Peter Harris dreams of playing big-time college football.

Or small-time college football. Or junior college football. Really, any sort of college football will do.

Coming from Porters Chapel Academy, a Class A member of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools, getting enough attention from college coaches to earn an opportunity to realize the dream is difficult. In the middle of sending out highlight tapes and making phone calls, however, Harris will get a chance to show his stuff for a live audience.

The senior PCA running back reports today for a week of practice leading up to Friday’s MAIS All-Star Game at Mississippi College. He hopes the exposure he garners will be enough to raise a few eyebrows and get a few college coaches to give him a call as recruiting begins in earnest over the next six weeks.

Because of the random nature of all-star games — players often play out of position to fill spots, or get limited workloads to ensure everyone gets playing time — Harris also believes the work he puts in before the game is more important than what he does in it.

“That’s where it all starts, is practice. Everybody’s trying to earn a spot and you have to go and take what you want,” Harris said. “I’ll leave it on the field. Actions speak louder than words.”

Harris’ actions this season spoke volumes.

A role player during his first two years at PCA, he emerged as the team’s biggest offensive weapon this fall. He rushed for 1,559 yards and a school-record 21 touchdowns. Throw in his work as a receiver and kick returner, and Harris amassed more than 2,000 all-purpose yards and 27 touchdowns. He was a unanimous selection as the District 4-A most valuable player.

“I didn’t even put him up for that award. The other coaches just gave it to him. That shows what other people thought of him,” PCA coach Wade Patrick said.

Now, Harris — who is also an honor roll student in the classroom — needs to show he can play at a high level. It’s a big leap from small-school high school football to even the tiniest of colleges. Just playing at a college stadium, in front of a crowd of more than a few hundred people, will be a big adjustment, he said.

“I’m ready to see how a college atmosphere is. I’ve never played in front of a big crowd,” he said with a smile.

Harris, who will play for the South All-Stars, won’t be the only person with ties to Porters Chapel participating in Friday’s all-star game.

Vicksburg native John Weaver, the offensive coordinator at Madison-Ridgeland Academy, will serve as an assistant coach for the North All-Stars. Weaver was PCA’s head coach for the 2010 season and had a previous stint there as an assistant.

Central Hinds lineman Jacob Hall, who attended PCA’s middle school, will play for the North.

Hall’s Central Hinds teammate Landon Corkren, a running back and linebacker, will also play for the North.