Porter’s Chapel Academy has reached the halfway point of the 2018 football season in a less than desirable spot.

The Eagles have won only one of their first five games, and are coming off a 48-6 debacle at the hands of crosstown rival St. Aloysius last week. They need to run the table to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2008, or at least win four of the last five to finish .500 and have any chance at a wild card berth in the MAIS Class AAA playoffs.

It’s an uphill climb, to be sure, and it starts Friday night at home against Union Christian (1-3).

“We’re only halfway done. There’s still plenty of opportunities to win football games,” PCA coach Blake Purvis said. “As a team, we have to make a turn. We have to change our approach and better our execution.”

PCA’s first five weeks have been a rollercoaster ride of inconsistency. It had a strong team performance in a 36-0 win over Hillcrest Christian and even in a couple of its losses. It has also allowed 30 points or more in three of its five games and was shredded last week.

St. Al scored on its first three offensive snaps and only needed 26 plays to score six offensive touchdowns. On its side, PCA had 121 yards of total offense.

“It doesn’t matter what the game is, when you work all week and don’t get it done it’s very disappointing,” Purvis said. “There is stuff to learn. We’ve got to figure out what we’re missing Monday through Thursday, and what we can get to carry over and get a game plan in motion on Friday. At the end of the day, that one’s over and we don’t have a choice but to move on.”

And moving on brings the Eagles to Union Christian, a Class A team it has beaten four of the five times they’ve played since 2011. PCA won 34-0 last season.

Union is 1-3 this season but has not yet played another Class A team. One of its losses was by three points against Park Place Christian, a Class AAA team that’s in PCA’s district. That, Purvis said, shows the Eagles have their work cut out for them again.

“They’re vastly improved,” Purvis said. “Last year, they had several key players out with injuries and those are players that they have returning this year. They have two talented running backs who also play linebacker on defense. They’re very fast and physical. They’re going to be a challenge for us to defend, and to move the ball against.”