CONYERS, Ga. — There were some antsy moments down the stretch on Friday night, but the Alcovy Tigers ultimately came out on top over the Heritage Patriots. The Tigers won 27-18. 

Heading into the fourth quarter, however, Alcovy led 27-6. 

Then, every phase of the game seemed to melt down.

First, Alcovy’s secondary surrendered big play after big lay through the air, then the running game for the Patriots got going.

Even the Tigers’ special teams unit couldn’t recover an onside kick.

All of those elements combined led Heritage to score 12 unanswered points in the final frame of action. 

But the Tigers held on to a 9-point win to remain unbeaten in Region 3-AAAAAA play. 

There were some big plays early in the contest that caused the Tigers to jump out on top. 

It all started with the passing game. 

Ashton Evans somehow got the ball to Mathias Height, despite double coverage, in the left corner of the end zone for a 22-yard score. The Tigers led 6-0 following a missed extra point attempt with 5:15 remaining in the first quarter. 

Later in the same quarter, Tristan Mayweather waltzed into the end zone for a 5-yard score. Braxton Crawford’s extra point was good the second time around to give Alcovy a 13-0 advantage. 

Alcovy forced three turnovers on the night, but only one yielded points. 

In the closing minutes of the first half, Chase Butler fumbled the snap when punting for the Patriots. Butler successfully recovered, but not before a host of Tigers greeted him for a huge loss. 

As a result, Alcovy took over in enemy territory at the 44-yard line. 

It didn’t take long after that for the Tigers to extend their lead either. 

With the ball at the 1-yard line, Evans powered his way across the goal line off a quarterback sneak. 

Alcovy led 20-0. 

For the majority of the first half, Alcovy lived in Heritage’s backfield. 

Numerous times, Heritage runners would be stuffed for a negative play to constantly place the Patriots’ offense in a lot of third and long situations. 

Heritage found a little spark right before halftime, though. 

With 1:42 left in the second quarter, Heritage quarterback kept the ball on a read option play. He rushed to the left side and scampered for a 3-yard score to avoid the shut out. 

Alcovy took a 20-6 lead into the intermission. 

Both teams kept battling in the trenches throughout the second half. Neither team seemed to give up anything in the third frame of action. 

That was, until Mayweather broke open for a 48-yard touchdown run to put up the next score for the Tigers. Mayweather’s score was the last for the Tigers and was crucial to the outcome of the game. 

Friday’s win was the first Alcovy has had over Heritage in their seven-game matchup history. 

Now, Alcovy has a date with Evans High School next Saturday, Nov. 6. When they face Evans, the Tigers will be looking to claim the Region 3-AAAAAA title should the Tigers prevail.