LORMAN &045; Forget about those last three games. Zephaniah Smalley is ready to wipe the slate clean.

Smalley, as you’d guess, is not alone. It’s the entire Alcorn State Braves roster and staff that are forgetting about the last three games &045; all losses, all featuring key ASU mistakes &045; in order to prepare for today’s 6 p.m. contest at Division II Fort Valley State. It’s the start of a new season of sorts, and in more ways than the obvious.

It’s an appetizer for the Braves’ main dish &045; the bulk of their schedule in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

&uot;We’re really trying to forget about all the stuff we’ve done so far,&uot; said Smalley, the Braves’ senior center. &uot;We know we’re a good ball club and can win games. We’re trying to go out and prove to everybody that we can win. We’ve got to stop making the big mistakes. We’re beating ourselves right now. If we can execute the way we know how, we can win games.&uot;

That the Braves can do, and they’ve done it at times so far this season. In both their losses in weeks 2 and 3 they executed at times and played, but that execution was overshadowed by mistakes later in the game that changed the entire outcome.

The two losses to Grambling and Alabama State hurt because the Braves had chances in each to put the game away before turnovers or something of the like turned the game around. In last week’s 60-7 loss at Stephen F. Austin, the Lumberjacks were the better team, although mistakes on the Braves’ part just further widened the gap.

Now the Braves take on Division II Fort Valley State, a team they narrowly defeated last season in Lorman, 10-7.

&uot;We’re not upset,&uot; senior running back Sidney Dumas said. &uot;Teams go through adversity. That’s what makes you stronger. It’s how you deal with adversity that makes you become a man. You have your ups and downs. It’s who’s going to pick it back up, who is going to step up. That’s all it boils down to. We’ve got a junior and senior (-laden) ball club, and I know we’ve got the people to do it.&uot;

The turnovers and short fields for the opposition has the Braves second-worst in the SWAC in points given up at 39.8 a game, second to lowly Prairie View’s 46.2. The Braves also fell into second-worst in total defense ahead of Prairie View, but their turnover margin remains positive at plus-.25.

Ever since that 35-10 win over UAPB the Braves have given up 40 or more points in those three games.

&uot;It’s been tough for us because I expected to do better than what we’re doing,&uot; said defensive end Michael Howleit, the team’s leading tackler and author of 14 tackles against SFA. &uot;But the season has barely got started. The little things are what’s really hurting us. It’s not that we’re that bad. Missed assignments and missed tackles &045; we’ve got to execute and execute better.&uot;

The turnovers have been one thing, but the Braves have yet to get the contributions out of the running game in their last three contests as they did in the win over UAPB.

Just like in several games last season, a productive running game usually resulted in wins.

In the UAPB game, Andrew Burks’ 136 yards was part of a 242-yard night for the Braves on the ground. In the losses since then, as a team the Braves ran for 59 against Grambling, 128 against Alabama State and 62 against SFA.

Burks’ 56 yards against Bama State was the biggest individual total of the three games.

&uot;To be a championship ball club, you have to run the ball,&uot; Smalley said. &uot;We feel we have three of the top running backs in the conference. We feel we can run the ball. Once we get it going, there won’t be no stopping us. We’re just having trouble getting going right now. We’re just trying to get it going, and once we do that it’s going to be like lighting a match &045; we’re going to explode.&uot;

The Braves’ offense will face a Fort Valley defense that put up a good showing in Lorman last year and did well last week in a 35-12 win over Clark Atlanta. The Wildcats, members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, are more known for their ground-oriented offense with preseason All-American running back Duron Croson.

The backfield also features Derrick Wimbush and Jameel Walters, each of whom ran for over 100 yards against Clark.

The Braves will try to contain the ground game without star linebacker Omega Logan, who is out with a knee injury but may have the services of linebacker Dwan Wilson, who went down in the UAPB game with an injury.