Eagles rally to knock off Cottage Hill
Published 12:00 am Monday, October 17, 2005
Fort Dale quarterback Casey Weston managed to sneak into the end zone from a yard out with 2:26 left in the game to give the Eagles a 20-14 comeback victory over a gritty Cottage Hill Christian team in Mobile Friday night.
Weston's score capped a 14-point turnaround for the Eagles to keep their hope alive to host a first-round playoff game with the area victory.
Trailing 14-6 early in the third quarter, Fort Dale running back Tim James knotted the game by himself with a 1-yard run and the two-point conversion run with 3:54 left in the quarter.
James finished the night rushing for 216 yards on a possible school record 45 carries and two touchdowns. James rushing total accounted for but 64 yards of Fort Dale's total offense for the night.
James put Fort Dale on the board first in the game with 4:04 left in the opening quarter. He capped a 14-play, 63-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone to give the Eagles (6-2) a 6-0 lead.
Cottage Hill responded by getting into the end zone through the air.
The Warriors (3-4) took the lead with 9:34 left before the half on a 12 yard pass play for the 7-6 advantage before padding their lead with 9:10 left in the third quarter.
After returning a Fort Dale punt to the Eagles' 15 yard line, Cottage Hill needed just a couple plays to build their lead to 14-6 on a 25-yard touchdown strike.
Then it was left up to James and the Eagles ground game to grind out the victory.