Fort Dale Academy head coach James “Speed” Sampley spent most of this week happy with his team’s effort.

But not on Friday.

With the Eagles six days into “two-a-days”, Sampley said Friday’s scrimmage in full pads was hard to watch.

“We did not perform very well on offense or defense,” said Sampley. “Some of that’s being leg weary, but we’re lacking mental toughness right now. When we got tired we sort of took a play off. I don’t think we passed the ball anywhere as well as we’re capable. It was just a bad day.

For the bulk of the week, Sampley said Eagles’ receivers looked sharp catching the ball.

Friday, though, was different.

Senior quarterback Hunter Armstrong agreed with his coach’s assessment.

“They really got after us today,” Armstrong said of the defense.

But even the defense wasn’t immune to Sampley’s criticism.

“We jumped offsides and that’s just mental stupidity,” he said.

The bright spots were far and few, said Sampley. He said senior Taylor Loftin did well at nose guard and cornerback Ryan Salter, a tenth grader, also practiced hard.

The Eagles will play a scrimmage game against Crenshaw County next week.

“Maybe they’re (the team) just tired of looking at one another,” he said. “I hope we’re better next week.”