ALMOST – Decatur junior receiver Colby Brown has trouble getting a grip on a pass in last week’s loss to Trinity Christian. Messenger photo by Joe Duty

Not many things went right for the Decatur Eagles in an embarrassing loss to Trinity Christian last week.

The Eagles set out to immediately turn around the mindset among the players and the coaches when they began their preparation for the Springtown Porcupines.

Decatur (0-1) takes on Springtown (0-1) Friday in their first road game of the season. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

“We had a much better practice,” Decatur head coach Kyle Story said. “We were much more focused and things went well.”

Story said Friday’s game was a total team loss, with players and coaches both to blame. They also lost senior Russell Cross for the season with a knee injury. Cross was an integral part of the Decatur lineup, playing inside receiver and punter.

With the adversity the Eagles are facing, Story says it’s time for everybody to respond.

“The kids have decided to step up and answer the call,” Story said. “We told them they could respond like winners or losers. Losers point fingers, go into a shell and don’t respond, or they could step up and be winners and step up like men.

“That goes for everybody. Coaches and players included.”

The task will not get much easier this week with Springtown. The Porcupines feature another passing attack and will spread out the Eagle defense. Springtown is coming off a last-second, 40-37 loss to Liberty Christian.

“They are similar to Graham with their spread attack,” Story said. “It will be another big challenge for us. They are getting some starters back that they didn’t have last week, so we will have to slow them down.”

Offensively, the Eagles will be facing a huge and physical Springtown defensive line.

Story says it will be up to the guys up front if the Eagles are going to make the plays to move the ball down the field.

“They have a really good and big defensive front,” Story said. “We have to do a good job of blocking and not let them smash us. We need to be able to run the ball well.”

DECATUR (0-1) AT SPRINGTOWN (0-1)

7:30 p.m. at Porcupine Stadium

Decatur: Harris Rating 214

Notable: Decatur gave up over 400 yards of offense in the opener to Trinity Christian.

Springtown: Harris Rating 186

Notable: The Porcupines narrowly lost to Liberty Christian, 40-37 last week.

Harris Line: Decatur by 21