lorman — The Alcorn State University football team took a break last weekend and used an open date as a chance to get healthy and work on fundamentals.

It was a valuable week for the Braves to get over some bumps and bruises and prepare for their final stretch run.

“It was a chance to get a few people back healthy,” head coach Jay Hopson said. “It’s always a positive to get your numbers back up. It was a good time to have it during the season, because the wear and tear so far.”

After focusing on fundamentals in the early part of the off week, the Braves shifted their focus to Saturday’s opponent, Mississippi Valley State.

The Delta Devils use a lot of different personnel groups on offense, and are very good defensively, Hopson said.

“They are a very aggressive team that uses a lot of pressure,” he said. “They are a good football team.”

Alcorn will travel to face Mississippi Valley State Saturday before finishing out its season with two home games against Texas Southern and Jackson State.

“Every game is a huge game at this time of the season,” Hopson said. “They are all a must-win for us, and we just look at it like we need to take every weekend one at a time.”

Alcorn (3-5, 3-3) and Mississippi Valley State (2-6, 2-4) will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday.