Porter’s Chapel Academy’s football season has had some ups and downs, but through them all the road always led right to this spot.

PCA (7-3, 2-0 MAIS District 3-2A) will host Prairie View Academy (9-1, 10-0) in the regular-season finale Friday at 7 p.m. The winner gets the District 3-2A championship and a first-round bye in the MAIS Class 2A playoffs.

“You line up week 10 with a chance to earn a first-round by and play for a district championship, I think any coach in America when you start back in June and July this is what you would wish for at the end of the season,” Porter’s Chapel coach Blake Purvis said. “We’re fortunate to be in this position and have a chance to still control our own destiny.”

The stakes for Porter’s Chapel go beyond a shiny trophy to put in their showcase. If it wins, it will be the No. 4 seed in the Class 2A bracket, get a first-round bye, and await the winner of the No. 5 vs. 12 game.

If PCA loses, it will likely be the No. 8 seed and play next week against Park Place or Prentiss Christian, with a road trip to No. 1 seed Desoto School waiting in the second round.

Add in the chance to heal some bumps and bruises during the bye week, and it’s obvious which option Purvis prefers.

“The first-round bye is huge. It’s a chance to rest and heal up some bumps and bruises. We played a physical game against a very physical opponent last Friday night and we’ve got another very physical opponent this coming Friday,” he said. “Getting a chance to heal up and basically rest for a week is a huge benefit moving forward into the playoffs.”

PCA went on the road to beat Prairie View last season for its first district title in 15 years. Repeating as district champs for the first time since 2004-05 won’t be as easy, Purvis said.

Prairie View returned most of last season’s roster. Its only loss this year came in Week 6 against Class 1A powerhouse River Oaks, which is — or was — undefeated.

On Tuesday the MAIS announced that River Oaks had used an ineligible player and forced the school in Monroe, Louisiana, to vacate all 10 of its wins this season.

River Oaks’ schedule included games against both PCA and Prairie View. The extra victory provided a slight boost to both teams’ power points average that is used to seed the playoff bracket, but not enough to change the scenarios for either one heading into Friday’s game.

“(Prairie View) returned about 99 percent of their roster from last year. They were a playoff team last year and we had to go over there last year for a district championship. They gave us everything we wanted and had one senior last year,” Purvis said. “They’re very much a championship contender on all levels of this thing, and somebody we’ve got to prepare for and play a clean game. You’ve got to take them on as the best there is, because so far that’s what they are.”

Purvis added that having this year’s district championship game at home is an advantage. The Eagles are only 2-3 on their home field this season, but having a big, loud crowd in their corner will hopefully help pull them to .500.

“I think we’ve seen over the last two weeks how big of a difference our crowd can make,” Purvis said. “Hopefully we’ll have a big crowd show up and get behind these guys. They feed off the energy. Get them there early and get these guys fired up, and try to feed off of it and do what we do.”

FRIDAY’S AREA GAMES
All games start at 7 p.m.
Neshoba Central at Warren Central (Radio: 105.5 FM)
Prairie View at Porter’s Chapel (Radio: 104.5 FM)
St. Aloysius at Winston Academy *Radio: 101.3 FM)
Tallulah Academy at Claiborne Academy
Port Gibson at Franklin County
Madison Parish at Delhi Charter