New era begins at Alcorn
Published 12:00 am Saturday, August 30, 2008
Today is a new day at Alcorn State.
The Braves face Southeastern Louisiana in the debut of new head coach Ernest T. Jones. It’s the start of a new regime, a new attitude and, Jones hopes, a new winning era in Lorman.
“I’m an Alcornite. It’s exciting right now. It’s exciting for me, the team, our coaches, everybody. I’m getting ready to go into a stadium I never lost a game in,” said Jones, who was a wide receiver for Alcorn during its early-1990s heyday. “We call it a new day, and it’s a chance to show everybody what we mean by that.”
Alcorn is coming off a dismal 2-8 season in which it averaged just 13 points per game. That led to the firing of Dr. Johnny Thomas, the hiring of Jones, and a breath of fresh air for a program that had grown stagnant.
Jones said getting a win today was vital to continuing the excitement that has surrounded the program in the preseason.
On the radio
5 p.m. 90.1 FM – Alcorn State hosts SE Louisiana
“It’s very important. It makes a statement to the fans, the alumni, the administration that we mean business,” Jones said. “We don’t want to be on the losing end of a 21-20 game. This is a must-win for Alcorn.”
Winning won’t be as easy for Alcorn as just showing up and cheering. Southeastern Louisiana has one of the best running backs in the country in Jay Lucas. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior ran for 1,239 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, and was also the team’s leading receiver with 51 catches for 485 yards.
“We’re going to have to deal with him,” Jones said. “We’ve got to get 11 hats on the football. He’s powerful.”
Lucas spearheaded an offense that averaged 25.4 points a game in 2007. Jones feels his defense, which returns six starters, gives the Braves a good chance to keep Lucas in check and come out on top.
“We feel like our strength is defense, and theirs is offense. It’s going to be a battle of strengths,” Jones said. “On defense, you’ve got to run and hit and find the football. On offense, everything is precise. If I had to have one side or the other at this point in the season, I’d go with defense.”