LORMAN — Alcorn State rushed for a school record 500 yards en route to a 44-10 thumping of Alabama A&M.

The win also clinched the Southwestern Athletic Conference East division title for the Braves.

“It is a surreal moment,” Alcorn State head coach Jay Hopson said. “I think about all these seniors with it being senior day and happening to be a SWAC East championship game. I just think about what all these young men went through and the journey to get to this point, it is special. It was a fun day of football.”

Alcorn State took control of the game early and never gave Alabama A&M a chance to fight back.

The Braves struck first with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Lenorris Footman to Marquis Warford.

It was the first of three touchdowns on the day for Warford.

Warford then pushed the lead to 14-0 in the second quarter on a 35-yard touchdown run.

“It was the same thing I saw every day in practice,” Warford said. “The scout team gave us the best look possible, and it was the same look we got in the game.”

After an Alabama A&M field goal, Darryan Ragsdale took off on a 75-yard touchdown run to put the Braves up three scores at 20-3.

“I just saw green grass and hit it,” Ragsdale said.

It didn’t take long for the Braves to strike in the second half as Warford scored his third touchdown of the day less than a minute into the third quarter on a 67-yard run.

Warford finished with 118 yards rushing while teammates Ragsdale and Footman added 125 and 142 yards, respectively.

“It was a pretty good day today,” Hopson said of running the ball. “All the running backs ran hard and Lenorris had some nice runs. It was a solid team effort. The offensive line blocked well and it was just a great job all-around.”

While the Alcorn offense was busy scoring, the defense wasn’t slacking, as the Braves limited Alabama A&M to just 156 yards in the contest.

“I thought they played really well,” Hopson said of the defense. “We’ve had a couple games now where we were good in all three phases.”

Alcorn had the Bulldog quarterbacks running most of the day because of a violent pass rush. The Braves finished the game with eight sacks.

“I thought we rushed the passer well,” Hopson said. “That is really becoming the strength of our football team. Defensively, we are young, and that was one of my biggest concerns coming into the season. I think maybe around Week 2, I realized that it may actually be a strength.”

Alcorn capped their scoring in the third with touchdown runs from Arron Baker and Footman. Haiden McCraney also added a field goal.

Alabama A&M was able to reach the end zone in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard run, but the game was already out of reach for the Bulldogs.

Alcorn State now turns their attention to in-state rival Jackson State in the final game of the regular season.

“We are pumped for it,” Footman said. “The next game is always the biggest game because it is the next game. We try to play every game like it is the championship game, so when we get there, it is just a normal game for us.”

The Braves will be heading to the SWAC championship following the Jackson State game to take on Grambling, who beat the Braves in overtime earlier this season.

“It has been eating us up,” Warford said of that loss. “We want to play Grambling again because we know we left a lot out on the field in the first game. Now we know what we need to do and how to prepare. I know coach Hopson and the rest of the coaches will have us ready.”