A week following its first loss of the season, the Alcovy football team bounced back with a home 28-13 win against Henry County on Saturday.

“I thought it was a good bounce back,” head coach Chris Edgar said. “They were focused all week. I challenged them not to let one loss compound into two losses, and they responded very well with that at practice. They were focused and ready coming into the game.”

The Tigers (3-1) got off to a hot start with a 65-yard touchdown by freshman Adrian Robinson in the very first play of the game to grab an early lead over the Henry County Warhawks (0-3).

The Tigers held a 14-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter until Eddie Battle brought the Warhawks within eight points with a 7-yard run with 7:57 left to play. Alcovy answered with a touchdown of their own, going up 21-6.

A pass by Jordan Thomas to Billy Jerome brought Henry County back within one possession for a 21-13 score, but Alcovy’s onside kick recovery and 23-yard touchdown by Andrae Robinson gave the Tigers the victory.

The Tigers ran the ball 33 times for 318 rushing yards. Junior Andre Thomas led the way with 130 yards and one touchdown, followed by Adrian Robinson with 86, Andrae Robinson with 52 and Koby Perry with 39. All four touchdowns were scored by four different players, including the Robinson twins, Thomas and Basil Stone.

“Coach Toby Davis, the offensive coordinator, has a good system,” Edgar said. “We’ve got 11 guys within an area, and defenses have to respect all parts of that offense. If we can find a little crack or something like that, the running backs can hit holes, and those linemen are doing a better job every week of getting blocks and staying on blocks. That kind of translates to the big rushing yards.”

Despite the final score, Alcovy made several key mistakes in the game, racking up 142 yards in penalties.

“That is our biggest weakness right now,” Edgar said. “It gets your offense out of a rhythm, and it keeps the defense on the field. We’ve got to do a better job of eliminating those types of mistakes. A lot of it is mental focus. There were a couple questionable calls, but other than that, it’s our mental mistakes. And I challenged that before the game, and we still have yet to do that in four games, and when we do, we’re going to be a really dangerous team.”

The Tigers will have a bye week, then return to action Sept. 23 at Forest Park High School at 7:30 p.m.