BELDING – The Fruitport football team was 13 seconds away from doing something no O-K Silver conferfence team had accomplished in more than four years
Instead, the Trojans walked off Belding’s Rudness Field on Friday night with another heartbreaking loss.
After Fruitport erased a 13-point deficit and took its first lead with 32 seconds left in the game, Belding answered with an 18-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining to defeat the Trojans 19-14.
Belding entered the night having won 25 consecutive conference games since 2022, and the streak was extended by one.
Fruitport has now lost two of three games this year under heartbreaking circumstances in the final minute.
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The loss dropped Fruitport to 1-2, both overall and in O-K Silver onference play, while Belding improved to 3-0.
Despite the result, Fruitport showed how far it has come under first-year head coach John Shipley. The Trojans lost to Belding 58-7 in 2024 and 36-7 last season, but this time they pushed the Black Knights to the final play.
“It’s a really good football team, and they do a heck of a job with their program,” Shipley said about Belding. “Our focus is on us, what we’re building, and controlling what we can control. I’m so proud of the way our kids responded. There were so many things that went our way and didn’t go our way tonight, and our kids just kept fighting.”
The Trojans’ ability to respond was tested immediately.
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Belding senior running back Cam Larsen broke through the middle for a 68-yard touchdown on the Black Knights’ first offensive play of the game, giving Belding a 7-0 lead just eight seconds into the contest.
Fruitport responded with the type of long offensive drive that’s becoming a team trademark. The Trojans controlled possession with a 14-play, 64-yard effort that lasted nearly eight minutes, but an incomplete pass on fourth down left them without points.
Fruitport’s defense kept the game within reach. Senior linebacker Alan Jackson recorded five tackles on Belding’s second possession, including one for a loss, before senior Josh Eppard made the stop on fourth down to end the drive.
Belding eventually extended its advantage to 13-0 on senior Ethan King’s 2-yard touchdown run. King entered the game with 12 touchdowns through two games, including six in each contest, but Fruitport kept him out of the end zone after his second-quarter score.
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The Trojans threw an interception late in the second quarter and went into halftime trailing 13-0.
Fruitport was intercepted again early in the third, but the defense forced a three-and-out to prevent Belding from capitalizing.
Fruitport finally broke through late in the third quarter. Senior quarterback Brady Hanson helped move the Trojans downfield with two completions and a 28-yard run before Eppard scored from close range, cutting the deficit to 13-6 with 1:30 remaining in the quarter.
Meanwhile, the defense continued to keep the Trojans alive.
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Belding possessed the ball for approximately 12 minutes on its ensuing drive, which was extended once when a punt touched a Fruitport player, became a live ball and was recovered by a Black Knight.
The home team drove back into Fruitport territory, but Eppard stopped Belding’s quarterback for a loss on fourth-and-1, giving the Trojans one final opportunity with 4:39 remaining in the game..
This time, Fruitport took advantage.
Hanson led the Trojans 74 yards in 13 plays, converting a pair of fourth downs along the way. Eppard finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with 32 seconds remaining, before powering across the goal line again on the two-point conversion.
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Fruitport led 14-13 and a very big win was seemingly less than a minute away.
But a late mistake changed the game.
A 50-yard kickoff return by Belding, plus a 15-yard facemask penalty on the play, gave the Black Knights possession at Fruitport’s 30-yard line with 24 seconds remaining. Belding needed just 11 seconds to capitalize, as quarterback Tyler Simon connected with Tyler Rye for an 18-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left.
Fruitport got the ball back, but Hanson’s final deep pass fell incomplete, and the Trojans suffered their second loss this season that was decided in the final minute.
For Shipley, however, the result did not erase what his team showed against a team that has dominated the conference for years.
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“We’re right there,” Shipley said. “The last four years have been pretty rough against Belding, and our kids showed that when they believe in each other and lean into our core values, we can play with anybody. I truly believe that.”
Hanson said the Trojans’ close bond with each other will carry then forward.
“We’re one connected brotherhood, and we play for each other,” the quarterback said. “We’re a selfless group. We truly believe we can beat anybody and get anything done.”
“We have six more games ahead of us, and we’re looking to get into the playoffs. We’re going week-by-week and controlling what we can control.”
Eppard led Fruitport with 57 rushing yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns, while Hanson rushed seven times for 62 yards and completed 5 of 9 passes for 66 yards.
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