PEARL — Porter’s Chapel Academy clawed its way back from a terrible start to earn a huge victory on Friday.

Jase Jung carried the ball 32 times for 300 yards and three touchdowns, and Hunter Simms had eight tackles and a key interception as PCA beat Park Place Christian Academy 22-20 in its MAIS District 3-2A opener.

Porter’s Chapel rallied to win after falling behind 14-0 early in the first quarter.

“It’s huge going 1-0 in the district. We still control our own destiny,” PCA coach Blake Purvis said. “I told the guys before the game that they’re the defending district champs and they’re going to get everybody’s best shot. Everybody wants to knock them off and take that crown from them. Park Place gave us a great punch tonight. Our guys just really, really battled.”

PCA still trailed 14-0 at halftime, but got the second-half kickoff and drove down the field for a short touchdown run by Jung. The teams traded scores on the next two possessions, and then a defensive play turned the tide.

Simms intercepted a screen pass to give the Eagles the ball inside the 30-yard line late in the third quarter. They drove in for Jung’s third touchdown to tie it, and the two-point conversion run by Jung made it 22-20.

Two long drives and a defensive stop in the fourth quarter sealed it for the Eagles.

Chad Fuson led PCA’s defense with 14 tackles. Auston Moore added nine, Jung and Conley Johnston had seven each, and Henry Slayton and Morris Bailey had five each.

“It was probably the worst way you could start a football game, all the way through the first half. It just didn’t go our way. But they kept their composure and battled. We made some halftime adjustments and had a 22-6 run in the second half,” Purvis said. “There were a lot of times early on where those guys could have shut it down. They could have given up with all the adversity that was going on and they played through it. They were resilient and it paid off for them.”