LORMAN — Alcorn State is finally on a roll, winning their first Southwestern Athletic Conference Game of the season and boasting the SWAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week in quarterback Timothy Buckley.

The Braves (2-5, 1-1) are looking to continue the good vibes as they travel to Huntsville to take on Alabama A&M on Saturday for a critical Eastern Division game.

The two teams are atop the standings in the East, holding the same record, and the winner will take the top spot.

The Bulldogs are coming off two-straight losses, including their first conference home-opening loss in six years, to Grambling State.

“It was a football game,” said Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones. “If you put too much stock in it, it’s going to be hard to recover. But if you don’t put any focus on it at all, it will be easy to repeat.”

In a 35-21 win against Mississippi Valley State this past Saturday, Buckley completed 24-of-32 passes for 378 yards and two touchdowns against the Delta Devils. He also rushed 16 times for 46 yards and two scores.

“I’ve said all season that it takes about a year to learn this offense, and he’s finally starting to get some of it,” said Alcorn State coach Ernest Jones. “He just had to trust his linemen and trust that they were going to sustain their blocks. He needed to sit in the pocket a little bit longer. That’s why he was very productive.”

Ernest Jones said there was never a problem with receivers getting open for Buckley. They saw plenty of holes and guys waiting, but Buckley would get impatient and take off running.

Buckley will be one of the main focuses for the Bulldogs on Saturday.

“Their quarterback had an exceptional game last week,” Anthony Jones said. “As soon as you start focusing on his ability to throw, they turn around and run 200 yards on you. They seem to have found a heck of a rhythm.”

The Braves recorded 197 yards rushing on 43 attempts, holding Valley State’s offense to 67 yards on the ground.

“When you watch them play defense … they are very sound,” Anthony Jones said. “They will blitz you. They will put pressure on our quarterback. At the same time they will make you sit back and watch some reads, and they’ll create turnovers and mistakes.”

Despite feeling like his team is coming together for the first time, Ernest Jones knows Saturday’s game will not be a guarantee.

He said every team that faces his coaching counterpart knows the Bulldogs will run hard and fast.

“He’s known for running hard and for being very stout on defense so it will be tough to run the ball downfield on them,” Ernest Jones said. “And it will be a challenge for our defense, in particular our linebackers and our front seven.”

To prepare, the Braves have added extra tackling drills to practice, but it is hard to simulate a speedier team.

Still, Ernest Jones said, the Braves have a good shot in a good game, as long as they continue to buy into his system like they did in last week’s win.

“It adds credibility to what we’ve been saying all year. They are beginning to believe what were talking about and what we’ve been preaching to them,” he said. “As you follow us through the season you will see some great things happen.”