COVINGTON, Ga — The regular season of the 2024-2025 football season has officially kicked off in Newton County. The Alcovy Tigers opened up the season against the Arabia Mountain Rams out of DeKalb County, but ultimately fell 61-33.  

The Tigers hosted the Rams at Sharp stadium Thursday, Aug 15, and the game served as the first of the season for any Newton County team.

Alcovy was first to get on the board, but the Rams scored 34 unanswered points to close out the first half. 

The lone touchdown for the Tigers in the first half came when junior Ayden Goddard found fellow junior Kaeden Booker for a 34-yard touchdown reception.

The Tigers won the turnover battle as they forced four turnovers while the Rams forced two turnovers of their own.

Alcovy head coach Spencer Fortson was pleased with the turnovers his defense caused, but wants to see a complete effort on all fronts.

“Our defense was flying around making plays but it was mistakes that were made, " Fortson said. “It is always good to win the turnover battle but we have improvements.”

Despite being down 41-6 late in the third quarter, the Tigers did not quit. Senior running back Nick Slidell scored three different times to narrow the Rams lead.

Slidell’s efforts on the ground provided Fortson with a glimpse of what Alcovy’s run game can be for the rest of the season.

“Nick showed us signs in this game where we can lean on him with the offensive line we have,” Fortson said. “He continued to fight and that’s what I like to see from a senior on this team.”

Slidell got his three touchdown performance started  with a 25-yard run late in the third quarter. 

The senior’s other two touchdown runs came from 14- and 20-yards, respectively.

The Tigers will return to Sharp Stadium next Friday against a county-rival, the Newton Rams. The game will start promptly at 7:30 p.m. and will be the second round for the Battle of the Newton Cup.