Porter’s Chapel Academy had just clawed its way back from oblivion when it was sucked into a black hole.
Union Christian scored three touchdowns — two of them with its defense — in the final three minutes of the first half Friday night to blow open a tight game, and went on to beat PCA 58-28.

PCA had cut a 23-point deficit to eight in the waning minutes of the second quarter when Union Christian (2-3) returned an interception and a fumble for touchdowns, and added a 57-yard TD reception by Nick Evans to go into the half with a 50-22 lead.

“It is deflating,” PCA coach Blake Purvis said. “It’s some mental errors and a few mistakes, and it quickly turns around when you’re facing a team with dynamic playmakers like they have.”

Evans also scored on three touchdown runs to counter a PCA offense that was effective despite the lopsided score.

PCA quarterback Luke Yocum completed 8 of 13 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown, while Michael Tod Andrews caught five passes for 151 yards. The pair hooked up for a 45-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Carter White ran for 101 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, and Wade Dickard had 48 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Jake Arias also scored a rushing touchdown. In all, the Eagles finished with 340 yards of total offense.

“Our passing game was working and we felt like we had an opportunity to get it back to a one-possession game. We felt good about what we were doing offensively,” Purvis said. “A couple of mistakes there turned detrimental to us. That’s been our M.O. all year. We’ve got to eliminate those mistakes. Our mistakes were down tonight. They were just costly and came at critical times.”

The loss might not have ended PCA’s playoff hopes, but it certainly diminished them. The Eagles’ record dropped to 1-5, and they would need to win the rest of their games to finish .500 and have any chance at the postseason.

“We still have to take it one week at a time,” Purvis said. “For the first time since Week 3 I felt like our offense got things rolling. Any time you experience success moving the ball, it gives you confidence going forward. We did a lot of good things tonight. The mistakes were just very costly.”