The Oak Mountain Eagles got caught up in a &8221;trap game&8220; Friday night.

Coming off a big win last week over Pelham, and facing two tough games against Thompson and Hoover the next two weeks, the un-focused Eagles lost 13-10 to the Sparkman Senators.

The contest was a defensive struggle, with neither team able to gain more than 200 yards offense.

Even in defeat, Eagle coach Jerry Hood had praise for his squad.

&8221;The defense was strong all night,&8220; he said. &8221;(Alex) Foreman and (Trent) McKnight each had interceptions and Perry McCallum on the defensive line played really well.&8220;

Oak Mountain opened the scoring when Ryan Shoemaker hit a 48-yard field goal in the first quarter to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.

Both defenses played tough the remainder of the half, and the Eagles took that lead to the locker room at the break.

The score remained the same until Sparkman quarterback Whitney McKinney connected with Josh Brown on a 65-yard pass play in the third quarter to give the Senators their first lead of the game at 7-3.

In the fourth quarter, Oak Mountain was able to tilt the seesaw back in its favor.

Foreman’s interception put the Eagles in good field position.

Oak Mountain was able to move the ball and set up a first and goal from the 7-yard line. The next three plays netted one yard and left the Eagles with fourth down and six.

Hood and his staff made the tough decision to go for 6 points, and not only did the Eagles go for it, they ran a trick play.

Carlos Anderson took the ball on a halfback option, and threw a six-yard scoring pass to John Cubelic.

Shoemaker hit the extra point, making him 19 for 19 on the season, to put the Eagles back on top, 10-7.

It looked as if Oak Mountain was ready to put a win in the books when they lined up to punt with just over a minute left in the game.

However, Sparkman’s Taron Ryce broke through the line to block Shoemaker’s kick.

He picked up the ball and ran it into the end zone for Sparkman’s go-ahead score.

&8221;We missed an assignment and the kid made a great play,&8220; Hood said.

On their final drive, the Eagles were victimized again by Rice, when he picked off a pass to slam the door shut on the Eagles.

Next week, Oak Mountain (5-2, 4-1) hosts Thompson (1-6, 0-5) and Hood said he realizes the Eagles need to do better.

&8221;If we don’t improve, we’re looking at a long road. I fully expect our kids to bounce back,&8220; he said.

With only three games remaining the Eagles are in third place in Region 6 and have not clinched a playoff spot yet.