By: Jerome Hand

Morgan Academy lost a tough one Friday night in Greenville falling to the Eagles of Fort Dale Academy 24-7.

The Senators just could not stop Luke Taylor. The senior quarterback for the Eagles rushed for a game high 169 yards on 16 carries to lead Fort Dale to a decisive victory.

Taylor scored three touchdowns, completed five of nine passes for 94 yards, and had an interception for the Fort Dale defense.

He started the game with a 70-yard run on Fort Dale’s first possession.

Zach Kendrick covered the final 11-yards to give the Eagles an early 6-0 lead with 8:11 to go in the first quarter.

On Fort Dale’s next drive, Taylor went in from a yard out on a quarterback sneak to make it 12-0. The Eagles missed all four of their conversions.

Morgan responded with its only scoring drive of the night.

The Senators moved 50 yards to the end zone. Quarterback Peyton Egbert connected with Mason Perkins on a 20-yard TD pass with 2:05 left in the first quarter.

Cooper McKinney hit the extra point to cut the Fort Dale margin to 12-7.

But again it was Taylor carrying the load for the Eagles. He scored on a 12-yard run with 2:32 to go before halftime to make the score 18-7 at intermission.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Fort Dale’s defense controlled the game holding Morgan Academy to just 77-yards on the ground and six first downs.

Ed Williams had 35 yards rushing and Egbert was 10 of 23 passing for 113-yards, on a night where the Senators offense was inconsistent.

The Eagles soared though because of Taylor.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Taylor scored again for the Eagles on an 11-yard scamper to make the final score 24-7.

The Eagles had 353 yards of total offense and held Morgan to just 190.

Fort Dale improves to 6-1 on the season, while Morgan drops to 3-4.

The Senators return to Selma to face Northside Methodist Academy next Friday night. It will be homecoming at Morgan Academy.