When the Ft. Dale Academy Eagles travel to Hope Hull this Friday to face Hoover Academy, they will have to remember and execute their play assignments, according to Head Coach Speed Sampley.

The Eagles' head coach said the success this week for his team will depend on their ability to read the plays as the Colts execute them.

"Hooper runs multiple defense fronts, and it is extremely important for our guys to know their blocking assignments," Sampley said. "They must be able to adjust from the line of scrimmage, as needed."

Sampley said the Hooper line would be strong.

"They have two good defensive tackles, and a whole bunch of good linebackers that can run to the ball," he said. "They also have a bunch of guys that can run a split back veer and just keep chipping away with their running and diving."

Sampley said the Colts just keep trying to push their way through, until they push their opponent out of the way.

"One thing we will have to be very cautious of with Hooper is that their team gets very excited when something good happens, and it just makes them a lot tougher to play," Sampley said. "We played two quarters against Hooper in the jamboree, and we lost, 7-0."

Sampley said he would have to see a lot of improvement this week during practice.

"We had what was undoubtedly the worst practice I have seen in my three years here at Ft. Dale on Monday," he said. "There was absolutely no concentration or thinking whatsoever."

Injuries are not a problem right now for the Eagles, according to Sampley.

"Everyone is pretty healthy right now - Garrett Luckie is back in pads at practice for the first time since the spring sessions," Sampley said. "They all have some dings and bruises, but nothing major to hinder their play."

Regarding last Friday's game against Pike Liberal Arts, Speed said he felt good about the Eagles' first string, but has some concerns with the second string.

"Our first team offense scored all but once during their play, and our first team defense was right there, on the money," he said. "But our second string did not play like they should have - that disturbs me, because some of them will have to play regularly throughout the season - they are going to have to tighten up."

Sampley said a particular area that needs work this week in practice is his specialty teams.

"Our specialty teams were just not special last week - we are working on that now," he said.

The Eagles and Colts will face each other in Hope Hull Friday night, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.