Fort Dale’s new offense was at the center of Thursday’s scrimmage against Crenshaw Christian, and it performed well in its debut.

In the past, the Eagles have been more of a run-based offense, but they will focus more on the pass this season.

Fort Dale set the tone early, with Hunter Armstrong hitting Todd Burkett for an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage.

Later in the possession, Armstrong connected with Luke Hutcheson for a touchdown, giving the Eagles two scores in 10 plays.

“We started off throwing it well, and we ended up throwing it well, but we kind of drug around throwing the ball in the middle,” said head coach Speed Sampley. “I don’t know if that was fatigue or focus or what, but it’s got to get better.”

The Eagles also had some success out of the running game, which has undergone some changes since the move to the spread.

“The running game is about what we expected it to be,” Sampley said. “We’re still getting used to it.”

While the offense clicked for most of the afternoon, the defense struggled at times.

“We didn’t tackle as well as I had hoped, but that was really only the second time we’ve gone completely live on defense,” Sampley said. “We were getting a lot of guys around the ball, which is good.”

Sampley also said that the scrimmage accomplished its purpose, with everyone getting quality snaps and playing time on film.

The Eagles spent part of Friday morning’s practice reviewing film from the previous day.

“We had some young guys that played well, and nobody got hurt, which is always good,” Sampley said. “They all enjoyed seeing someone else out there, and I was really impressed with Crenshaw. They are going to be a good class A football team.”

Next up, the Eagles will begin preparing for a scrimmage against Morgan Academy, which is set for next Thursday at 7 p.m. in Selma.