Defense carries PCA to victory over Glenbrook

Published 12:07 am Saturday, October 14, 2017

MINDEN, La. — Porter’s Chapel Academy only had two great drives Friday night.

Two was all it needed.

Glenn Alan Kittrell capped a 93-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead touchdown, and the Eagles used another long drive to get a game-clinching field goal as they escaped with a hard fought 17-3 win over Glenbrook Academy.

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PCA scored all of its points in the fourth quarter and shut out the Apaches after giving up a field goal on the game’s opening drive.

“We started slow again. I think we had 30 total yards in the first half and 180 in the second half. The defense played phenomenal down the stretch,” PCA coach Blake Purvis said.

The victory kept PCA’s MAIS Class AAA wild card playoff hopes alive. It will go into next week’s season finale at home against Park Place Christian with a chance to lock up one of the precious 16 postseason slots and its first winning season since 2008.

PCA (5-4) had won just four games combined in the past three seasons.

“I don’t know if a lot of people, coming off of 1-9, 0-10 and 1-9, expected us to win many games or have a .500 or a winning record. But that’s not where we’re satisfied,” Purvis said.

PCA held Glenbrook (3-6) to only a field goal and came up with two big defensive plays to turn the tide of the game.

The Eagles stopped Glenbrook on a fourth-and-1 at their 7-yard line early in the fourth quarter. That led to the long scoring drive and Kittrell’s touchdown that gave them a 7-3 lead with 9:37 to go.

On the next drive, linebacker Michael Brewer knocked the ball loose from a Glenbrook runner in the end zone and defensive lineman McKinley Skipper fell on it for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

Skipper had seven tackles — including five for loss — a sack and the fumble recovery. Jake Arias had eight tackles, and Michael Tod Andrews had an interception.

After Skipper’s touchdown, PCA got another stop, then drove 55 yards and bled six minutes off the clock. They only got a 32-yard field goal by Jagger Weekly with 1:42 remaining, but the two-touchdown lead held up.

Kittrell finished with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Brayden Ray had 53 rushing yards, most of them on a 39-yard run on PCA’s first scoring drive.