By DJ Moore
CONYERS, Ga. — The Alcovy Tigers close out their spring practice on a good note Friday night. In a scrimmage at Heritage, the Tigers downed the Patriots 28-10.
Head coach Spencer Fortson — who enters his second season as head coach — was pleased with his overall team’s performance.
“It feels good to see my guys come out here and compete,” Fortson said. “It feels good to not hit on each other. We saw some things that we got a chance to work on in the spring.”
For the first time in 3.5 years, Alcovy trotted out a new gunslinger under center. With Ashton Evans graduating Wednesday night, Patrick Lucero has taken over the offensive reins.
Lucero seemed to turn heads in his first live action. He threw two touchdown passes and constantly found his receivers like Bernard “BJ” Johnson, Nasir Watson.
Throughout Friday’s action, too, Lucero connected on some key throws to keep drives moving downfield.
Fortson was taken aback while watching his new quarterback play from the sidelines.
“He surprised me and throughout the spring I saw some great things from him,”Fortson said. “Coming out here against someone else I saw some great things from him, and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Lucero and the Tigers’ offense wasn’t the only unit to make big plays, either. Their defense stood tall on many occasions.
For instance, Alcovy — called “The Black Swarm” by defensive coordinator Jaquan Henderson — created a turnover off a tipped pass. Rising senior Taylor Richardson caught the deflection and returned it 69 yards for a pick-6.
Fortson and his defensive staff were happy with the way that their defense came out to play.
“Defensively we’re still young and we had some guys that came out and stepped up as well as the returning continuing to improve,” coach Fortson said. “That’s the good thing we want to see guys continue to improve after each season.”
Now with the summer approaching the Tigers will go back to the drawing board. They will look to continue improving and getting stronger in the weight room. Above all, however, Fortson and his staff want to get everything down pat before the regular season.
The Tigers will kick off the regular season on the road as they face the Lithonia Bulldogs on Friday, Aug. 18. In last year's meeting, the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 35-6 in the regular season opener.
