Like a lead in the fourth quarter, Porters Chapel’s playoff hopes are slowly being wiped away. The Eagles now sit at 1-5 on the season and are staring down the barrel of a must-win game Friday against an undefeated Class AA Riverfield squad that has run through the first half of its schedule.
On paper, it’s the hardest game of PCA’s season. It’s also the one it needs the most to have a chance at sneaking into the playoffs as a wild card team.
With just two games left that count toward the power point system used by the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools to determine playoff seeding, coach Wayne Lynch knows his team will have to play one of its best football games to have a chance at beating Riverfield and extending his team’s postseason dreams. He also knows football games aren’t won on paper.
“Any team can be beat and that’s what I’ve been talking to the guys about this week. It’s been tough this year. We haven’t had the numbers. We’ve lost games in the fourth quarter,” Lynch said. “We’ve played well but exhaustion took over. It’s not like they’re not playing as hard as they can or giving it everything they can, it’s just the fatigue and the body begins to give out on you.”
Low numbers and costly late-game mistakes have haunted Porters Chapel all year long, and Lynch knows he has to find a way to close contests like the four winnable games PCA has squandered due to the growing fatigue that accompanies having only 16 players.
The Eagles have lost three of their five games after entering the fourth quarter tied or in the lead, including a key district game against Trinity.
In a 22-6 loss to Wilkinson County Christian, PCA had several red zone turnovers that proved costly and gave up a late touchdown run that sealed the outcome.
“I know we have a team that can play with anybody,” Lynch said. “We’ve just got to find a way to stay healthy and somehow get some energy in the fourth quarter.”
Despite the losses that have piled up this year, Porters Chapel is still battling for one of the last remaining playoff spots in MAIS Class A.
Riverfield will present as tough a challenge as any team this year, utilizing a balanced offense that averages 162 yards in the air and 233 on the ground.
If the Eagles can hang around in the first half and play turnover-free football, taking down the undefeated Raiders becomes more than just a faint hope.
“They haven’t given up. We’ve been talking a lot just about having that belief. Believing you can win,” Lynch said. “We believe we can go there and win, and I believe they’ve bought into it. We’re going to go over there and play the best we can and see what happens.”