Immediately following Alcovy’s win Saturday night, I interviewed head coach Jason Dukes. While Dukes was answering my first question, I took notice that he was still holding onto the region championship trophy his team had just won. 

So, I asked, in a joking manner, “Are you going to go to sleep with that trophy tonight?” 

Without hesitation, Dukes responded, “It’s going to be on the nightstand, I guarantee you that.” 

I instantly thought back to my first full week as sports editor. 

During that week, I went around to all of the local high schools to talk with each athletic director. My second stop was at Alcovy to talk with Thomas Lowe. 

In that conversation, we talked about an array of subjects, but there was an overall theme: Win. 

Lowe said he wanted the athletic program to develop a winning attitude in 2021. 

Throughout all of my research when taking this job, I noticed that there hasn’t been much winning in Alcovy’s 15-year history. 

But it seems like the tides are a changin’ for Tiger athletics. 

A few weeks ago, the softball team advanced to the state playoffs. That was the first time in five seasons Alcovy’s softball program had accomplished that. 

Then, this past weekend, the football team celebrated winning the program’s first ever region championship. 

After Dukes responded to my question on Saturday, it became very clear to me how the Tigers’ athletics program has taken the form Lowe wanted. 

And I came to this conclusion: passion. 

Dukes going on and placing the region championship trophy on his night stand is a testament to his passion. 

Whenever I interviewed softball head coach Miranda Lamb, she displayed passion for the team to be successful. She even told me it was a goal of hers in year one for this year’s senior class to make the playoffs. 

All of that translated to the team’s performance on the field. 

No matter the circumstance, the Tigers seemed to perform at a high level and compete as best they could. 

So, even though the football team lost to Lowndes and Colquitt counties, they still came out on top. Even though the softball team endured Mother Nature cancelling so many games, the Lady Tigers still accomplished that goal. 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make history.

Phillip B. Hubbard is sports editor of The Covington News. He may be reached at phubbard@covnews.com.