WINDER, Ga. — The Alcovy Tiger defense was the focal point of the game as they forced multiple turnovers and held the Wildcats to just two scores in their 21-10 win over Apalachee on Friday.

Before the game,the Tigers brought out a banner and used a commemorative coin during the coin toss in honor of the shooting at Apalachee earlier this year.

The Tigers took a few drives to settle in, but looked sharp on a scoring drive that featured a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ayden Goddard to Ashton Hawkins. Hawkins lost his man on a deep slant and dragged two defenders into the end zone with him for the score.

Last week, Alcovy was down 38-3 at halftime against a then 2-5 Habersham squad. This week, the Tigers headed to the lockers at the half tied 7-7 as it seemed to be a different defense from last week as they forced two turnovers and four punts.

Alcovy came out of the half strong as it forced a punt and scored, thanks to a two-yard touchdown run from Goddard.

The rest of the third quarter was messy. 

The Tigers had a successful goal line stand to earn the ball at their own one-yard line. A fumble on third down forced a punt from Alcovy’s endzone. The ball was set to go out of bounds around midfield, until an Apalachee player made contact with it and the Tigers swarmed it like a wounded antelope.

Alcovy managed the clock well in the fourth quarter, and Nick Slidell and the run game seemed to not be stopped. Both teams had opportunities to score in the second half, but the Tigers stellar defense carried them to the victory.

“The team did a great job executing,” head coach Spencer Fortson said. “Which is all we can ask at the end of the day.”

The dagger for the game was a deep touchdown pass from Goddard to Kaeden Booker with only 2:15 to play and a two-score difference. If that was not enough, Jaylen Randon picked off the Apalachee quarterback with 1:33 left in the game to seal the deal.

“There were some mishaps, but they showed some great resiliency,” Fortson said.

The Tigers will look to finish the regular season on a high note with a game at Clarke Central in Athens. Clarke Central will be a very difficult final test for the Tigers, as they are currently 6-2, but undefeated in region.

“Tonight and tomorrow we're gonna celebrate the win, and then Sunday it's right back to it because Clarke Central is gonna be a tough opponent,” said Fortson.