GRAMBLING, La. &045; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas had to clear the air. He was not bragging, speaking boisterously or hardly basking in the glow.

His Alcorn Braves finally beat mighty Grambling 34-23 Saturday night for the first time in his seven-year tenure. It also came after two of the most nightmarish losses to Grambling the last two seasons where the win literally fell through their hands.

Redemption may be sweet &045; and it is for the seniors &045; but 10 more games remain on the schedule.

&uot;I’ll be honest with you &045; the team is not really ecstatic,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;It gives us the national recognition we need to be regarded as a pretty good football team in black college football. However, when you go through adversities &045; especially the kind we’ve been through as a team and I’ve been through as a head coach &045; it teaches you to be humble.&uot;

But that doesn’t mean the players couldn’t savor the moment after the clock went all zeroes at Eddie Robinson Stadium Saturday. The last time the Braves beat GSU was in 1997 in the legendary coach’s final season just before Doug Williams returned the storied program to prominence.

The win was huge for senior quarterback Donald Carrie and the rest of the team in their final seasons. The win also stands to set the Braves’ season straight from the start after it derailed at this same time last season.

&uot;When you beat a SWAC champion and a storied program like Grambling is, we’re trying to get to where they are,&uot; said senior running back Robert Lester, who finished with 112 yards and two touchdowns. &uot;To beat them like we did, it feels extra good. Coach (John) McKenzie put an outstanding game plan in, and the offensive line played a heck of a game.&uot;

The Braves did it in commanding fashion for three quarters to take a 34-11 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Tigers tacked on two late scores to bring the score closer. The Tigers had trouble moving the football for three quarters and didn’t get an offensive score until those late scores in the fourth quarter.

The Braves held Grambling and sly quarterback Bruce Eugene without a touchdown. The senior completed just 13 of 29 pass attempts before going down with a knee injury on a collision with ASU linebacker Dwan Wilson midway through the third quarter.

Freshman Brandon Landers finished the game in relief, and the standout Grambling quarterback will undergo tests today to determine the severity of his knee injury.

&uot;We talked to Bruce all night about getting out of bounds,&uot; said Grambling head coach Melvin Spears, an Alcorn graduate in his first season as head coach. &uot;It seemed to me he challenged the defenders. Now he might have a torn ACL.&uot;

The Braves’ only hiccup came after a 25-yard field goal from David McConnell when the ensuing kickoff landed in the hands of Landry Carter, who returned it 95 yards for a touchdown.

The Braves then came with their second huge play of the game on their following drive when Donald Carrie hit Charlie Spiller on a 34-yard touchdown pass with 9:10 left in the game that put the score at 34-11.

On a night of dueling senior quarterbacks, Carrie finished with 276 yards passing after completing 17 of 27 passes with one interception.

&uot;I tried to tell people Donald Carrie can play quarterback, and he has two of the best receivers in the conference and the nation in Nate Hughes and Charlie Spiller,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;Spiller can run a 4.2 and catch the football, and Hughes runs about a 4.5 or 4.4. And Donald Carrie can throw the ball just like Bruce Eugene. I try to tell people that.&uot;

The Tigers were driving at the start of the second half when Eugene got them down to the ASU 22 for a first down. But his next pass just inside the end zone was picked off by cornerback Taurian Parks, who returned it 97 yards for a touchdown to put the score 24-3 with 8:36 left in the third quarter.

The Braves put up a big score late in the second quarter that put them in control before the break. Return man Lonnie Teagle fielded a punt at the 49 and returned it to the GSU 24 to put the Braves in excellent field position.

Carrie hit Kelvin Clark on a 9-yard pass on the first play, and two plays later Lester ran it in from 16 yards out for a 17-3 lead with 4:24 left.

The Tigers came up empty on two key chances in the first half, one of which led to their only score. They put up a 13-play drive that began at their own 26 before stalling out at the Alcorn 8 when Bryan Woods threw Kuuan for a loss on third and short.

Brian Morgan then missed a 27-yard field goal try.

On the Tigers’ final drive of the first half Eugene completed a 29-yard pass to Aaron Johnson to get to the Alcorn 20, but it came as time ran out.