn’t get a break while the Trojans were on defense, since he’s also the middle linebacker.

One of the biggest defensive plays of the night came on the first Godwin Heights possession of the second half, when Eppard intercepted a pass to shut down a threat.

“I dropped to the right,” Eppard said about the defensive play. “I didn’t see anybody on my right side so I checked to the left. Then I saw the cross behind me, and I saw the ball coming and just made the play.”

The win over Godwin Heights followed a heartbreaking final-minute loss to Hopkins in Week 1, and Eppard believes that helped motivated him and his teammates last week.

“We talked about how it was like last year,” Eppard said, referring to a number of late-game losses in 2025. “We talked in practice about getting over that hump, and it helped us get the win. Losing those close games is tough because a split-second difference could change the whole outcome of the game.”

Eppard very much wants his senior season to end with at least a playoff berth, something the Trojans have not earned since 2022.

“It’s something we didn’t talk about in previous years,” he said. “This year, it’s a point for us and we’ve made it a goal.”

Something that could help that goal become more attainable would be a win over conference foe Belding on the road this Friday.

It will not be an easy task, because Belding has been the O-K Silver conference bully. The Black Knights have beaten Fruitport 58-7 and 36-7 in the two years they have played as conference opponents.

“It’s huge,” Eppard said. “We’ve been talking about it ever since the Godwin Heights game. We really think this could be the game that decides the conference.

“I’m motivated. This is my last season putting the pads on with my brothers. Obviously, I’m going to try and do my best to win every game. We only have a guarantee of playing nine, but we want some games after that.”