Porters Chapel running back Gerald Mims fights for extra yardage in a September game against Sharkey-Issaquena. Mims led the team in rushing and receiving yardage this season. The Eagles finished the year 4-6. (Melanie Duncan ThortisThe Vicksburg Post)

[10/29/03]Porters Chapel Academy coach Bubba Mims spent part of Tuesday afternoon trying to figure out which Academy-A playoff game to watch on Friday.

If everything goes according to plan, it might be the last time for a while.

A handful of big plays and two close conference losses kept PCA out of the playoffs for the fifth straight season and turned the 2003 campaign into a disappointment. But with a talented group of junior high players ready to make their varsity debut next season and a small senior class, there is plenty of buzz about the future for the Eagles.

“I’m real excited about it. It’s looking good,” said PCA wide receiver Kenny Simms, who was second on the team with 14 catches for 277 yards and two touchdowns. “I’ve got that undefeated team coming up beneath me.”

This season wasn’t a total loss for the Eagles, despite a 4-6 record. They beat Conference 5-A champion Tallulah Academy early in the year and played well in most of their losses.

Three defeats were by a total of eight points, including conference losses to Sharkey-Issaquena and Briarfield.

Quarterback Ryan Hoben had his best year in three seasons as a starter, throwing for nearly 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, Humphrey Barlow totaled 140 tackles tops in Warren County.

“Our record was disappointing. We felt like we had a good enough team to make the playoffs, and we were just a couple of inches away,” Mims said. “We played up to the level of our district. We beat them statistically, just not on the scoreboard.”

The lows included the losses to SIA and Briarfield that hurt their playoff hopes, and a crushing 47-0 loss to Deer Creek in the next-to-last game of the season that finished them.

PCA rebounded with a 36-7 win over Humphreys in the season finale that offered a look at the future. With the game well in hand in the fourth quarter, Mims subbed in a lot of the freshmen who will make up the core of the team next year.

PCA’s junior high team has gone undefeated the last two seasons, and the first-team defense has not been scored on. They played well in their varsity debut against Humphreys, and will get plenty of chances to prove themselves next season when only three seniors return.

Just one, center Cameron Owen, is a starter. With Simms and tailback Gerald Mims, who led the team in rushing and receiving, also coming back, it seems as if the sky is the limit for the Eagles.

Bubba Mims said as many as eight starters could be sophomores next year.

“We were really looking forward to this year. But these guys coming up went 16-0 with two district titles and basically nobody has scored on them the last two years,” Mims said. “Whichever district we’re in, we want to be considered a top competitor for the championship.”