Football | 10/4/2017 8:43:00 AM

Braves Set for Thursday Night Showdown at Alabama State on ESPNU

Alcorn Game Notes | Live Radio | Live Stats

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Having not lost to a SWAC East Division opponent in back-to-back years, the Alcorn State University football program will put its division streak on the line Thursday when it travels to Alabama State for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff at ASU Stadium.
 
The game between the Braves (3-2, 1-0 SWAC) and the Hornets (0-4, 0-1 SWAC) will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Eric Clemons and Jay Walker on the call. The contest can also be heard on 91.7 FM or wprl.org with Charles Edmond as the voice of the Braves.
 
Alcorn is seeking its ninth consecutive victory over a SWAC East Division foe. It is looking to beat ASU for the fourth straight year, and have held the Hornets to under 20 points in every game during that span.
 
The Braves are coming off a wire-to-wire 24-17 win over Texas Southern after taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Alcorn rushed for 244 yards as a team, and senior De'Lance Turner totaled 115 of them.
 
Junior defensive back Isiah Thomas turned in a career outing with 13 tackles, 3.0 tackles for a loss and an interception. He went on to win SWAC Defensive Player of the Week honors, and was the sixth Brave in five weeks to be recognized by the league.
 
Alcorn opened conference action two weeks ago with a 48-31 victory over Southern. Turner rushed for 272 yards which was the second-most in school history. He tallied three touchdowns including two on the ground and one receiving.
 
The Braves are quarterbacked by senior Lenorris Footman. He leads the SWAC in both passing (234.8 ypg) and total offense (287.4 ypg). Defensively, sophomore linebacker Solomon Muhammad ranks top-five in the league in both tackles (8.6 per game) and tackles for a loss (5.5 per game).
 
As a team, the Braves rank first in the SWAC in scoring (31.8 ppg), total offense (452.8 ypg), first downs (97), third down conversions (48.6%) and fewest sacks allowed (5). Alcorn's 48.6 percent on third down conversions ranks 11th in the FCS.
 
Conversely, the Hornets lead the league in opponent third down conversions, limiting the opposition to just a 35.4 success rate.
 
ASU is coming off a bye week, but opened conference play with a 34-0 home loss to Prairie View A&M. Redshirt-freshman quarterback Kobie Jenkins has thrown for 429 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the season.
 
Cornerback Jeffrey Hill, a junior, is top-three in the league in passes defended with 1.25 pass break-ups per game.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn is 22-18 all-time against the Hornets.
 
- Footman ranks No. 8 all-time in school history in both passing touchdowns (29) and rushing yards (1,774). He's 10th in passing yards (3,545). This season, Footman leads the SWAC in both passing (234.8 ypg) and total offense (287.4 ypg).
 
- Against McNeese State, Footman led all of FCS that week with a career-high 424 passing yards. He completed passes to eight different receivers, threw three touchdowns and also caught a touchdown on a trick play.
 
- Turner leads the SWAC and ranks top-five in the FCS in yards per carry with 8.6. He's also the conference leader in rushing (111.8 ypg), touchdowns (6) and all-purpose yards (145.8 ypg).
 
- In the season-opening 50-21 win over Miles College, Turner rushed for 131 yards and averaged 14.6 yards per carry. His 88-yard TD run was the longest in school history. Alcorn scored six touchdowns in the game; Footman accounted for three of them with two on the ground and one in the air.
 
- Junior Marquis Warford, a threat on both kick returns and punt returns, ranks second in the conference with 142.0 all-purpose yards per game. He ran back a punt 72 yards for a score against Miles College.
 
- Six different receivers have caught touchdown passes for Alcorn this season. Senior Norlando Veals ranks third in the SWAC in both receptions per game (4.8) and receiving yards (85.4 ypg). Warford is fourth in the league with 4.2 receptions per game, and fifth in receiving yards (48.2 ypg).
 
- Sophomore Corey McCullough, who is both the kicker and punter, leads the SWAC with 43.0 yards per punt which also ranks top-15 in the FCS. He's second in the league in both scoring (7.8 ppg) and field goals made (7).
 
- The Braves moved up two spots to No. 4 in this week's BOXTOROW HBCU Coaches Poll. Alcorn is also receiving four votes in the FCS Coaches Poll.
 
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