Eagles look forward to playoffs, hoping for home-field advantage
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, October 17, 2001
Ft. Dale Academy will be looking for a win this weekend when they travel to Selma to face John T. Morgan Academy, but they will be looking for more than just the win.
"We are going to the playoffs, we know that," said Eagles head Coach Speed Sampley. "But if we win this game, it will give us first place for the area, which will mean we play the first round of the playoffs at home."
The Morgan Senators, with a record of 3-5 have played close games, Sampley noted.
"They have played everybody close," he said. "They are primarily a split-back and veer-option team, but they play many different offenses n from running with four wide receivers to no wide receivers, it is difficult to read them."
Sampley said the Senators are running four different options also.
"We need to make sure we have everyone covered defensively for four different option-plays, especially the midline option, which is changing the way football is played," he said. "When they are running both midline and veer options, it is very difficult to cover everything. This changes how things are done, especially when the quarterback is keeping off-tackle."
Defensively, Morgan is similar to Ft. Dale.
"They run a split-four defense, with options, so we are going to work on running motion to get to the weak end," he said.
The Eagles will have three players still on the injured list: Bryce Landwehr, Brett Paulk and Jeremy Trull.
"Scott Burkett should be back this Friday, at least on the specialty teams," Sampley said. "We are playing him cautiously after the shoulder injury that resulted in him having shoulder
surgery last year n we don't want him to reinjure it again.
The Eagles and the Senators will face each other with a scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday on Dallas Avenue in Selma.