For the first time in two years, Alcovy had non-region opponents on its football schedule, breaking up the season into two phases.

The Tigers begin that second phase today, hosting Region 2-AAAAAA mate Luella at 7:30 p.m. at Sharp Stadium.

Alcovy is coming off a close, 13-10 loss at Jackson, in which it led 10-0 before giving up 13 straight points to fall to 1-3. The Tigers' offense has been limited throughout the first part of the season, averaging just 16.8 points per game.

"I think the biggest thing is we're still trying to make some improvements on offense," Alcovy coach Kirk Hoffman said. "We have to find some ways to become consistent on offense."

The Tigers have shown some of those flashes of offensive quality, such as a 24-10 win over Eastside, but have been hurt by minor things here and there.

"If you go back and look at first four games, at times on offense we've looked pretty good and at times we haven't. If we're not doing well on offense, we're missing one assignment and missing one block.

"We've told our kids we have to get them on the same page, holding blocks and keeping their assignments."

Luella has given up 33.5 points a game in its four games this season, all losses. The Lions got the closest to a win last Friday, falling 22-20 to Henry County.

"The big thing when you look at Luella is they've played some quality football teams," Hoffman said. "They're a lot better than their record indictates, and we've been telling the kids that all week."

The Lions run a spread offense out of the pistol formation behind senior quarterback Jared Hendricks, who also has two solid running backs to hand the ball off to.

"We have to make sure on defense that we play assignment football and keep guys from getting big plays on us," Hoffman said.

The Lions defense has three star players, who have held Langston Hughes to seven points and Dutchtown to 10.

"Defensively, he has about three kids who can make big plays on you," Hoffman said. "We've got to hem those guys in and make sure they don't get big plays on us."

The Tigers will also look to maintain possession against the Lions' defense, as they have improved in the turnover category since giving it away seven times in the first two games.

"The big thing about turnovers early for us was that we had two or three tipped balls," Hoffman said.

Alcovy finished in first place in Region 3-AAAA a year ago, before moving to Region 2-AAAAAA after the Georgia High School Association reclassification this year.

"Everybody in the region is 0-0," Hoffman said. "Everything you've done to this point doesn't matter; if you're 4-0 or 0-4, it doesn't matter."