The Fruitport football team is getting a rare opportunity to play some dirty football on Friday, in a very unique environment.

The dirty part means infield dirt, the type they use at professional baseball stadiums.

Instead of playing their scheduled road game at Comstock Park High School, the Trojans are getting the fun opportunity to play the game at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park.

Tons of area sports fans have been there at least a few times, but for those who know nothing of baseball, the stadium is the home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the high Class A farm team for the Detroit Tigers.

Before this season, the stadium had not hosted a prep football game since 2019.

Most of the makeshift football field will be laid out on the outfield grass, but a portion of it will include the dirt secions of the infield, according to Fruitport head coach John Shipley, who visited the field with other officials on Tuesday.

‘It’s going to be a really cool experience,” Shipley said. “It’s kind of like that old school Oakland Raiders facility, where they used to play in the outfield, with part of the field kind of on the infield. I would say it’s about 60 to 70 percent grass, and the rest is dirt.”

The Trojans, of course, play their home games on the artificial turf at Doc Pierce Field, and some of their road games have been on turf, as well. So they’ve been practicing on grass this week to prepare for game conditions.

But there really is no way to prepare to play in the dirt – or mud, as it may be, if Friday’s rainy forecast turns out to be accurate.

“We’re just going to have to work extra hard, pound our feet into the dirt and run hard,” Shipley said. “Unfortunately we can’t practice on our baseball field, because we would tear it up.”

Don’t be fooled by CP’s record

Regardless of the surface they are playing on, the Trojans, 5-2, expect to have their hands full with Comstock Park, which comes into the game with a deceptive 3-4 record.

After opening the season with a 47-31 win over NorthPointe Christian, the Panthers lost four games in a row, but one loss was by 13 points, and the other two were by less than 10 points.

Comstock Park currently has a two-game winning streak, with recent victories over Kelloggssville (34-15) and Holland (51-21). The Panthers will be playing with a definite purpose, because despite their record, they are currently 29^th in Division 5 in the state playoff rankings, and the top 32 make the postseason.

According to media reports, their top offensive threats include 6-foot-5 junior wide receiver Henry VandenBerg, who scored three touchdowns against Holland, and senior running back Nolan Meinke, who is averaging 116.7 yards per game.

The Trojans are 2-0 against the Panthers in the past two years, since the teams have been meeting as O-K Silver conference opponents. Fruitport won 35-14 last year and 30-27 in 2024, but Shipley is very wary of Comstock Park.

“To me, they are definitely a playoff team,” Shipley said. “They are a lot better than their record shows, They are running a new defense this year and executing it at a high clip. Their offense has some weapons as well. We are going to have to have a good week of preparation.”

Playoff picture promising

Speaking of playoffs, after winning four straight games following their 1-2 start, the Trojans are currently very much in the thick of things.

They enter their Week 8 game ranked 25^th in Division 4, ahead of seven other teams that would also make the playoffs if the regular season ended today.

Fruitport has been building momentum every week. Their winning streak began with a 21-3 victory over Holland, followed by blowout wins over Kelloggsville (42-0), Holland (39-14) and last Friday against Calvin Christian (42-6).

The Trojans could easily be 7-0. Their two losses, to Hopkins and Belding, were by a combined 11 points, and both games were heart-stoppers that were decided in the final minute.

After Comstock Park, the Trojans will finish the regular season with a game at NorthPointe Christian (currently 2-5), so they should be in pretty good shape in terms of making the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

But Shipley is well known for insisting that his players keep their eyes squarely focused on the next opponent, and he really isn’t interested in talking about the playoffs right now.

“Our kids have done a good job of that, staying focused on what they doing for today,” he said. “We are just focused on what we can control, making ourselves better for tomorrow, so we can beat a red-hot Comstock Park team.”

Impressive rushing stats

Of course much of the Trojans’ success in piling up points has to do with their deep and versatile running game, and it was dominant again last Friday against Calvin Christian, piling up a total of 275 yards.

The leader of the ground game was senior quarterback Brady Hanson, who finished with 109 yards on four carries, highlighted by a 65-yard touchdown run.

“Brady can spin it (when passing), but he can also do some dynamic things carrying the ball,” Shipley said.

A look at the season stats tells us just how deep the Trojans’ ground game really is. They have four players with at least 200 total yards, plus one who is very close to 100.

The main guy, of course, is bruising, straight-head runner Josh Eppard, who leads the team with 780 yards, including 13 touchdowns, on 126 carries this season.

Senior Liam Campbell 297 yards, including six touchdowns, on 36 carries; sophomore Johnnie Kempker has 216 yards, including one touchdown, on 26 rushes; while Hanson has 203 yards, with one touchdown, on 29 carries.

Alan Jackson has 91 yards, including four touchdowns, on 13 carries.

“Each of our guys brings their own unique skill set, but it all starts up front for us, with the offensive line setting the tone,” Shipley said. “We can distribute the ball and get it to our skill guys in different ways, but those guys would be the first to tell you it’s because of the offensive line.”