The Alcovy Tigers didn’t make it easy on themselves Friday night but again they found a way late in the game to hold on and take the victory over a Griffin Bears team they've struggled against in the past. Friday’s 17-16 win at Homer Sharp Stadium moves the Tigers to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in subregion play. The Tigers carried the momentum from their previous two wins just about the whole game and had what seemed to be a huge 17-0 lead with time winding down in the third quarter. When on a fourth-and-14 play, Griffin connected on a 28-yard touchdown pass to make it a 17-7 game. Things were about to take a turn for the worse for Alcovy. On the ensuing kickoff, the Bears dialed up an onside kick that rolled right past Alcovy's wall untouched. Also untouched were the Griffin Defenders as they recovered the kick. "These are the little things that we have got to get better at," Alcovy coach Kirk Hoffman said. The Tigers' defense held but the momentum had definitely swung in the Bears direction. On the next Tiger drive special teams play again proved to be costly. On a punt from the Tigers' own 30-yard line Griffin's defenders broke through the line virtually untouched and blocked it. Griffin scooped up the ball and The next drive for the Tigers was again mistaken laden as Tigers quarterback Cornell White was sacked in the end zone for a safety. In the matter of three minutes, Alcovy saw it's three-possesion lead dwindle to 17-16 with 8:37 still to play. Somehow the Tigers managed to get the momentum back on the free kick when after a short return, the Bears' kick returner fumbled and the Tigers recovered. They chipped away at the clock and eventually turned the ball over on downs deep into Bears territory with hardly any time left on the clock for Griffin to try and mount a 92-yard drive. Alcovy's defense was up to the task. The Tiger defense held after Griffin was unable to convert a fourth down to keep the drive alive. The Tigers scored points on their first two drives. Rysan Richardson opened the scoring with a field goal and Devon Edwards scored on an 18-yard scamper. White ran for more than 100 yards for the first time this year and Tre Sorrells had a solid night rushing in his return to the lineup. "We have to keep working," Hoffman said. "Mistakes are killing us but we keep finding ways to win. We have to keep working to get better." The Tigers look to shore up the mistakes this week as they look to face another subregion test in Ola at Sharp stadium Friday for homecoming. The Tigers are 3-0 lifetime against the Mustangs.
Tigers stun Griffin with 17-16 win