COVINGTON, Ga. — After 15 years, the Alcovy Tigers football program is finally on top.
A 28-25 victory over the Evans Knights capped off a historic 5-0 sweep in the region to give the Tigers their first region title in the history of the program as the champions of Region 3 AAAAAA.
Making history did not come along easy. The Tigers were down late against the Knights until quarterback Ashton Evans connected with Jamel Johnson for a 42-yard touchdown with two minutes remaining.
Going through Evans’ mind after the play was the halftime speech given by Alcovy coaches.
“It means everything [to win the region championship for the first time],” Evans said. “[Our coaches] have preached for us to finish [games]. They said we have not played a full four quarter game all season, and this is the first time we did it and the first time we needed it.”
With the win, the Tigers finished with a 5-4 overall record – the first winning regular season record since 2013.
The Tigers’ season did not start off on the right footing, however, with them losing four of their first five games.
Heading into their matchup against Grovetown on Oct. 15, the Tigers needed to dominate the rest of their region schedule for a shot in the playoffs.
They did just that.
Following back-to-back brutal road trips to Lowndes and Colquitt Counties, the Tigers returned to region action.
Alcovy defeated Grovetown, Lakeside-Evans, Heritage and Evans to end the regular season winning four straight. This is the first four-game winning streak Alcovy has had since 2013.
Running back Tristan Mayweather, who scored twice in the region championship game, knows exactly what this accomplishment means to the Alcovy athletics program.
“It means a lot [to win the region]," Mayweather said. "To be able to come back in 5 or 10 more years and say that we did that, and to be able to lead by example for the younger players."
Now it’s heading into the playoffs with the region title and a first round bye on its side.
Head coach Jason Dukes, who took over the program in 2019, has now led Alcovy to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons following a 2-10 record in his first year.
“It’s a validation of commitment to the process,” Dukes said. “Everybody loves the results. But it’s the commitment to the process that gets you there. This shows every kid in our program that, if they stay the course and keep believing, they have the opportunity.”
But there is much more to be written for the Tigers in 2021.
Following the first-round bye, the Tigers will host the winner of Creekview and Carrollton in the second round of the state playoffs Friday, Nov. 19.
