Last week’s tie against Morgan didn’t count for the Fort Dale Eagles, but this Friday’s game against Prattville Christian marks the start of the season.

Fort Dale had an easy time with Prattville Christian last year, winning 48-6, but head coach Speed Sampley expects the Panthers to put up more of a fight this year.

“They’re running the Tony Franklin spread system this year, and they are much better than they were last year,” he said.

The Eagles struggled with their own spread offense against Morgan, and that’s something Sampley said they need to improve on before Friday.

“Obviously, we’ve got to catch better than we did last week,” he said. “We also need to limit the penalties and not do anything to help them.”

Sampley also said the team needs to be fundamentally sound.

“We’ve got to play well, and we need to win in all three phases,” he said.

The game is set for 7 p.m. this Friday in Prattville.