VICKSBURG &045; It was as complete a victory Porter’s Chapel coach Randy Wright could ask for in a season opener.

The Eagles controlled the game against visiting Wilkinson County Christian Academy, slamming the Rams 49-0 on a steamy Friday night at Eagles Field.

Running back Chris Mixon returned the opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown and then added a 79-yard TD run in the second quarter to key the PCA onslaught. Mixon finished with 236 all-purpose yards.

Equally impressive was the Eagles’ defense, which allowed only 36 yards in total offense, including just one first down after the Rams’ initial drive of the night.

&uot;It was a total team win,&uot; Wright said. &uot;The defense was dominating. We knew from last year that they were a big and strong team, and they like to run between the tackles. We geared up and the kids responded.

&uot;Then, on offense we wanted to take advantage of our team speed. Our team speed is pretty good and it showed tonight.&uot;

WCCA coach Paul Hayles said his team made it a long night.

&uot;A lot of things went wrong right from the start,&uot; he said. &uot;We didn’t want to kick to (Mixon) and we kick it to him. Then, we just didn’t play very well. We didn’t do very good up front. But Porter’s Chapel had a lot to do with that.&uot;

PCA linebacker Chris Mann said the Eagles were prepared.

&uot;They were a lot bigger, but we used our speed to our advantage,&uot; Mann said. &uot;This was five weeks of practice, right here.&uot;

On the opening kick, Mixon had to field a bobbling ball. His initial drop, though, was enough for the Rams to break containment. Once Mixon got a head of steam, it was an easy jaunt for the 78-yard kickoff return.

&uot;It was a strange kickoff and I had to pick it up twice, but I saw a seam and got a couple of good blocks,&uot; Mixon said.

Evan Rogers booted the PAT kick to make it 7-0 just 24 seconds into the game.

Kenny Simms scored on an 11-yard run late in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead. The run was set up by a 38-yard Mixon jaunt.

Mixon, who had fumbled a couple times early in the game, continued to have fumble issues through the second quarter. He lost two fumbles after contact but the Rams couldn’t help themselves, suffering back-to-back turnovers.

&uot;I shouldn’t been in there. My head wasn’t right and I was just hurting us,&uot; Mixon said of his two fumble losses.

The turnover fest finally ended when the Eagles switched to an I-formation.

Simms ripped off a 24-yard run. A bootleg pass by Hales of 32 yards to Cole Smith, set up a 1-yard TD run sneak by Hales. The kick missed, leaving the score at 20-0 with 5:22 left in the half.

Following a three-and-out by WCCA, Mixon came back with his 79-yard run. He took a sweep and cut it back against the grain, outracing a spent Ram defense. Rogers’ kick upped the lead to 27-0 with 2:40 left in the half.

The final score of the half came with 19 seconds left when Hales hit Smith on a 46-yard TD pass off a bootleg fake. The kick was wide, leaving the score at 33-0.

The second half was delayed by 15 minutes because WCCA’s Chris Gann, a fullback/middle linebacker, collapsed with severe heat cramps when the teams came back on the field. Gann, never lost consciousness, and was taken to River Region for observation.

With the game out of hand, the clock ran freely as PCA tacked on three more scores.

Mixon capped his night with a 20-yard TD run while Simms had a 61-yard punt return for a score. Both TDs came in the third quarter, extending the lead to 46-0.