FRUITPORT – After back-to-back weeks of letting opportunities for victory slip away, it looked like the Fruitport Trojans might finally capture that elusive third win of the season.

But it wasn’t meant to be. The Trojans let a late lead slip away and fell 27-23 to Holland on Friday in an O-K Silver conference matchup.

The Trojans led 23-15 in the fourth quarter, but a pair of late touchdowns pushed the Dutch in front in the first ever meeting between the two teams.

Fruitport still had a chance to win in the end, getting the ball with more than a minute left on the clock. But the final drive included two runs for no gain, two incomplete passes and a costly 13-yard dead-ball penalty after the second down play.

The Trojans finally turned the ball over on downs and the issue was settled in an unsettling way.

“It’s just little things we work on, we work on, we work on, and then we make a mistake,” said Fruitport head coach Nate Smith. “We had two massive penalties in the last two minutes that were just inexcusable. We didn’t show any composure.

“I think (the players) just get caught up in the moment. We’ve got to slow down so they understand situations.”

Several Trojans had good games, including defensive back DayDay Williams, who had a pair of critical interceptions that kept Holland from putting extra points on the board.

Bradon Dornbos, Fruitport’s former quarterback turned do-it-all weapon, was a force on offense, rushing for nearly 150 yards with a pair of touchdowns.

Friday’s loss drops the Trojans to 2-6 on the season. They will close out the year next week at home against Kelloggsville, with one final chance to get a win and give the seniors a happy sendoff.

“In some ways it’s about keeping the team together,” Smith said about preparations for the final game. “It’s easy to start pointing fingers and bickering, but I don’t expect that from this group. This week will be a week of focusing on the seniors, getting them opportunities to do what they can do, and sending them out with a win.”

It was a back-and-forth game, with Fruitport’s strong rushing attack and Holland’s pass-based offense going toe-to-toe.

Holland struck first on the first drive of the game with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Amari Powell to Tailen Luna on a fourth-down play. The two-point try failed, leaving the Dutch up 6-0 early in the contest.

After a Trojan punt, the Dutch again drove downfield, but Williams’ interception at the goal line prevented Holland from scoring again.

On the ensuing drive, Fruitport marched 92 yards on 11 plays to take the lead. Dornbos had a pair of big fourth down runs on the drive, including the 17-yard touchdown run to cap it off.

He ran in the two-point try, as well, to put Fruitport up 8-6 with 8:02 left in the second quarter.

Fruitport drove to the Holland 21 with 49 seconds left in the first half, but turned the ball over on downs. The Dutch took advantage, quickly driving to the Trojan 25, which set up a 41-yard field goal by Asher Folkert as time expired.

Holland led 9-8 at halftime.

On Fruitport’s first possession of the third quarter, Dornbos broke free for a 61-yard touchdown run to put his team back on top. The conversion was no good, leaving the score 14-9.

Holland responded on its next drive, using a 48-yard TD pass from Powell to Luna to regain the lead at 15-14.

Fruitport then embarked on a methodical 13-play scoring drive that took over seven minutes off the clock. It ended with Riley King nailing a 33-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, putting the Trojans up 17-15 with 11:56 to play.

Holland was threatening to take the lead back on its next drive when Williams came up with another big interception at the goal line to end the threat.

Two plays later, Fruitport’s Frankie Kotecki broke free for a 65-yard rushing touchdown to extend the lead. The extra point attempt was no good, however, keeping it a one-score game at 23-15 with 6:17 to play.

Holland responded with a touchdown on its next drive, on an 11-yard run by Jacob Torres, to pull within 23-21 with 4:42 to play. A two-point run attempt, which would have tied the game, was stifled by a group of Trojan defenders including Dornbos, Caden Carrillo and Angel Krueger.

The Trojans had a chance to run the clock out on their next possession, but Holland’s defense made a couple of big stops and forced a punt with 2:01 to play.

After a big pass play, Torres ran in the go-ahead score from three yards out to put Holland up 27-23 with 1:26 left on the clock.

Fruitport got the ball back with time and three timeouts, but went four-and-out, allowing Holland to go into the victory formation.

Dornbos led the Trojans with 142 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Liam Campbell had 20 carries for 118 yards, while Kotecki had seven carries for 114 yards and a TD.

Quarterback Brady Hanson completed 3 of 5 passes for 42 yards, with Williams on the receiving end of all three completions.

Williams, Dornbos, Easton Fett and Caden Teeter led the defense in tackles.