[9/18/04]ST. JOSEPH, La. Porters Chapel’s shutout streak came to an end Friday night.

Its winning streak barely survived.

Chris Mixon rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns, and Cole Smith returned an interception 48 yards for a score as PCA held off a furious comeback and beat Tensas 27-20.

Tensas rallied for 20 unanswered points in the last 13 minutes, but PCA was able to pick up a pair of first downs and run out the clock.

“We felt like we dominated the football game,” said PCA coach Randy Wright, whose team forced two turnovers and stopped Tensas three times on drives inside the 30-yard line. “We’re proud of the effort we had. They scored a little bit down at the end there, but we held them out of the end zone when it counted and got the job done.”

PCA turned a pair of early turnovers into first-quarter touchdowns and seemed to have the game well in hand with a 21-0 halftime lead.

By the time Mixon broke an 85-yard run with 3:10 left in the third quarter to put the Eagles ahead 27-0, the only question was whether they could complete their fourth straight shutout.

The Chiefs answered the question on their next drive.

Ryan Borsch returned the kickoff 52 yards to the PCA 38, and Cody Hill bulled his way into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown run five plays later to put Tensas on the board with 1:07 to play.

It was the first score PCA had allowed since the second quarter of its opener against Wilkinson County Christian. The streak spanned 15 complete quarters, and stretched over four whole games when time of possession is taken into account.

“We knew right then we could probably come back,” said Borsch, who caught four passes for 39 yards and the touchdown, to go along with nearly 100 yards on returns.

Tensas liked scoring so much, it did it again on its next possession.

After forcing PCA to go three-and-out, Tyler White capped an eight-play drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Borsch with 7:41 to go in the fourth quarter. The extra point was no good, but the momentum had clearly shifted to Tensas.

PCA failed to move the ball again on the ensuing possession, and again Tensas capitalized.

Borsch returned a punt 25 yards to the PCA 33, and the Chiefs drew within a touchdown seven plays later when Will Ratliff scored from 8 yards out.

Tensas opted for a deep kickoff with 2:40 to play, and it never saw the football again.

Busby handed off to Gerald Mims for four straight runs off the right side, and Mims picked up a pair of first downs that allowed PCA to run out the clock.

Vikings demolish Natchez, 63-6

When Lance Reed and his staff took over the struggling program at Natchez High, everyone knew they couldn’t do it without one characteristic.

Patience, and lots of it.

And that’s why Reed or members of his staff did not resort to blowing their tops or finding a scapegoat when things went from bad to worse to absolutely awful in Friday night’s 63-6 loss to Warren Central.

Seven turnovers, two interceptions returned for touchdowns within a minute, two blocked punts and several bad snaps out of the shotgun would have been plenty to push everyone over the edge.

Reed could have caved by either going ballistic or throwing it in the tank. But he opted for neither.

“We’re here for the long haul,” said Reed, whose team has given up more than 50 points in each of the last three games. “We’re committed to get the program in the right direction, and the kids are working their tails off to improve. I’m proud of the effort they displayed.”

It could have been an easy thing to do, particularly how things got so bad so quickly on a night where the Vikings had tons of things going right for them. The Vikings brought pressure on the Bulldogs’ passing game, took advantage of five interceptions and two fumble recoveries and moved the ball on the ground.

The Vikings came up with an interception on the game’s first play when Chico Hunter snagged a Jason Bruce pass. Three plays later Jesse Peddyfoot scored on a 1-yard run just over one minute into the game.

Larry Warner led the Vikings with eight carries for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Mitchell Lewis returned two interceptions for scores.

Tall. Aca. 35, Grawood 18

Craig Clark rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown, and Jonathan Dukes ran for a pair of scores as Tallulah Academy beat Grawood.

Matt Robinson and Hunter Marsh also ran for touchdowns for the Trojans (2-3).

HAHS 19, Heidelberg 14

Hinds AHS rallied for 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a game-winning 20-yard touchdown carry by Marcus McDonald in the closing minutes, to remain unbeaten.

Larry Jones and Austin Divinity also had touchdown runs for Hinds AHS (4-0).

C. Holmes 49, SIA 26

Zack McDaniel ran for 292 yards and three touchdowns, but Central Holmes routed Sharkey-Issaquena (2-3). McDaniel also threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jess Hodnett.

Briarfield 56, Riverdale 8

Jeff King ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries, Stephen Landreneau had 110 yards and two scores to go along with a sack and a fumble recovery, and Briarfield (3-2) routed Riverdale.