Last week the Fort Dale Academy Eagles had little trouble in their 41-6 thrashing of Sparta.

The Eagles rolled up over 419 yards moving up and down the field almost at will.

This week, however, the Eagles face a much greater task as they travel to top 10 Bessemer.

The Rebels are coming off a close game with Pickens in which they needed a late fourth quarter comeback to put the win away.

Bessemer has built a reputation recently for putting sound football teams on the field.

Luckily, Fort Dale will come into the game off a very successful opening week.

Eagle coach James Sampley said his team intended to stick with the game plan that works against the Rebels.

&uot;We’re not going to do anything different,&uot; said Sampley. &uot;We are just going to try to work on what we do. Bessemer has a real good team, but we are going to do what we do which is run the ball, keep it on offense and keep it away from them.&uot;

Though the Rebels are a 3-A team the game will not be a region matchup for Fort Dale it will be a good measurement as to where they stand with one of the more powerful teams in AISA.

&uot;They are known for the most part as one of the best teams in the state,&uot; said Sampley. &uot;They have a bunch of kids back and they do a good job of getting them ready. Coach Freeman and his staff do a real good job of preparing them.&uot;

Sampley said the key would be stopping the Bessemer backfield.

&uot;They’ve got as good of running backs as anyone in the state,&uot; said Sampley. &uot;When we play on defense we have got to tackle. We can’t miss tackles.&uot;

Sampley said the Rebels close game with Pickens could give people the wrong idea. He said Bessemer was a much stronger team than was shown last Friday night.

&uot;That can be deceiving,&uot; said Sampley. &uot;That’s not to take anything away from Pickens. Reggie Jones, their starting tailback has 250 yards and an 89 yard touchdown and 60 yarder called back. They scored three touchdowns that were called back.&uot;

The Rebels showed vulnerability last week with 140 yards of penalties and turned the ball over four times.

The Eagles hope to take advantage of every chance they can get when they travel to Bessemer Friday.

Kickoff is set for 7:30.