Karl Morgan sees incremental improvement at Mississippi Valley, despite losses

Mississippi Valley State remains winless on the year, but this time it took a furious comeback bid by fellow SWAC foe Alcorn State to top the Delta Devils. That’s something to build on, coach Karl Morgan says.

“It’s the first game since I’ve been here that we’ve been in the game into the third quarter,” says Morgan, who took over at Itta Bena, Miss., in January 2010. “I thought we made some progress.”

The Braves (1-2 overall, 1-2 SWAC) were only up 10-7 at halftime, before exploding for four touchdowns in the second half over Valley (0-3, 0-2 SWAC). Alcorn State’s Brandon Bridge passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third in what became a lopsided 39-14 victory.

“We left some points on the field in the second half,” Morgan says. “In the second half, their starting quarterback converted on two big third downs that turned into scoring drives. Then toward the end, we had some turnovers, but from the stand point of half time — I thought: ‘We could win the game. We are close to winning a game, and close to breaking through.’ Everybody has to keep on pushing toward that goal. That’s the focus this week, as we head to Prairie View. We’ve got to finish.”