Porters Chapel was cruising last May, a few outs from taking the penultimate step in defending its MAIS Class A championship, when the bottom fell out.

Riverfield rallied to win Game 2 of the South State championship series, went on to win Game 3 immediately afterward, and that was that. The season was over for PCA. No repeat, no dynasty. Just the hollow feeling that came with watching another team carry off the trophy they’d all but engraved their names on.

Even with a state championship ring in their back pocket from the year before and nine months to reflect, it’s a loss that still stings.

“It’s made for a long offseason,” PCA coach Jerry Bourne said. “We didn’t make it a secret. We talked about how much it hurt. For the guys on the team, it really added fuel to their fire.”