LORMAN &045; It’s probably one of the most over-used coaching clich in history of organized sports, but this time it’s so true.

For Alcorn State, now is the start of a entirely new season.

You can credit much of that to the Braves’ stunning 36-34 win over Southern in Baton Rouge. But with Jackson State losing to Grambling and Alabama State losing to Alabama A&M on Saturday, the race for the Eastern Division title in the Southwestern Athletic Conference was tossed on its ear.

Only Mississippi Valley State has more than two losses, but, shoot &045; don’t go counting out anyone just yet.

&uot;It’s a new season for everybody, especially in the Eastern Division,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said on Monday.

&uot;We’re so happy to be in a position where we’re able to vie for the conference championship if we win the remainder of the game in our conference. We realized it would be difficult to win the Eastern Division with two losses, but to go in and beat Southern gave us a renewed spirit. We feel we can make a difference in our season.&uot;

The win changed everything after the team started out 2-5, and it kept at bay the critics who were starting to call for Thomas’ tenure to end in his sixth season on The Reservation. Saturday’s game was also the second straight year the Braves went to Southern and came away with a two-point win in the rain &045; only this time it counts in the SWAC standings.

But unlike last season, the Braves had a significantly higher sense of urgency heading into the contest against a Southern team that was 7-0, remarkably better than last season.

And the Jaguars record since Oct. 12 of last year? It’s 12-2 with both losses coming to the Braves.

Give the Alcorn defense credit for bottling up a potent Southern offense at time when it needed it the most. Tyrone Parsons came up with an interception on the Jaguars’ final drive of the game, and the defense had key stops at times after struggling earlier in the game.

The Jaguars converted on a fourth down at the Alcorn 1 when Quincy Richard plunged in to give Southern a 34-30 lead, a play set up by Richard’s 40-yard pass to Lionel Joseph to get past midfield.

It was the second straight week the Braves’ defense couldn’t hold on a key fourth-down situation, but this time it wasn’t nearly as convincing.

&uot;You’ve got to give (Southern) credit first,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;It was just that kind of ball game. It just so happened we played very well on defense. We had to hold them on third-down situations, and we did that at times. That goal-line situation was controversial, but that’s the way it goes.&uot;

Parsons’ pick at the end sealed the deal, but the biggest stand of the game for the defense came in the second quarter when the Jaguars’ 19-play, 88-yard drive lasted nearly 10 minutes. The Jaguars mixed the run and the pass to move the ball, got a penalty from Alcorn for 12 men on the field and got a first down on the Alcorn 11.

Kenneth Peoples ran to the 5, and Richard ran to the 2 on third down. Then on fourth Richard rolled out to his left before being chased by ASU defensive end Michael Howleit, and his pass was knocked down by Tim Batts to end the drive with the Braves leading 17-10.

Southern tacked on a field goal before halftime, but the Braves had the lead at halftime, the first time a team has done that to Southern this year.

&uot;That was a key play for us, too,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;It’s just an indication of how hard we wanted the ball game and our will to win the football game. That was a big play for us. They could have gone in a halftime with a tremendous amount of momentum.&uot;

The Braves’ offense, meanwhile, seemed unable to shake its problems of converting in the red zone earlier in the game. Three trips inside the 10 ended in David McConnell field goals &045; one ended at the 6 in the second quarter for a 17-10 lead, another at the 5 in the third for a 20-13 lead and another at the 8 to cut Southern’s lead to 27-23.

But after that they didn’t enter the red zone for the final two scores. Donald Carrie hit Kelvin Clark on a 26-yard TD pass for a 30-27 lead and Charlie Spiller for a 24-yard pass for the winning score.

&uot;You always want to score when you’re in the red zone, but you don’t want to turn the football over, either,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;If the play is there, throw it or throw it out of bounds and get a field goal out of it. We have an outstanding field goal kicker in McConnell, and we didn’t want to take it out of his hands. Southern has a good defense, and to get three points was good. Southern has forced turnovers this year, and that was something they weren’t able to do.&uot;

The Braves now come home for three straight games before ending the regular season Nov. 22 in the Capital City Classic against Jackson State. The homestand starts with Southeastern Louisiana Saturday before hosting Mississippi Valley Nov. 8 and Alabama A&M Nov. 15.

&uot;Let me tell you something &045; when you’re going down the stretch like this, anything can happen,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;Southeastern will come in here and play us hard. With Mississippi Valley &045; throw each other’s records out. That’s a Mississippi rivalry game. A&M is coming in here trying to win the SWAC. Then of course you’ve got to go to Jackson.

&uot;You’ve got to be ready to play, you know what I mean? That’s all I can say about that.&uot;