The road to the playoffs requires no map for Porters Chapel. Beat Central Hinds on Oct. 19, or Benton on Oct. 26, and the Eagles are in. It’s simple and requires no confusing power point formulas or head-scratching tiebreakers.

Until then, the Eagles can work on a fallback plan with two games that are meaningless in one sense, yet very meaningful in another. PCA plays Adams Christian next Friday, a Class AA school that can help PCA gain a few extra power points if it can win.

The other contest is tonight at home against Heidelberg (5-0), ranked No. 1 in the Clarion-Ledger’s Academy-A poll. A win would not only help PCA in terms of power points, but also give the Eagles a sense of how they’ll stack up against top competition should they reach the postseason.

“They’re very balanced, very big up front. They’re probably the best team we’ve seen this year,” PCA coach Randy Wright said. “They’ve won six state championships over there. They’ve got a lot of tradition.”

Heidelberg’s last state title came in 2003, but it went just 14-16 over the next three seasons. First-year coach Judd Johnston has the Rebels turned around this year, getting them off to a 5-0 start in which they haven’t been held under 21 points in any game.

“I don’t pay attention to stats, polls or any of that stuff. If you don’t take it one game at a time, you’re not going to do well,” Johnston said. “This is our number six goal, and that’s the way I look at it. If you get to thinking you’re better than anybody you play, anybody can get knocked off.”

PCA will take its shot tonight, and comes into the game on a roll. After losing two of its first three games, PCA has won three straight.

“We focused better and quit playing around in practice,” PCA lineman Brad Pennington said. “We started taking everything seriously and got our heads on straight.”

The Eagles are in shape in the power point standings.

Two teams from the North and South half of the Class A bracket make the MPSA playoffs as wild-card teams based on a power point system.

PCA was seventh in this week’s rankings, and five of the six teams above them are in first or second place in their districts. The top two teams in each district are guaranteed playoff spots.