[10/18/04]On Sunday afternoon, Porters Chapel Academy coach Randy Wright and the Eagles started watching film on Tri-County.

It was new to the players, but to Wright, it’s all he’s been thinking about for two weeks.

Wright, in his first season as PCA’s head coach, can claim the school’s first district championship Friday night with a victory over Tri-County in Flora.

“We’re going to gear up and do the best job we can do as a coaching staff to get ready for Tri-County,” Wright said. “We know our guys are going to be ready to play. It’s a big game, one of the biggest we’ve played here in a long time.”

Porters Chapel and Tri-County each enter the contest at 8-1 and are both coming off runaway wins on Friday. PCA scored 27 first-quarter points and cruised to a 52-6 win over Veritas. Tri-County blasted Rebul, 55-6.

“We need to shore up some areas, but I think we’ll be ready,” PCA quarterback Michael Busby said. “We were hoping at the beginning of the year to play for a district championship.”

Tri-County is no stranger to big games. The Rebels played for the Academy-A state championship in 2000. They have played for seven state championships and won two. The last time the team missed the playoffs was in 1995.

PCA, meanwhile, is in the playoffs for the first time since 1998. It’s just the third playoff appearance in school history, and the Eagles have never won a playoff game.

“We’re going over there with nothing to lose,” said Wright, whose team can secure a home playoff game with a win. “If we can get a win over there, it will be huge because we will play at home in the playoffs.”

If the Eagles lose, they will travel to DeSoto Academy in West Helena, Ark.

“We want to get a win, not only for the district championship, but to be able to host a playoff game for the first time in school history,” Wright said.

The Eagles lost their first game of the season to Wilkinson Christian before reeling off eight straight victories. Over that stretch, the Eagles have outscored those eight opponents 345-38.

“We have to fine-tune the machine,” said PCA’s Kenny Simms, who scored three touchdowns one each on a run, catch and kickoff return against Veritas. “… We have to come out focused every day in practice. We have to be ready to play like we know we can.

“From (Tri-County’s) scores and stats, they are extremely good. I really do think we can beat them.”

Kickoff in Flora is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The first round of the playoffs is scheduled for Oct. 29.