COVINGTON, Ga. — Last time Alcovy took the football field, it nearly pulled off the stunner of the year.

The Tigers squared off against county rival Eastside at Sharp Stadium on Sept. 25 and put on a show for all of Newton County. They jumped out to an early lead and nearly led wire-to-wire, ultimately falling short of the upset as the Eagles kicked a game-winning field goal at the buzzer.

Had Alcovy held on, it would’ve been the program’s first victory over Eastside since 2013. Instead, the Tigers dropped to 0-4 in heartbreaking fashion. But the final score doesn’t take away from the tremendous progress the team showed in the four-quarter effort.

Alcovy, which was idle last week, will return to Sharp Stadium this Friday to welcome in South Forsyth (3-0) for a non-region contest. The Tigers are trying to avoid their first 0-5 start since 2015, when they snapped a 17-game losing skid in their sixth game of the year.

Defense was at a premium in Alcovy’s matchup against Eastside as the clubs continuously traded blows back and forth. That could prove to be the case once again this week as the War Eagles have produced a lethal offense while also showing weaknesses in their defensive unit.

The scoreboard has been put to work in each of South Forsyth’s first three games, as the War Eagles put up enough points to outlast Dawson County (63-49), Central Gwinnett (52-27) and Lambert (44-14).

For live updates from the game, follow @CovNewsSports and @mason_wittner on Twitter.