Late Tuesday afternoon, about 30 minutes before practice was scheduled to begin, roughly 15 Porters Chapel football players — two-thirds of the team — sat huddled in front of a television in the school’s fieldhouse.

To view Porters Chapel playoff video, click here.

Playing on the screen was a DVD of last week’s playoff game between Sylva-Bay and Glenbrook. As the action unfolded, the Eagles studided and dissected it like NFL Films analysts. One pointed out a defensive tendency for Glenbrook. Another mentioned how talented Glenbrook’s running backs looked. A third, watching the film for the fifth time, urged his teammate with the remote to rewind to a particularly impressive play.

A few minutes later, PCA coach Randy Wright walked in and shut off the TV. The team, after all, was about to watch it again in its entirety as part of its normal Tuesday routine.

Clearly, as the Eagles (13-0) prepare to face Glenbrook (11-2) in the MPSA Class A South State championship game tonight, focus will not be a problem.

“This group wants it really bad. That shows,” Wright said, adding of the extra film study, “They didn’t just start doing that. They’ve done that all year long. We’re not here by accident.”

PCA staked its claim as the top-ranked Class A team in The Associated Press’ private schools poll by running roughshod over opponents this season, and as one of the MPSA’s top programs by reaching the semifinals for the third time in five seasons. More impressively, PCA has done it with a string of vastly different teams.

The PCA squad that lost in the second round at Glenbrook last season was an overachieving bunch powered by a strong running game. This year, the Eagles have been more balanced and explosive on offense, stifling on defense, and deadly on special teams with five kick returns for touchdowns. Offensive lineman Stewart Williams said this year’s team has also gelled better than the 2007 edition, something that has played a big role in its success.

“We’ve played more as a team. When we do get our heads down, it’s not that hard to get back up. I don’t think it’s hard to see that and recognize our record and see how far we’ve made it,” Williams, a senior, said. “It’s been great playing with these guys. You never know what it’s going to be like from one year to the next, and it’s turned into a success.”

Over the course of five straight playoff appearances, all of PCA’s teams have shared one common thread — an inability to get over the final hump.

PCA reached the Class A semifinals in 2005 and the Class AA semis in 2006. Wright is hoping this is the team that finally takes the next step.

“We’ve won 54 games in the last five years. That’s been an outstanding accomplishment for this football team. But we really need to take that next step to establish the program at the level we’re trying to achieve,” Wright said. “It’s been a great run and we’ve had some really good football teams. But we’d really like to finish this off.”

Glenbrook knows a thing or two about how to do that. After beating PCA 26-8 last season, the Apaches went on to win the Class A championship and returned eight starters on either side of the ball for their title defense. They haven’t lost to a Class A team since the 2006 playoffs, and haven’t allowed more than 18 points in any game this season.

Glenbrook’s offense, which averages 31.3 points a game, has also been nearly as explosive as PCA’s. The Apaches scored 26 points in their season-opener against Tallulah, and a total of seven in two losses to Class AA schools Riverfield and River Oaks. In their other 10 games, they haven’t scored less than 33.

Although PCA has held the top ranking in the AP poll since the early part of the season, it might only be because that poll doesn’t include the MPSA schools based in Louisiana or Arkansas.

“Glenbrook is, without a doubt, the best football team we have seen this year. This is a big-time challenge for us,” Wright said. “They do everything well. They are well-coached, well-disciplined. I can’t find a weakness anywhere.”

While Wright tried to put his team in the underdog role, Glenbrook coach Jerry Almond wasn’t so quick to pencil his squad into next week’s championship game.

“We’re just going to ship the trophy to them. They’re that good,” Almond said with a laugh. “Obviously, if you’re undefeated at this point of the year you’re pretty dang good. There’s not a lot of holes there.”

Glenbrook might have a few holes this week, though. It platoons two quarterbacks, Hunter Lepper and Jake Byrd, and both have been hobbled by injuries. Byrd, who is the team’s leading receiver when he’s not playing quarterback, twisted his knee late in the 33-14 win over Sylva-Bay. Almond said Byrd will play tonight, but he and a number of his teammates were sore after last week’s physical win.

“Sylva-Bay pounded on us all night. We look like a hospital ward instead of a football team,” Almond said.

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com.