There is a familiar disclaimer in the financial world reminding investors that past performance is not indicative of future results.

Porter’s Chapel Academy coach Blake Purvis is reminding his team that it applies to football as well.

The Eagles (7-4) will host Park Place (4-6) in the first round of the MAIS Class 2A playoffs Friday at 7 p.m. It’s a rematch of a regular-season game that Porter’s Chapel won 22-20 on Sept. 20, but Purvis said both teams have evolved so much in the past six weeks that that result is meaningless the second time around.

“It’s a long time ago. I think we’ve both changed and progressed, and gotten better as the season goes on,” Purvis said. “I think one of the toughest things to do in sports is to beat somebody twice in the same season. We definitely have our work cut out for us. We’ve basically got to prepare for it like a new opponent, and pick up on the things they’ve changed.”

The biggest changes for both teams, Purvis said, have been in personnel. PCA has shifted several players around to different positions and worked a few new ones, like lineman John Austin White and linebacker Schaffer Bell into the lineup.
Purvis said Park Place has also added some players and wrinkles.

“I don’t know if they were younger guys that have stepped in, but they’ve got some different guys carrying the ball and playing receiver and doing some different things that crete another dynamic for them — especially speed-wise,” Purvis said. “I think they’re a little bit faster than they were. They’ve got some athletes showing up on film that we didn’t see much of the first time.”

Another thing both teams have in common is that they are limping into the postseason. Park Place lost five of its last six games following a promising 3-1 start. Porter’s Chapel lost two of its last three.

PCA’s stretch run showed a troubling trend. The Eagles’ defense stabilized in the middle of the season after a rough start, then allowed an average of 53 points per game in its last three outings.

Purvis said struggles on third and fourth down have led to the backslide.

“Defensively, we’ve just got to finish plays. There’s been some big plays. We force a lot of third downs. We do it good for one or two plays and then give up a big gain or something like that, with a missed tackle or a missed assignment,” he said. “We need to cut down on that, try to avoid the big play, and capitalize when we get people in third and fourth down.”

The good news is that, for all of the points they’ve allowed, PCA has scored enough to stay in every game. It was within one score in the fourth quarter in three of its four losses this season.

The tight games, especially the last two weeks against fellow playoff teams Wilkinson County Christian Academy and Prairie View Academy, have helped launch the Eagles into the mindset they’ll need to succeed in the postseason, Purvis said.

“Two weeks ago, starting with WCCA, we started talking about it then. The road doesn’t get any easier,” Purvis said. “Everything from that game on out, it just gets tougher and tougher week after week. I think that still holds true.”

FRIDAY’S AREA GAMES
All games start at 7 p.m.
p-MAIS playoff games
p-Park Place at Porter’s Chapel (Radio: 104.5 FM)
p-St. Al at Winston Academy (Radio: 101.3 FM)
p-Marvell Academy at Tallulah Academy
Columbus at Vicksburg (Radio: 107.7 FM)
Callaway at Warren Central (Radio: 105.5 FM)
South Pike at Port Gibson
Madison Parish at Oak Grove, La.