In its first three games, Porters Chapel Academy struggled in three key areas — special teams, the passing game, and with mental mistakes.

The fourth quarter of Friday night’s game with Trinity was like an anti-highlight reel, with all of those shortcomings on painful display.

The Eagles gave up big plays in all three areas, as well as a 12-point lead, and lost 32-25 to Trinity. The defeat cost them a chance at a playoff berth and pushed them into a do-or-die situation this week against Wilkinson Christian.

PCA (1-3, 0-1 District 4-A) can still earn a wild card berth in the MAIS Class A playoffs no matter the outcome with WCCA. But a fourth consecutive loss, and the underlying reasons for the losing streak, would mean the Eagles need to right things in a hurry before the season slips away.

“We had an opportunity to win the game,” PCA coach Wayne Lynch said after the loss to Trinity. “We had it in our grasp and came up a little bit short. We just have to regroup and get ready for Wilkinson County.”

PCA’s biggest struggles this season have come on special teams. Against Trinity, it didn’t allow a return touchdown for the first time this season, and also recovered a muffed punt that led to a 1-yard TD run by Zac Morgan that gave PCA a 25-13 lead with 7:32 left in the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, however, the Eagles gave up a 52-yard return. Trinity quarterback Kevontaye Caston threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tommy McCoy two plays later.

PCA’s offense took the next step in the team’s collapse. It committed three penalties — two were declined — during a three-and-out series, and also dropped a pass that would have resulted in a first down. Trinity got the ball back and marched 50 yards for the tying touchdown with 4:25 to go.

PCA’s next series included two more penalties and a sack that led to a third-and-32 from its own 10-yard line. Lynch said the mistakes took his team out of its comfort zone of running the football and protecting the lead.

“It killed us. We were running the ball, but when you’re backed up first-and-30 you can’t run the football. It really hurt us,” Lynch said.

On the third-and-32, Morgan completed a 30-yard pass to Javontae Frye and Lynch elected to go for it on fourth down with just over two minutes left. Morgan, however, bobbled a handoff to running back Logan Pickering. Morgan recovered the fumble, but it was behind the line of scrimmage anyway and Trinity took over on downs.

Trinity drove down the field and scored the winning touchdown on a 3-yard run by Cade Wells with 14 seconds left.

Afterward, Lynch said he felt the decision to go for it on fourth down was the right one. Pickering had a hole off the left side, but the fumbled handoff blew up the play.

“If we execute the play, we get the first down. We ran it on them the whole second half. We were running the ball at will. If we made the handoff, we get the first down and keep the ball, and run some more time off the clock,” Lynch said. “Our punts weren’t gaining us much net yardage anyway, so I just felt like it was the right call. You live with it, and you just have to move on from it.”