Porters Chapel’s Chris Mixon (2) breaks through the tackle of Rebul’s Adam Kitchens after a catch during the first quarter on Friday. (Jon GiffinThe Vicksburg Post)

[9/25/04]Randy Wright tried everything he could think of.

The Porters Chapel coach pulled his starters and put the second team in. He ran just the basic plays. He pleaded with his players to get out of bounds.

Nothing worked. Nothing could stop the slaughter.

Michael Busby threw a touchdown pass, ran for a TD, and scored on an interception return, and Chris Mixon ran for a TD and caught a touchdown pass as Porters Chapel routed Rebul 66-0 on Friday.

Seven different players scored touchdowns for PCA (5-1, 3-0 District 4-A), which totaled 393 yards to Rebul’s 36. Rebul had minus-6 yards of total offense in the second half, and PCA returned three interceptions for scores. A fourth pick set up a short touchdown run by Allen Cassell.

“We weren’t overlooking them, because we knew it was a district game that we had to win to get to the playoffs,” said PCA’s Gerald Mims, who ran for a touchdown and returned an interception for another score.

There was some question heading into the game about whether PCA would overlook the Raiders (1-5).

PCA had a big non-district win against Tensas last week, and faces Sharkey-Issaquena next Friday in a game that will likely decide a playoff berth.

It didn’t take long for the Eagles to give a definitive answer.

Using an unbalanced line, with the tackles split wide and paired with two receivers each, the Eagles confused Rebul and took only three plays to score on their opening drive. Mixon capped the quick march with a 16-yard touchdown run to put PCA ahead 6-0.

“We were prepared for everything but that,” Rebul coach Brad Armstrong said of PCA’s unusual formation. “It threw us off for the first play. I think we reacted really well to that, but the first play they ran our guy attacked to the inside and that gave them the sideline.”

After Rebul went three-and-out, the Eagles took only five plays to score again. Busby ran it in from 13 yards out for a 12-0 lead. Busby struck again for two more scores before the end of the quarter. He took a pitch from Hayden Hales after Hales’ interception and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown.

On PCA’s next possession, Busby hit Mixon on a screen pass and Mixon sprinted through the Rebul defense for a 43-yard touchdown and a 24-0 lead with 28 seconds to play.

Mims scored on a 10-yard run and a 50-yard interception return in the second quarter, and Corey Fuller had a 4-yard TD run as the Eagles stretched their lead to 45-0 at halftime.

“We had an outstanding first half,” Wright said. “We came out and established dominance of the football game. We pulled back on the reins a little bit in the second half.”

Wright spent the second half to keep the score in check, but had little success.

Cole Smith returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the third quarter, and Hales picked off his second pass on the next play from scrimmage to set up Cassell’s 4-yard touchdown that made it 59-0.

Wright called fullback dives up the middle and quarterback sneaks on most of PCA’s fourth-quarter snaps, but the carnage continued. Spencer Pell scored on a 40-yard run and Judd Mims broke a 48-yard run on the next-to-last play of the game to put PCA at the Rebul 2.

Finally, Hales took a knee and ended the game.

“(Wright) wasn’t really trying to hold us back, he was just trying to let the second string get a chance to play,” Pell said. “And they couldn’t stop our second string so we just kept running the football right down their throat.”