COVINGTON, Ga — In the home stretch of the 2022 campaign, the Alcovy Tigers seemed to find their stride. Alcovy concluded the year on a three-game winning streak. 

Head coach Spencer Fortson believes the players have been working off that momentum throughout the offseason. 

“We were able to build off some things from last season where we finished the season off with a three-game winning streak,” Fortson said. “And going into the summer we have been telling our guys we want to continue to build off of last season progress”

The Tigers narrowly missed out on a playoff berth by finishing fifth in Region 3-AAAAAA. In year No. 2 under Fortson, Alcovy has a playoff return on its mind. 

At the end of last year, the Tigers finished the season 4-6 overall with a 3-4 mark in Region 3-AAAAAA.

Over the summer, Fortson and his staff put their team into padded camps and 7-on-7 camps where Fortson believes the team has gotten better. They also did a few activities away from the field to help build team camaraderie. 

Senior wideout Bernard “BJ” Johnson shared how that has benefited the team.

“As the seniors on the team, we created various team-bonding activities that have allowed us to grow stronger as brothers on and off the field,” Johnson said. “We make sure that everyone is involved in our team-bonding activities including the coaches as well.”

Individually, Fortson has taken the time to examine his first year as a head coach and how he can improve going into his second season.

“The one thing that I learned is that it is different being a coordinator and then stepping into that position as a head coach,” Fortson said. “I had to be lenient with some things and with being a coordinator for the past 10 years, it was definitely different. I took the offseason to reevaluate myself.”

The Tigers will have 12 seniors that will lead the Tigers into the 2023 campaign. There were 17 seniors on last year’s team, who made contributions to the program. 

Of the 12 seniors, Fortson highlighted approximately eight have seen “significant playing time.” 

The Tigers will have seven returning starters on offense and seven returning on the defense. But the offensive line will be a strong unit for Fortson and his offense. 

“We are returning everyone on the offensive line except for one person. We are looking for those guys to lead us offensively," Fortson said. “But in the secondary is where most of our starters are returning.”

The Tigers will have a new starting quarterback running their offense, too. Three-year starter Ashton Evans graduated in May after leading the Tigers to playoff appearances while being the main guy taking snaps. 

Fortson emphasized that there is a quarterback competition for the No. 1 spot. The front runners have been junior Patrick Lucero and sophomore Patrick Wolfe. 

“Going in, Pat Lucero is our guy,” Fortson said. “He’s a guy we’ve been going in with. We have [Wolfe] come in and he’s been lighting a fire underneath. So, it’ll be good to see both of those guys battle out and see the things they’re able to do controlling the offense.” 

The two leaders for this year’s team seem to be Johnson on offense and senior safety Taylor “Tay” Richardson. 

“Offensively, BJ has been the vocal leader for us and making sure guys are competing, " Fortson said. “And, on the defensive side of the ball, Tay has been the voice that everyone listens to on that side of the ball.”

The Tigers will open up their season on the road as they will face the Lithonia Bulldogs on Aug 18. Region 3-AAAAAA competition cranks up for Alcovy at Mundy’s Mill on Sept. 15. 

With a new season on the horizon, Fortson believes his team has what it takes to accomplish their goal of making it back to the postseason. 

“I tell the guys this, ‘Put your head down and just continue being consistent in the things you’re doing on a daily basis and the things we ask you to do,’” Fortson said. “‘Then, when you look up, you’re going to see that you have achieved everything that we wanted to achieve as a team.’”

This article will be included in The Covington News' Preseason Blitz that will be in the Aug. 19-20 print edition.