Fruitport falls to Kenowa Hills in season home opener

Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com

FRUITPORT- The Fruitport football squad is fielding a less experienced team this season and the early growing pains showed on Thursday during their season opener.

The Trojans had a fourth-quarter lead, but allowed 12 unanswered points during the final stanza that resulted in an 18-10 loss to Kenowa Hills at Doc Pierce Memorial Field.

Fruitport will look to bounce back next Thursday at home against Grand Rapids Christian.

The Trojans were a couple of plays from maintaining their late lead in the game and holding onto victory, but an interception in the end zone was taken back on a defensive pass interference call.

Kenowa Hills responded on the next play with the eventual game-winning touchdown with 6:34 left in the game on a 5-yard touchdown pass.

The Knights added another score to seal the win with just over two minutes to go in the game.

“I think that this is going to end up being a good thing for us,” said Fruitport coach Nate Smith about the loss. “You don’t want to lose and I rather we learn a lesson in a different way, but I think in some ways the guys needed to see how things took place tonight.”

“The effort was there,” Smith said. “The message all week was that we couldn’t let the little things slide and that was what made the difference.”

The Knights marched the ball 75 yards on 14 plays on their first possession that ended with an 8-yard touchdown run by Giles Ansmits.

Kenowa Hills failed to convert the two-point play, giving the Knights a 6-0 lead with 5:30 left in the opening quarter.

The Trojans turned the ball over on their first drive on a fumble at the Kenowa Hill 35-yard line but managed to stop them on its next possession.

Fruitport’s second drive started with a 67-minute delay due to inclement weather.

The Knights continued to have momentum throughout the second quarter and threaten to score just before halftime.

The Trojans denied Kenowa Hills a late first-half touchdown when Kayden Beardsley picked off a pass in the end zone with five seconds left.

Kenowa Hills led 6-0 at halftime.

The Trojans came around offensively on their first possession of the third quarter as quarterback Bradon Dornbos scored on a 15-yard run to take a 7-6 lead early in the second half.

Fruitport added a field goal by Brady Brown from 37-yards out with 23 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Trojans a 10-6 advantage heading into the final stanza.

The Knights took the lead back on their first drive of the fourth quarter, going 80 yards on 13 plays.

Kenowa Hills scored one play after a Trojans interception was erased on a defensive pass interference call.

Juliusz Andino caught a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jack Zegunis with 6:34 left in the game to give the Knights a 12-10 lead.

The Trojans failed to get a first down on their next possession and were forced to punt the ball back to Kenowa Hills with 4:15 remaining.

The Knights increased their lead to 18-10 four plays later with 2:07 left in the game on a six-yard run from Ansmits.

Kenowa Hills failed on its third straight two-point conversion, keeping the contest a one-possession game.

The Trojans managed to drive the ball to the Kenowa Hills 17-yard line with 40 seconds left in the game, but a pair of late sacks turned the ball over on downs with 10 seconds remaining in the game.

Dornbos went 8-for-12 passing for 62 yards, while also leading the Trojans with 74 rushing yards on 19 carries and a touchdown.

DayDay Williams caught four passes for 46 yards while Beardsley had four receptions for 16 yards.

The Knights were led by Ansmits with 133 rushing yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, while Zegunis went 8-for-19 passing for 89 yards with a touchdown and an interception thrown.

Zegunis also rushed for 56 yards on 14 attempts.

Photo/Tim Smith