Two games into the season, the Victory Christian football team has not had the chance to learn much about how it performs under pressure. Eagles head coach Andrew Pace is hopeful it will stay that way Friday night when Victory Christian hosts Mississippi Phoenix Sports Academy.

The Eagles (1-1) rolled over Success Unlimited Academy 52-6 in their Sept. 7 season opener, then were defeated 47-0 last week by Jacksonville Christian Academy. Friday’s game in Columbus will be Victory Christian’s first contest against a team from Mississippi — five of the Eagles’ seven opponents play in Alabama.

“I’m hoping we can get at least a couple touchdowns up on them and stay that way,” Pace said. “From the scouting reports we’ve seen and watching that team play, as long as we stick together as a team and do what we’re supposed to do, we should be fairly good to have a positive outcome.”

Senior quarterback and middle linebacker Hayden Huff is the Eagles’ two-way star, and Pace praised his leadership ability in addition to his strong play on the field.

“He’s come up and made some really good plays just because of what he’s read,” Pace said.

Pace also singled out senior receiver and defensive back Kayden Barksdale, as well as freshman defensive end and tight end Alex Taylor and junior running back and defensive end Jackson Wallace.

Mississippi Phoenix Sports Academy, based in the Jackson suburb of Ridgeland, has two shutout wins over opponents unidentified by MaxPreps, which designated one of them as a non-varsity opponent. The school also played to an 18-18 tie against West Memphis Christian and lost 56-34 to Tuscaloosa Christian.

“(Our team) has a lot of good camaraderie with each other,” Pace said. “They’re able to push themselves. When one’s down, they do well at getting another person up.”