Tonight’s home finale for Porters Chapel against Prentiss Christian isn’t a do or die game. More like a do or possibly perish game.

A win locks up a playoff berth for the Eagles (3-6, 2-2 District 4-A). A loss puts the Eagles’ playoff hopes squarely into a maze of tiebreakers that would make the most seasoned attorney grimace in mind-numbed pain.

“We pretty much think we’re already in, but things can happen,” PCA coach Wade Patrick said. “We could still get pushed out. The best-case scenario is win and you know you’re in. You have to have that fire inside that makes you want to play and dominate. Hopefully, that’ll be in there this week.”

The good news for the Eagles is they will have their triggerman on offense, junior quarterback Jonah Masterson, possibly back in the starting lineup after missing action for much of season with a left knee injury. In last week’s 45-6 loss to Manchester Academy, Masterson played in two series and went 6-of-8 for 48 yards.

“I’ve had some (physical) therapy over the past few weeks and I feel great,” Masterson said. “Coach (Wade Patrick) said I might start or I might come in after the first series. I’m good to go. I’ve been out way too long. We threw the first play I was back in, I completed it, and it got my confidence back up.”

That’ll be good news for running back Peter Harris, who despite being a marked man in the backfield, has enjoyed a stellar season. Last week, he was the lone bright spot for the Eagles, rushing for 109 yards on 13 carries and the Eagles’ lone TD, giving him three straight games with 100 yards or more. This season, Harris has 1,110 rushing yards and 13 TDs, averaging 9.3 yards per carry. Although he hasn’t caught a pass in weeks, he also has nine catches for 169 yards and three more scores.

“He’s had a great year and it tells you the type of player he is,” Patrick said. “If we have any kind of a passing game, it’s going to open up the run for him. We’ve got to be able to sustain drives, throw it a bit and keep defenses honest. Even if we don’t complete it, we’ve got to take some shots (deep) to back them off the line of scrimmage a bit. Right now, they’re daring us to throw it. We’ve got to make plays.”

Prentiss Christian (4-5, 2-2) is a near mirror image, schedule-wise, of PCA with wins over Ben’s Ford and Park Place and losses to Newton Academy and Heidelberg Academy.

While Newton is tops in the district with a 4-0 record and has locked up the top spot, the other three spots are up for grabs with only winless Park Place out of the picture.

Ben’s Ford, Heidelberg, Prentiss and PCA are tied for second with 2-2 district records. Tonight, Ben’s Ford battles Newton and Heidelberg takes on Park Place. If Ben’s Ford loses and Heidelberg and PCA win, Heidelberg would finish second, PCA would take the third seed and Prentiss would likely sneak into the playoffs as the fourth seed by virtue of its win over Ben’s Ford on Oct. 12.

For PCA to earn the second seed, the Eagles would need a win over Prentiss, Ben’s Ford would have to beat Newton and Park Place would have to upset Heidelberg .

That’s a lot of ifs and buts. Masterson and his teammates are focused solely on just taking care of business on their end and letting everything else in the district shake out.

“We just want to control our playoff berth,” Masterson said. “We don’t want to rely on what other teams do. If we win Friday, it’s going to be big for us.”