There’s an old football saying that football teams improve the most from Week 1 to Week 2. If it proves true this Friday, Porters Chapel Academy might have a reason to celebrate more than a moral victory.

The Eagles lost their opener last week, 14-0 to St. Andrew’s. After giving up 43 points and nearly 400 yards in a single half the week before in a preseason jamboree, however, a close loss and the improvement they showed in it provided plenty of optimism for a PCA team that seemed headed for a long year just days before.

“That’s one of our defensive goals, is to hold opponents to 14 points or less. We probably accomplished 90 percent of our goals defensively,” PCA coach Blake Purvis said. “If the defense continues to play that way, we’re going to be in every game.”

PCA will try to continue its upward trend when it hosts Glenbrook on Friday night. It’s a matchup of two teams both in desperate need of a win and some positive vibes. PCA has lost nine consecutive games, while Glenbrook has lost 10 of its last 11.

Glenbrook was hammered by Copiah Academy, 41-0, in its season opener last week. Despite the shutout and their recent struggles, Purvis said the Apaches are a dangerous team with several capable playmakers on offense.

Wide receiver Joseph Windham is a big target at 6-foot-5, and quarterback Seth Tyler has plenty of ability, Purvis said.

“This is one of those games where we can look good for 70 out of 75 plays on defense, and then five plays can go for 35 points,” Purvis said. “They have the ability to score every time one of them touches the ball.”

That level of explosiveness is something Porters Chapel is seriously lacking at the moment.

The Eagles only had 90 yards of total offense against St. Andrew’s, and haven’t scored a point in six quarters on the field this season. Purvis said the root cause of the struggles is the passing game, which is caught in a vicious cycle.

St. Aloysius (in the jamboree) and St. Andrew’s both stacked the box to stop the run. Since the Eagles couldn’t pass the ball very well — quarterback Garrett Hutchins was just 4-of-9 for 23 yards against St. Andrew’s — that allowed both opponents to shut down the run. Until they can move the ball through the air, Purvis said, that’s likely to continue.

“We have to develop the passing game to help the run out,” Purvis said. “They’re putting seven and eight guys in the box and slowing our run game. We had opportunities, even with eight guys in the box. We had seven runs of five yards or more. Our offensive line is still our strength. But when it’s 5-on-8, it doesn’t matter how strong we are.”

To get the passing game going, Purvis said the Eagles will make some adjustments to their blocking scheme and route combinations to get the ball out quicker. If it works, it should help spark an offense that has only scored 41 points in its last 11 games.

“We just have to get the ball out quick, and the receivers have to work on making plays in space,” Purvis said. “Once you have success doing that, you can loosen things up.”

FRIDAY’S AREA GAMES

All games start at 7 p.m.

Warren Central at Pearl (Radio: 105.5 FM)

Terry at Vicksburg (Radio: 1490 AM and 107.7 FM)

Glenbrook at Porters Chapel (Radio: 104.5 FM)

St. Aloysius at Pisgah (Radio: 101.3 FM)

Sharkey-Issaquena at Marvell Academy

Central Hinds at Brookhaven Academy

Rebul Academy at Kemper Academy

Port Gibson at Independence

Ridgeland at Clinton

• For live scoring updates on Friday night, visit twitter.com/vixpostsports, or facebook.com/thevicksburgpost/