Fort Dale falls to Knights

BY SCOTTIE BROWN

The Greenville Standard

 

Despite a herculean effort from the Fort Dale Academy Eagles the Northside Methodist Academy Knights took charge of the matchup defeating the team 42-14, ending the Eagles’ chance at the playoffs.

The Eagles fell to 2-6 for the season and 0-4 in the region after the loss.

Fort Dale Academy football head coach James ‘Speed’ Sampley said the team’s offense had performed well in the outing but allowed the Knights key scoring opportunities with several fumbles and turnovers.

“We had twice as much offensive output as they did, and we didn’t score but 14 points, and they scored 42,” Sampley said. “That’s what happens when you fumble the ball and turn it over.”

Fort Dale has struggled with ball control throughout the season, and Sampley said the team would continue working consistently in this area.

“We work on snapping the ball to the quarterback, but we are still having a hard time with snap, which is causing fumbles,” Sampley said. “Of course, most of our fumbles with our running backs have been when they’re trying to get extra yardage, but they’ve got to secure it during that. We scrimmage at practice to try and prepare for that, too, but we have had a hard time doing what we’re supposed to do with the football.”

The Eagles look to host the undefeated Monroe Academy Volunteers Friday. Sampley said the Eagles would continue to focus on getting better and playing a good game of football heading into the competition.

“We’ll go back to work on Monday, and we’ll work on fundamentals and work on our game plan and try our best to get out there and try and learn to secure the ball which will help considerably,” Sampley said.

“Of course, we need to tackle better. We have had a couple of times where teams have score touchdowns off just bad tackles. So, we’ll continue to work on it, and see if we can’t get better at.”