Faith stymies Eagles
Published 12:00 am Saturday, October 8, 2005
Jon Mothershed scored two touchdowns in the second half on runs of 29 and 18 yards, and Jay Joiner added another TD on a 65-yard run as the AISA No. 6-ranked Faith Rams shut down the No. 8-ranked Fort Dale Eagles Friday night 27-12.
After losing an area game to Morgan in week four, Faith (5-1, 3-1) head coach Robby James knew his team couldn't afford another area loss and still have a chance of playing at home in the playoffs, and despite some key mistakes, including three fumbles, the Rams were able to hold the Eagles (5-2, 3-1) to only one first down in the second half and rack up 282 yards on the ground to keep their home-field advantage hopes alive.
”At the half we were definitely in the game,“ said Eagle head coach James ”Speed“ Sampley, whose team trailed the Rams by only two points at the break. ”But we came out in the second half and caught the opening kickoff on a knee at the seven yard line and the rest of the game we never got across mid-field.“
Things looked good for the home-standing Eagles early in the first quarter when junior defensive back Mika Jones scooped up a Ram fumble and raced 43-yards for a touchdown. The Eagles' kicker was smothered on the PAT giving Fort Dale a 6-0 lead, but it would be short-lived as Faith QB Timothy Walker hooked up with Blake Walley on a 64-yard pass play for a touchdown. The PAT was good to put the Rams in front.
The Eagles answered when senior running back Tim James, who posted 142-yards on 22 carries, took the handoff from Eagles' QB Casey Weston on his own 30-yard line, swept right, then cut to the middle of the field and raced 70-yards for a TD. The two-point try failed, but the Eagles held a 12-7 lead. The Rams struck quickly again on their first play from scrimmage as Joiner bolted 65-yards to give the Rams the lead at the half.
”This was the sloppiest game we've played all year, but our guys played hard and never quit,“ said Robby James, whose team tallied 11 penalties for 90 yards. ”We've got the makings of a good football team, we've just got to eliminate the mistakes.“
The second half was all about field position, something the Eagles were never able to get.
”The defense held and played well for a while,“ Sampley said. ”But eventually you give the other team that kind of field position and they're going to break loose and score. That fullback of theirs (Mothershed) is a three-year starter and the trap play killed us all night. It wasn't a lack of defense that lost the game, it was a lack of offense.“
The Eagles posted 204-yards of total offense as Weston went 6-for-13 for 64-yards and one interception. Peter McGowin added 18-yards on four carries.
Brady Newton led the defensive effort with 12 tackles as Jones, Barry Boan and Corey Johnson each recovered a Rams' fumble.
Fort Dale travels to Mobile Friday for another key region game with Cottage Hill, while Faith hosts Hooper.