COVINGTON, Ga. — Sharp Stadium was rocking all night on Saturday. From senior night recognitions to homecoming festivities, Alcovy fans came ready to celebrate. But the biggest celebration of the night came when Ashton Evans took a knee, the clock hit 0:00 and Alcovy officially made history. 

The Tigers defeated the Evans Knights 28-25 on Saturday to capture the Region 3-AAAAAA championship - the first since the program’s inception in 2006. 

As the final seconds ticked down, head coach Jason Dukes couldn’t believe what he was seeing. 

“I was in disbelief,” Dukes said as he held on tightly to the championship trophy. “I knew the game was over and it was a great feeling. It was a slugfest where our players just fought, fought, fought. We rebounded in the fourth quarter and got a score when we needed to and our defense hung in there.” 

It took some heroics on both sides of the ball down the stretch for the Tigers to come out on top. 

Trailing 25-21 with around three minutes remaining in the game, the Tigers took over possession having not scored a single point in the second half. 

Alcovy’s offense seemed dormant and flat. 

Then, all of a sudden, on the second play of the ensuing drive, Evans heaved the ball downfield. The ball hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity. As the football floated down into the end zone, Jamel Johnson jumped up to grab it. The connection accounted for a 42-yard touchdown reception that gave the advantage back to Alcovy. 

Alcovy’s fans were electric in their celebration. It was the total opposte just a few moments earlier when, with 5:42 remaining in the game, Evans dropped back to pass. Facing pressure he forced the ball deep and it was picked off. 

The Knights took over possession and it looked as if they would drain the closing minutes and win.  

But Damani Dumas had other plans. 

On a third and two at the Knights’ 30-yard line, backup quarterback DJ Walton kept the ball on the option play. Dumas blew the play up in the backfield for a 1-yard loss that forced a Knights punt. 

Following the punt, Evans came out and redeemed himself with, what turned out to be, the game-winning touchdown to Johnson. The game-winner concluded a solid outing by Evans going 10-of-16 for 172 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. 

Dukes highlighted the mental toughness of his junior quarterback throughout Saturday’s game. 

“He’s such a nice kid, but he has the tendency to be a cold-blooded assassin,” Dukes said with a big smile on his face. “He can put things out of his head and go back to business.” 

Alcovy’s passing attack may have won the game, but it was its rushing attack, led by Tristan Mayweather, that kept the Tigers in the game all night. 

Following Fabian Klawa’s 21-yard field goal that put the Knights up 3-0 early, the Tigers responded on their first drive of the game. 

Mayweather found paydirt from seven yards out to give Alcovy a 7-3 lead with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter. 

The Knights came back with a touchdown of their own, but that didn’t deter the Tigers. 

Evans connected with Mathias Height for a 30-yard touchdown bomb. Height finished the game with five receptions for 72 yards and the touchdown that gave Alcovy a 14-10 lead. 

On the Knights’ next drive, Alcovy halted a fake punt attempt to force a turnover on downs. 

It wasn’t long before the Tigers took advantage of the Knights’ miscue.  

On the very first play of the ensuing drive, Evans found Bobby Smith wide open for a 47-yard completion that advanced the ball to the 11-yard line. 

Three plays later, Mayweather found the end zone again to extend the Tigers’ lead 21-10 less than five minutes remaining in the first half.

Mayweather turned in an impressive performance on the ground, too. He rushed for 115 yards on 20 attempts and two rushing touchdowns. 

All in all, it took everyone pitching in for the Tigers to achieve this historic goal. 

Now, finishing the regular season 5-4 overall and becoming region champs with a 5-0 region record, Alcovy sets its sights on the state playoffs. The Tigers will have a first-round bye next week and will host round two on Friday, Nov. 19, at Sharp Stadium.

For Dukes and his coaching staff, they don’t plan to rest on Saturday’s accomplishment. They want to build on it and make noise in the upcoming playoffs.

“Our message is, focus,” Dukes said. “There’s a tendency to get distracted and become sidetracked. We don’t want that to happen. So, we’re going back to work Monday. We’re creatures of habit and routine. We’re going to continue to work on our things until we find out who we’re playing.” 

Correspondent Garrett Pitts contributed to this story.