Braves Run Over Jaguars 48-31

LORMAN, Miss. – Senior De'Lance Turner posted the second-most rushing yards in school history, 272, as the ground attack for the Alcorn State University football program could not be stopped in a 48-31 victory over Southern in the conference-opener Saturday at Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium.
 
Turner, from McClain, Mississippi, averaged 13.0 yards per carry for the Braves (2-2, 1-0 SWAC) as he was fed the ball 21 times. He rushed for two touchdowns and also caught one.
 
Turner led the Braves to a whopping 402 rushing yards as a team. Junior P.J. Simmons ran for 60 yards and two touchdowns, and senior Lenorris Footman rushed for 70 yards.
 
Footman, the reigning SWAC Offensive Player of the Week winner, threw for two touchdowns. He connected with senior Marquis Warford on a 14-yard route in the third quarter.
 
Defensively, sophomore Solomon Muhammad shined again with a game-high 13 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. He returned an interception 71 yards in the first quarter. Junior Leishaun Ealey was also in double-figures with 10 tackles which matched his career-high.
 
The Braves trailed 24-10 early in the second quarter when they scored 31 unanswered points to take control and leap in front 41-24. The Jaguars (1-3, 0-1 SWAC) got off to a fast start as quarterback Austin Howard threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns. Howard made his first start in two weeks for the Jags.
 
Southern's Devon Benn rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown.
 
On the first series of the game, the Jags moved the chains three times, but were held to a 35-yard field goal attempt by Cesar Barajas which was good. Southern led 3-0 with 10:27 left in the first quarter.
 
After an interception, SU was threatening again and had it on the Alcorn seven-yard line when Muhammad intercepted a pass in the center of the field and ran it back 71 yards. The Braves tied the game 3-3 on a 39-yard field goal by sophomore Corey McCullough at the 5:26 mark of the first.
 
The Jags regained the lead 10-3 early in the second quarter. It came on a screen pass from Howard to Benn that went 23 yards. The drive was setup after Alcorn mishit a punt that only went three yards on its prior possession.
 
SU added-on with a one-yard touchdown rush by Benn to go up 17-3 with 12:07 remaining in the half. The Jags started the drive with great field possession after a 42-yard punt return by Danny Johnson put the ball on the Alcorn 24.
 
The Braves punched back with a seven-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by plays from Turner. He started it off with a 36-yard rush through the center, and capped it with a 17-yard reception as he carried defenders into the end zone. It cut the deficit to 17-10 with 9:30 left in the half as Turner accounted for 57 yards on the series.
 
The Jags quickly answered with a 48-yard touchdown pass from Howard to Dennis Craig. The screen pass to the right came on the fourth play of the series as SU went back up 24-10 halfway through the second.
 
Alcorn responded with its potent ground attack which resulted in a touchdown and chopped the deficit to 24-17 at the 5:54 mark. The big plays were a 21-yard scramble by Footman on third and four, followed by a 28-yard touchdown rush by Simmons on the left side on the very next play.
 
After a three-and-out by the Alcorn defense, the offense kept powering it on the ground at the end of the half. A 21-yard rush by Turner moved the ball into Jags territory, and a 15-yard scramble by Footman got the Braves into the red zone. McCullough drained a 36-yard field goal to make it a 24-20 game heading into the intermission.
 
On the first drive of the second half, the Braves took the lead for the first time 27-24. It came on a 52-yard rush through the middle by Turner. He ran for 74 yards on the drive as Alcorn continued to pound it on the ground.
 
On Alcorn's very next series, the Braves started with good field position and took advantage with a four-play, 37-yard drive. The scoring play was an 11-yard rush by Simmons through the right as he broke a pair of tackles to increase the lead to 34-24 with 10:54 left in the third quarter. The series also included a 13-yard scramble by Footman.
 
The Braves extended the lead to 41-24 with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter after a 14-yard touchdown reception to Warford. Rushes of 21 and 20 yards, respectively, by Turner setup the score as he was shredding through the SU tackle attempts.
 
Southern got back in it 41-31 after taking advantage of a miscue by the Braves. A bad snap was fumbled, recovered by the Jaguars and returned 19 yards for a touchdown by Aaron Tiller.
 
The Jags got a stop defensively, and tried to keep chipping away, but a 28-yard field goal attempt was blocked by senior Michael Brooks.
 
Southern tried to make one last push late, but on a 4th-and-7, Howard was sacked by Brooks and sophomore Kwanzi Jackson with under three minutes left.
 
Turner put an exclamation point on his night with a 49-yard touchdown rush through the middle as the Braves were trying to milk the clock. It upped the score to 48-31 with 1:56 remaining.
 
Up next, Alcorn will play a non-conference game at Texas Southern at 8 p.m. on Friday. The Braves are 33-18-4 all-time against TSU and are looking to beat the Tigers for the sixth consecutive year.
 
NOTES
- Turner's mark of 272 rushing yards was two-shy of the school record of 274 set by Footman against Southern in 2015. Turner's previous career-high in rushing was 131 yards in the season-opener this year against Miles College.
 
- Alcorn improved to 36-27-2 all-time against Southern. The Braves have on six of the last seven meetings.
 
- The Braves are 1-0 in conference for the sixth year in a row.
 
- In its 26th season at Spinks-Casem Stadium, Alcorn is now 71-52 all-time at home. The stadium opened in 1992.
 
- The Braves entered the game ranked first in the league in scoring with 29.0 points per game and will improve upon their tally.
 
- Muhammad's 13 tackles marked a career-high. His previous best with 10 against Miles. He entered the game ranked fourth in the SWAC in tackles with 8.7 per outing.
 
- Alcorn's captains were senior Timothy Gardner and juniors Quintin Smith and Isiah Thomas. The Braves won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair
Opening Statement
"We played slow in the first quarter. We really didn't execute like we should have. Then, we came out in the second quarter and did what we were supposed to do. The run-game was there for us. Finishing is a big thing we focus on. Our defense came out and played very well. They held them to just one score in the second half. This is a big win for us and hats off to [Southern] Coach Odom and his crew. They are an excellent team. They did a lot of things very well."
 
On the offensive game-plan coming into the game
"Every week you are going to have different game plans. Last week we threw the ball well. This week we came out and we ran. These two guys, Turner and Simmons, came out and ran their butts off. You see them working all week in practice."
 
On what was said to the team at halftime
"We talk a lot about the three Fs: focus, finish and keep fighting. I thought we came out really focused in the second half. We just finished off plays. Just keep fighting. That was the message at half time and they did exactly that."
 
Quoting senior De'Lance Turner
"We started off hurting ourselves. Then, we just made an adjustment on the sideline. The offensive line got their confidence up, they told me just to get behind them and they would open it up for us. P.J. and I did a good job of keeping each other fresh. He was going in. I was going in, and we did it just like that. The offensive line opening up like that makes my job really easy. I owe them pizza. It feels good to win any game but starting off in the conference 1-0 will definitely get our confidence up. We just showed people what we are about to do in the SWAC."
 
Quoting junior P.J. Simmons
"I just tried to stay focused and do what I learned in practice throughout the week. Like coach and De'Lance said, the offensive line worked hard. De'Lance leads by example and I just go in and do my job by playing my roll on the team and keep rolling. Seeing holes like that builds any running back's confidence."
 
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