ITTA BENA &045; Something happened up at the Valley when things were going bad.

The coaches changed the team’s pregame routine, and it’s worked ever since.

Mississippi Valley has won three straight games heading into Saturday’s home contest with Alcorn State, and the Delta Devils feel much better about how they’re playing than four or five weeks earlier.

After losing more games in the second half than they could stand, the Delta Devils are finally finishing people off and earning wins.

&uot;I think the guys are understanding what the coaches have been saying all year,&uot; Valley head coach Willie Totten said. &uot;I don’t know if that’s the reason we’ve been playing so well. We changed our game preparation, and I’ll tell you &045; we’ll continue to do that. They’re ready when they hit the field.&uot;

You can bet a Jerry Rice jersey the Delta Devils will be ready Saturday when they host the Braves in the annual matchup of these two in-state schools. The buildup with the Braves the week of the Valley game may not be as big as the Jackson State game and the Capital City Classic, but the connections go deep in this one.

Alcorn defensive coordinator LaTraia Jones was let go as head coach at Valley before Totten’s hiring. Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas was an assistant there during the hey-day of the early 1980s when the Delta Devils were dominant.

Thomas also goes back a ways with Totten and members of his staff.

&uot;The thing that concerns me with Mississippi Valley &045; I coached nearly everybody on that football staff,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;They have seen me work, and they know my tendencies and know what we like to do. They especially know what we like to do in certain situations on offense, defense and special teams.

&uot;I knew Coach Totten as a player and a head coach. He will have his team prepared. They’ll be focused and prepared to play like there’s no tomorrow.&uot;

Now the Delta Devils may look a little more dangerous than about a month ago. Totten’s club struggled through the first six weeks of the season without a win despite leading many of those games at halftime.

They led 17-7 over Southeastern Louisiana before losing 33-17, led Jackson State 16-10 in the fourth quarter before everything unraveled in a 31-16 loss and led Alabama 20-17 in the fourth before losing 33-20.

Against Prairie View, the Delta Devils trailed 14-0 at the end of the first quarter before getting on a roll to get the 42-34 win.

&uot;It was the second straight week we spotted somebody 14 points and were able to come out with a win,&uot; Totten said. &uot;It shows how much this team has matured. They’re finding a way to put the ball into the end zone. I think we’re turning a corner, but we’ve got a long way to go.&uot;

The biggest surprise in the win over Prairie View may have been out of the quarterback position. Aries Nelson, the Mississippi State transfer who arrived at Valley just before the start of the season, sat out with a shoulder injury suffered the week prior against Texas Southern in favor of Curtis Kemp.

Kemp stepped in against Prairie View and completed 14 of 28 pass attempts for 197 yards and four touchdowns. Three came in the third quarter when the Delta Devils transformed a 14-0 deficit to a 23-21 halftime lead.

&uot;We always ask our quarterback not to win a game but to manage a game,&uot; Totten said. &uot;(Kemp) did that. He did everything we asked him to do. Aries will be at full strength this week. We’ll have to see. With Curtis Kemp playing so well, we’ll have to see how we do that thing.&uot;

The Delta Devils also got a huge game out of sophomore linebacker Tyler Knight, who finished the game with 13 tackles, four tackles for loss, 3 1/2 sacks and one hurry. His 81 tackles on the season is just ahead of Alcorn outside linebacker Dwan Wilson, who is third with 76.

Jackson State’s Joseph Scott leads with 101 tackles.

&uot;It’s going to be a hard-fought football game,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;You can put both teams’ records in the garbage can. Both teams are going to be focused. I’m concerned about their quarterback and what they do. We caught literally hell the last game when they came down to Alcorn. It came down to the fourth quarter when we were able to make things happen.&uot;

The game is also similar to the last time the Braves made the trip to Itta Bena. In 2002 the Delta Devils were playing for pride the Alcorn was hanging on by a thread at making the SWAC Championship, and this time is no different.

That result was a 23-6 Valley win that may have been more one-sided than the score sounded.

&uot;Prairie View was a much-improved team, but we’re a much-improved team also,&uot; Totten said. &uot;I told my guys we’re playing for the second half of the season. We’re trying to build something positive to go into next year.&uot;