Eagles prepare for high-flying Colts
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 29, 2007
After what head coach James Sampley called a &uot;sloppy win&uot; against Edgewood, the Fort Dale Eagles have turned their attention to the Hooper Academy Colts.
&uot;Last week was a sloppy game, but sloppy and winning is better than being clean and losing,&uot; Sampley said.
&uot;This week is going to be another night where they’re throwing all night.&uot;
Edgewood tested the Eagles’ secondary in the first game of the season, throwing the ball 39 times.
Fort Dale was up to the challenge, coming away with eight interceptions.
Sampley said they can expect the same type of attack from Hooper.
&uot;Hooper threw the ball about 37 times last week, but they didn’t consistently stick anything together on offense,&uot; Sampley said.
&uot;Defensively, we’re going to use the same basic game plan.&uot;
&uot;Offensively, we’ve got to be more consistent and not turn the ball over as much,&uot; he continued. &uot;We worked on our missed assignments, both offensively and defensively, at Monday’s practice. We also worked on our passing game and pass blocking. We also didn’t tackle too well, so we worked on that, too.&uot;
The game is also interesting because the Eagles faced the Colts in a 7-on-7 earlier in the summer, so the two teams are not total strangers to each other.
&uot;We’ve coached against each other and played against each other for years,&uot; Sampley said. &uot;I’ve seen it before and the kids have seen it before - it all just comes down to execution.&uot;
Like the preseason, injuries are again a concern for the Eagles.
&uot;Blake Mullins rolled his ankle again on Friday, so he’s day-to-day,&uot; Sampley said. &uot;Corey Middleton should be back soon from a strained MCL, but everyone else is good to go right now.&uot;