The Alcovy Tigers football team has been on the wrong side of the scoreboard for almost two years until Friday night. The Tigers had suffered bad losses in and out of region play, but had played better lately.

The night started with drizzling rain, and fans in the stands were clamoring to their ponchos and umbrellas. The homecoming court was nicely dressed and sat under a shelter awaiting the halftime festivities. Everything seemed to be in place for an interesting game. Playcallers from both teams were passionate in the pressbox with every single snap.

Alcovy’s first drive ending with a touchdown was very promising to the Tiger faithful. They took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter, and led 8-6 at halftime. The homecoming queen court was blessed by not having to endure a rainy walk down the path and taking in all of the love and support from fans, friends, teachers, parents and fellow students. The homecoming crowd erupted in joy when Katie Vickers was announced as the Alcovy High School 2015 Homecoming Queen. Escorted by her father, she gracefully stood and accepted the crown.

Once the second half started, the rain had seemed to be an afterthought, and the crowd enjoyed the perfect football conditions. Senior strong safety Lonnie Braddy was huge on the night. His coverage was very good all night and he added six tackles.

Junior Chris Clark was flying all over the field even though he was primarily lined up in the middle. He had five tackles and one big hit for a loss to help the Tigers get the ball back in the fourth. Sophomore Andruw Binion stepped up as well with four tackles. He was a ball-hawk all night, either making a tackle or forcing a runner to the sidelines out of bounds.

Senior free safety Quinton Grizzard had a huge fumble recovery that was in question for about two minutes, but It helped set up what would be the game winning touchdown for the Tigers. Junior Kyrese Knox basically sealed the deal with an interception with 3:16 left to play.

It was truly a team effort on defense. The offense struggled at times, but they stuck to their gameplan. Sophomore quarterback Quindrelin Hammonds had a good night on the ground while completing passes in crucial moments. Running back James Bell was a workhorse carrying the ball left and right for steady gains, and the speedy runningback Chris Stewart broke multiple 20-plus yard runs.

When asked about the first win, Alcovy head coach Kirk Hoffman said, “Well I mean, we needed a shot in the arm. We’ve gotten better every week, and these young kids battle and battle. When it seems like things fall apart, these kids just hang in there.”

This being the quarterback’s first year converting from receiver, the eyes were on him to run the offense.

“He managed the game like we asked him,” Hoffman said. “That’s all you can do with a young kid. He made some good plays, ran the ball pretty well, but he managed the game and that’s what we gotta have, someone to manage the game.”

The defense bent, but didn’t break a couple of times and helped seal the deal with an interception late. When asked about the defense’s efforts, Hoffman said, “We’ve made some changes over there, but the kids are playing hard and running to the football. You know again, if the kids play hard and run the football, that’s all you can ask from them.”

Alcovy’s Homecoming ended with a big win, and it was truly a team effort that the Tigers hope to continue.