VICKSBURG — Clayton Holmes threw three touchdown passes, including a 25-yarder to Reed Gordon with 2:54 remaining in the ball game, as top-ranked Porter’s Chapel survived a scare from Huntington and held on for a 27-26 win in the semifinals of the MPSA Class A South State Playoffs.

It was a game of missed opportunities for Huntington as the Hounds failed to convert on three two-point conversion runs. Any one of those three would have given them a stunning win over the undefeated Eagles.

Huntington (9-4) was able to run the ball at will on Porter’s Chapel. Led by Josh Lee and Jeremy Randall, the Hounds had 370 total yards on the ground. Lee had 171 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 29 carries while Randall had 124 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries.

But the Hounds’ defense did not have an answer for the Eagles’ passing game. In addition to the game-winning touchdown pass to Gordon, Holmes threw a 53-yard scoring pass to Jeremy Roach in the opening minutes of the ball game and a 28-yard scoring pass to Austin Palmer with less than a minute to go until halftime.

The Eagles also got a 3-yard touchdown run from Josh Perry late in the first quarter as they took a 21-14 halftime lead. The Hounds controlled the action in the third quarter with a scoring drive that took nearly the entire quarter. Lee fumbled the ball into the end zone, but lucky for him and Huntington, Kevin Brown fell on it and the Hounds cut the lead to 21-20 with 38 seconds to go.

The Hounds took the lead on a 4-yard run by Lee with 5:01 to go in the ball game, but just as the previous two times they could not punch it in on the two-point conversion.

Porter’s Chapel, 13-0 and the District 5-A champion, will take on District 6-A champion and defending state champion Glenbrook Friday at 7 p.m. with the Class A South State Championship and a berth in the State Championship game on the ine.