Alcorn State beats Southern 37-28 in SWAC championship

LORMAN, Miss. (AP) De'Shawn Waller ran 16 times for 177 yards and three touchdowns and Alcorn State beat Southern 37-28 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship on Saturday night.

The Braves won their third SWAC title in five years and advanced to the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia, to face Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion North Carolina A&T on Dec. 15.

Noah Johnson passed for 135 yards and ran for 147 yards and two scores for Alcorn State (9-3).

Alcorn State trailed by a point going into the fourth quarter and took the lead for good at 30-28 on Corey McCullough's 41-yard field goal with 11:31 left in the game. After stopping the Jaguars (7-4) on downs at the Braves 32, Alcorn State drove to the end zone in nine plays, capping the scoring on Waller's 14-yard TD run up the middle of the defense.

Alcorn State outgained Southern 370-123 on the ground.

Ladarius Skelton had a pair of TD runs in the third quarter to give the Jaguars a 28-27 lead. He finished with 65 yards and three TD runs.