LORMAN &045; Here’s another way to contain blitz packages from the opposition.

Alcorn quarterback Donald Carrie felt the heat coming Saturday night against Southeastern Louisiana on a play in the second half and just got rid of it. The pass was nothing textbook, and he may have thrown it off his back foot.

But he got it off, and receiver Charlie Spiller just jumped up and grabbed it for a first down. That kept the drive going, and the Braves scored to help take a 33-27 win over the Lions.

&uot;That was a big-time catch,&uot; said Carrie, who was sacked only twice against a team that was among the leaders in the nation in sacks. &uot;They were blitzing, and any time we get one on one we’ll get it to him or Nate Hughes. I just threw it and let him make a play on it, and that’s what he did.&uot;

It was just what the Braves needed and was another cure for a team that juggled some linemen in hopes of finding a right connection. The Braves still did that on Saturday by swapping Chris Seymour and Jonathan Lowe at center at times, but the biggest thing was protecting the quarterback with the way Southeastern has a penchant for blitzing.

Leave it to Spiller and Carrie to find a spark as they’ve done so many times this season and last season.

&uot;That play was by design,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said Monday. &uot;Donald recognized the blitz, and they had coverage on Spiller. He ran a fly route, and (Carrie) threw the football up there. Spiller has outstanding vertical leaping ability. He out-jumped the defensive back for the football.

&uot;That was a big play for us, and that was by design.&uot;

The protection was crucial against a team that had been making a sack almost as normal in its game as the deep pass.

The Lions had 17 sacks the previous three games combined, including five the previous game against Mercyhurst, but they couldn’t get to him after Marvin Jones pinned him back for a 6-yard loss midway through the second quarter.

Carrie also kept his cool &045; he didn’t throw an interception and now has eight through eight games after throwing 13 through the first eight last year.

&uot;They stayed in a zone coverage, and I thought they were going to blitz us more than they did,&uot; Carrie said. &uot;They tried to put pressure on me. Fortunately my offensive line did a great job. The receivers made great catches when they had to, and that’s how you win ball games. I give a lot of credit to our defense.&uot;

The second half the Lions pulled off some of the pressure as the Braves found a rhythm with the passing game. When they did bring the heat, the offensive line did its best to pick it up.

And having a get-rid-of-it-as-soon-as-you-can play helps out, too.

&uot;They blitzed, but we did an outstanding job of picking up the blitz,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;Our offensive line did an outstanding job, and we were able to throw the football pretty good. Donald had time to make good decisions and throw the football, and that allowed us to move the football down the field and put some points on the board.&uot;

The game got the Braves back playing solid football after that heartbreaking loss to Southern University last week and gives them a good dose of confidence heading into the final three games of the season.

The Braves will visit Mississippi Valley State this week before finishing up at Alabama A&M and against Jackson State in the Capital City Classic.

&uot;Nothing has been easy in the past,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;I give a lot of credit to my players and coaches for bouncing back from a devastating loss to Southern. We were able to recover and show a great deal of resiliency through the week of practice. The players and coaches put that loss behind us. I hope we can continue to win football games as we go down this three-game stretch.&uot;

The Braves still have a chance at the SWAC Eastern Division title, albeit slim. Alcorn must win out and hope Alabama State loses to Grambling and Mississippi Valley State.

If Bama State wins at Grambling Saturday, the Hornets are going to Birmingham.

&uot;We never know what’s going to happen,&uot; Carrie said. &uot;We’re going to continue to play hard and get whatever we can. I put my faith in God. We’ll keep doing what we need to do, and hopefully everything will turn out like we need it to.&uot;