So the Peter Stuursma era didn't start off the way everyone wanted. Not everything great starts out that way.

So the Peter Stuursma era didn’t start off the way everyone wanted. Not everything great starts out that way.

But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

Despite a 44-3 romp at the hands of Monmouth (Ill.) in the season opener, the Hope Flying Dutchmen gave effort right until the end.

It showed on the field, during the game and after.

“We’re a long ways away,” Stuursma said after the loss. “We’ve got to get better, there’s no question about that. We saw the bar that was raised today by Monmouth. I tip my hat to them, that just sets the bar where we need to be.”

Hope forced three fumbles, recovered two and although the majority of the time the defense was on the field, they had one sack and four players had double digit tackles.

At the 51st annual Community Day, fans packed the home stands for standing room only, surrounding the western end of the stadium.

The other side however, was only about 10% full of Fighting Scots fans.

But it wasn’t about how full the opposing stand were or even the home stands. It was about starting a new era under coach Peter Stuursma.

The 1993 Hope grad and former player led the Flying Dutchmen into battle, their first game under his regime.

As the seventh full-time head coach at Hope, Stuursma wasn’t the first to lose the season opener. The last coach to win Hope’s season opener was in 1946, a 38-6 win over Ferris from Al VanderBush.

The others were Sidney Drew in 1918, a 14-13 win over Kalamazoo, Jack Schouten in 1917, a 7-0 win over Grand Haven High, Prof. Mitchell in 1909, a 13-0 win over Wayland High and A.J. Helmer in 1907, a 6-0 win over Holland High.

Hope is sure to go through some growing pains in Stuursma’s first season. He went 3-6 in his first season at East Grand Rapids in 2000, the first year they missed the playoffs since 1991.

But after that, the East Grand Rapids Pioneers made the playoffs in 13 of his 16 seasons, going 162-34. They won the state title in five consecutive years from 2006-2010.

Will Stuursma turn the Hope program around in one game? No and it shouldn’t be expected. A winning football team takes time. It took Stuursma just six years to build a five-time state title winning team.

His comments showed that, but for now, the hype surrounding the team should die down a bit, reality is setting in for both fans in the stands and players on the field.

But don’t give up on the Flying Dutchmen this early, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

“We’ll fix it, we’ll find a way. We’ve got great kids, they’ll find a way. We’re going to keep getting better tomorrow and the next day,” Stuursma said.

Even though the present looks dim, the future looks bright.

— Follow Assistant Sports Editor Chris Zadorozny on Twitter @SentinelZads.