Alcorn State 38, Mississippi Valley State 36

November 5, 2005

ALCORN STATE, Miss. ­ Mississippi Valley State had plenty of trouble stopping Charlie Spiller.

Even with a sore hamstring, Spiller delivered his first three-touchdown game of his career to lead Alcorn State to a 38-36 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday night at Jack Spinks Stadium.

Spiller scored on two ­ yes, two! ­ kickoff returns of 100 yards, and he caught a 9-yard touchdown as Alcorn won its fourth straight game. He also caught five passes for 163 yards.

Spiller said he even surprised himself with the breakout performance.

“I don’t think it was me today,” Spiller said. “It was God. I had a hamstring injury. Thank God he helped me through.” Added quarterback Tony Hobson, “Our coaches tell us if he’s one-one-one to throw it up and let him do what he does. I couldn’t believe some of the catches he was making, but it’s just Charlie Spiller.” Even with Spiller’s heroics, Alcorn kept its fans praying to the final moments.

Alcorn’s Michael Shepherd scored on a 23-yard run with 1:55 to play, capping a comeback that saw the Braves erase a 30-21 deficit.

Mississippi Valley quarterback Aries Nelson then engineered a seven-play, 64-yard drive, culminating in a 24-yard TD pass to Clarence Cotton with 49 seconds to go.

The Delta Devils (5-4 overall, 4-4 in SWAC) had to go for two, but Nelson’s pass fell incomplete.

“It was just for us tonight,” Alcorn senior safety Brandon Brown said.

Spiller returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, but that was about all the offense Alcorn could muster in the first two quarters.

He added a 100-yarder in the second half to keep Alcorn close ­ at 23-21 ­ before the offense finally awoke from its doldrums.

Spiller caught five passes for 163 yards, including a diving one-hander, to spark the offense in the second half. The running game finally got going in the final 20 minutes, and Jeremy McCoy finished with 100 yards on 16 carries.

Trailing 30-21 in the third quarter, Alcorn started its comeback with a 27-yard field goal by Jeremy Shea.

McCoy added a 13-yard touchdown run for a 31-30 lead with 7:14 to play, and Shepherd scored his 13-yarder later.

While the Mississippi Valley offense dominated most of the game, the Alcorn defense came up with three straight stops to grab the game’s momentum.

“We played defense when we had to play defense, and we executed on offense when we had to,” Alcorn coach Johnny Thomas said. “It just shows how this team has matured and grown up. I’m just very happy to get a victory.” Nelson finished 27-of-51 passing for 404 yards and four touchdowns.