One of the area’s best rivalries took place on Friday night, as Fruitport hosted Spring Lake in the annual Bayou Battle. It was a big lead for Spring Lake, but they had to hold on to win 35-32.
Fruitport scored on the opening drive of the game. Gavin Reames found Camden Farrell, who hauled in the catch and went 70 yards for a touchdown. The lead did not hold for long, as Christian Folkert scored from four yards out. The score was set up by some lengthy passes by Jackson Core. Andrew von Wahlde would give Spring Lake the lead after the first quarter when he powered across the goal line on a 4-yard run.
Early in the second quarter, Spring Lake extended their margin. Jackson Core and Ty French paired up on a 13-yard touchdown pass. Christian Folkert would push the lead farther out with a 5-yard touchdown run. Paschal Jolman would halt the run with a 3-yard touchdown, resulting in the 28-14 advantage for Spring Lake at the break.
Brady Brown booted a 30-yard field goal to trim the deficit to eleven points early in the third quarter. Spring Lake would respond with a pass from Jackson Core to Carter Sabo, a 19-yard touchdown connection.
Fruitport would come back with a 4-yard touchdown run by Cody Nash, bringing the Trojans back within eleven. Gavin Reames and Camden Farrell would start the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass of nine yards. Reames’ two-point conversion run brought the score to 35-32 Spring Lake with eleven minutes to play.
The Trojans had chances to take the lead, but they were unable to convert. As a result, Spring Lake won their fourth straight in this series. Now 4-0 on the year, Spring Lake will face Hamilton next Friday. Fruitport, 1-3 in 2021, gets a matchup with West Catholic next week.
