Eagles clipped by Prairie View

Published 12:50 am Saturday, October 2, 2021

Porter’s Chapel Academy tried to mess with the best on Friday night. It wound up beaten and bruised, just like all the rest.

Prairie View Academy scored 60 points in the first half, with touchdowns coming on offense, defense and special teams, and crushed Porter’s Chapel 70-18 to clinch the MAIS District 3-2A championship.

Prairie View (7-0, 3-0 District 3-2A) remained undefeated by beating a district opponent for the third week in a row.

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“We knew going over there it was going to be tough. They’re the No. 1 team in 2A for a reason, and they showed it,” Porter’s Chapel coach Blake Purvis said. “They can run, they can throw, they play good defense and special teams. They have all the makings of a championship football team.”

Despite the loss, PCA (4-3, 0-2) still has the makings of at least a playoff football team.

It will finish the season with home games against Prentiss Christian and Tallulah Academy, with a long road trip to Christian Collegiate mixed in. If the Eagles can win at least one of those, they should secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2014.

“It’s not the end of it for us. We’re still right in the thick of it,” Purvis said. “Our three losses have come against teams that are a combined 19-2. We’ve lost to the top three teams in 2A. We’ve just run into three really good teams. We have to put it behind us, find the weaknesses that they exposed, and just like the last two games we dropped, figure out how to bounce back.”

Tyler Washington was a bright spot for PCA on Friday. The senior running back rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown, and moved into second place on the school’s career rushing yardage list.

Willie Rogers and Taylor LaBarre also scored rushing touchdowns for the Eagles, who had more than 200 rushing yards as a team. Prairie View simply overwhelmed them early, Purvis said.

“We had a couple of turnovers in the first half. We gave up a punt return touchdown in the first quarter and we had a fumble with a scoop and score. We just made mistakes early and they jumped out,” Purvis said. “It was one of those games.”