LORMAN &8212; Even when things didn&8217;t go right, they still turned out right for the Alcorn State Braves (3-3, 2-2 SWAC) Saturday.

Case in point, with the Braves leading 42-15 late in the third quarter, Alcorn quarterback Chris Walker dropped back to pass on a third-and-nine play in Tiger territory only to be intercepted by Texas Southern&8217;s Kedron Dunn. Unfortunately for Dunn and the Tigers, he wound up in a fight for the ball with his own teammate, leading to a fumble, which was recovered by Alcorn lineman Todd Johnson.

The new set of downs led to a 43-yard field goal by Jonathan Williams that gave the Braves a 45-15 lead, effectively ending any chance of a Texas Southern (2-4, 2-3) comeback en route to a 45-23 homecoming win.

Woodville native Charlie Spiller stole the show for Alcorn, catching four passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns, rushing one time for a touchdown and returning a kickoff 63 yards to set up his final score.

Alcorn came out like a bolt of lightning, taking a 21-0 lead with 8:55 still remaining in the first quarter.

The Tigers attempted an onside kick on the opening kickoff, giving the Braves the ball at the 48-yard line. Three plays later, Tony Hobson Jr. found Spiller on a slant pattern for a 31-yard score on a nifty run. Williams added the PAT for a 7-0 lead 48 seconds into the game.

A few plays later, linebacker Lee Robinson forced quarterback Tino Edgecombe to fumble on his own 20 yard line. The ball was recovered by Mark Butler, leading to another score on a six-yard pass from Hobson to Ocie Brown.

The scoring blitz wasn&8217;t over yet, as Creve McCracken blocked a Texas Southern punt, which was recovered by Trosiki Pettis for the third touchdown of the game.

&8220;Coming out the way we did, and playing with intensity and not letting up or letting our guard down, that was something we really wanted to do in this game,&8221; said Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas. &8220;It was something we needed to do for a confidence booster and an ego booster for our team.&8221;

The intensity and execution throughout the day had not been seen in previous games this season, and virtually everyone played well.

Hobson finally seemed on the verge of returning to his 2005 form, completing 8-of-14 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He also scored on a four-yard run. Hobson hobbled off the field in the third quarter with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, and Thomas said he is unsure of the severity of the injury.

Walker picked up the slack when he came in, completing 4-of-6 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown with an interception.

Vernardus Cooper had another good day, gaining 100 yards rushing on 15 carries and catching two passes for 32 yards.

The Braves racked up 432 yards of total offense and held Texas Southern to 211 yards &8212; only 14 yards on the ground on 35 carries.

Thomas credited the improvement with his offensive line coming of age, and also with the improved play in practice.

&8220;A lot of people got a lot of experience over the last few weeks,&8221; he said. &8220;When you replace three offensive lineman, you have some growing pains. They&8217;ve molded into a cohesive unit and grown up. Tony had some growing pains as well at quarterback.

&8220;I could see it in practice. There was more intensity, more people bouncing around. The players were getting after it and getting after each other, and usually when you have good practices it carries over into games.&8221;

The win puts Alcorn back in the thick of the SWAC East race, but Thomas said his team&8217;s only focus is the next game.

&8220;All we&8217;re trying to do is worry about next week,&8221; he said. &8220;Every game is very critical. We&8217;ve got two losses in the conference, so we can&8217;t afford to lose another game. No one else we&8217;ll be playing will be able to afford that, either. It should make things competitive and interesting.&8221;