Alcorn State stayed grounded and pounded Mississippi Valley State on Saturday.

Jacorian Sewell rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown, and the Braves totaled 299 yards on the ground as a team as they beat the Delta Devils 41-21 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Alcorn quarterback Xzavier Vaughn finished with 57 yards and a touchdown rushing, and also completed 8 of 14 passes for 105 yards and a TD.

Sewell had a 55-yard TD run and Vaughn a 5-yard TD in the second quarter as Alcorn raced to a 24-7 halftime lead.
Noah Kiani kicked field goals of 47 and 43 yards for Alcorn State (2-3, 1-0 SWAC).

Defensive back Edwin Summerour had three interceptions for Alcorn, which will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. for homecoming.

Mississippi Valley State (0-5, 0-1) quarterbacks Jaydyn Sisk and Ty’Jarian Williams were a combined 17-of-36 passing for 194 yards, with one touchdown and four interceptions.

Jackson State 43, Texas Southern 14
Jacobian Morgan threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, and Jackson State (3-2, 1-0 SWAC) scored 30 points in the second half to pull away from Texas Southern (1-3, 1-1).

Morgan was 13-of-22 passing for 185 yards, and rushed for 96 yards on 12 carries. He scored on a 72-yard run with 7:05 left in the game to start a strong closing surge for Jackson State.

JSU blocked a punt for a safety, and then Travis Terrell Jr. returned the ensuing free kick for a 79-yard touchdown. The 16 points in less than two minutes took JSU’s lead from 27-14 to 43-14.

Belhaven 30, North Carolina Wesleyan 12
Caleb Gallashaw rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown, his brother D’Ante Gallashaw had 88 yards and a TD, and Belhaven (1-3, 1-1 USA South) beat North Carolina Wesleyan (0-4, 0-2).

It was the first career win for Belhaven coach C.J. Nightingale.

Constantine Hontzas kicked two field goals and the Blazers recorded a safety before D’Ante Gallashaw scored on a 29-yard run for their first touchdown.

Belhaven finished with 234 rushing yards as a team.

Millsaps 31, Sewanee 21
Freshman quarterback Cole Canatella threw two touchdown passes to Connor Ladner in the fourth quarter to help Millsaps (3-1, 1-0 Southern Athletic Association) pull away from Sewanee (1-3, 0-1).

Millsaps led 17-14 entering the fourth quarter, and then Canatella and Ladner hooked up for TD passes of 14 and 28 yards to push it to 31-14 with 4:19 remaining.

Canatella finished 31-of-38 passing for 381 yards and three touchdowns, and also scored a rushing TD.

Willie Elliott caught 10 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown, and Ladner had five receptions for 91 yards and the two TDs.

Sewanee quarterback Jacorin Thomas passed for 237 yards and three touchdowns.

Chowan 27, Mississippi College 25
Chowan quarterback Maurice Smith threw three touchdown passes in the first half, and the Hawks (1-1, 1-0 Gulf South Conference) held off a comeback by Mississippi College (0-4, 0-2) in the second half to win on Saturday.

Smith threw touchdown passes of 28 and 22 yards to Jakobe Lane, and a 37-yarder to Gabrial Jackson to help Chowan take a 27-10 lead at halftime,

Mississippi College scored 15 unanswered points in the second half, on a 20-yard TD pass from Jackson Allen to Javier Batiste and a 21-yard run by Marcus Williams, as well as a safety.

Williams’ touchdown with 4:48 left in the game cut it to 27-25. The two-point conversion was no good, however.
Mississippi College got the ball back with 2:12 left, but did not get a first down and turned it over on downs.

Batiste finished with six receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown for the Choctaws. Four MC quarterbacks combined to complete 27 of 47 passes for 288 yards, with two touchdowns and four interceptions.

AUSTIN — The SEC era in Austin has officially begun, though it could’ve certainly gotten off to a smoother start.

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns kicked off conference play Saturday at home against Mississippi State, but did so without their starting quarterback. With Quinn Ewers sidelined for a second straight game, Arch Manning got the start and led Texas to a 14-6 halftime lead over the Bulldogs. He went 15 of 19 passing for 202 yards and one touchdown in the first half.

Mississippi State dominated time of possession 20:34 to 8:57 in the first half, as head coach Jeff Lebby’s game plan was clearly to keep the ball out of Manning’s hands.

The Bulldogs put together a steady opening drive that featured a heavy dose of runs, as both Van Buren and backup quarterback Chris Parson used their legs.

And on Texas’ first possession, Manning found Matthew Golden for a 22-yard gain on a comeback route that got 15 yards added on due to a facemask penalty. On the next play, he connected with Isaiah Bond for a 16-yard pickup. The Longhorns were right outside the red zone after just two plays.

Sophomore receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. appeared to have a touchdown two plays later, but his 20-yard gain was ruled short of the end zone at the one-yard line. Blue punched it on the next play for this fifth total touchdown in the last five quarters.

After a quick Bulldogs three-and-out, the Longhorns were in prime position once again after competitions of 27 and 17 yards to Bond. However, Blue made his first big miscue of the season with a fumble at the 20-yard line that Mississippi State recovered.

The Bulldogs were unable to take advantage of the takeaway and punted after seven plays. Texas was unable to do anything as well on the ensuing possession after a holding penalty on Cam Williams forced the drive to end in a three-and-out.

A partially-blocked punt by the Bulldogs set Van Buren and the offense up at the Texas 37-yard line. After gaining only 10 yards in seven plays, Mississippi State got on the board with a 45-yard field goal from Kyle Ferrie to make it a 7-3 game.

Looking to respond, the Longhorns started the next drive with a 12-yard catch-and-run from running back Quintrevion Wisner, who powered through multiple defenders. Manning then took a depp shot to Johntay Cook II, Wisner’s second cousin, two plays later on third down, but the would-be 62-yard touchdown fell through his hands. Texas punted for the second straight drive.

The Bulldogs added their second field goal on a 10-play, 64 drive to make it a 7-6 after the two-minute timeout.

Texas had one last chance to make the most of the first half, which Manning did after finding Moore Jr. for a lofting 49-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline with 29 seconds to play.

The Longhorns will get the ball to begin the second half.