GOOD HOPE, Ala. – Last year, 2018, was a historic season for Good Hope High School. The Raiders posted a 9-1 record in the regular season and knocked off top-ranked, undefeated Jacksonville at home to advance to the third round of the AHSAA State Playoffs for the first time since 1997.
With more buzz around the program than ever before, head coach Alan Scott is pleased with how offseason preparations have gone so far.
“I think that we really had a positive summer. I think overall, we had really good attendance with good effort and the kids showed up and worked hard,” Scott said. “So, I was very pleased, of course it’s never perfect, but at the same time I thought it was a solid summer.”
Last year’s Raiders team was led by a massive senior class that included names like Bailey Quick, Matt Hancock, Matt Dixon and Jackson Hancock to name just a few. With a lot of bodies missing from 2018 and a new team in the locker room, Scott is ready to see this year’s squad put its own stamp on the program.
“I’ve never had a senior class like that one as far as talent and numbers. We really took a big hit on both lines, offensive and defensive, we took a hit in our defensive backs and lost basically our entire secondary besides Tanner (Malin) who’s coming back. On offense obviously we lost the vast majority of our yardage producers so it’s a unique situation,” Scott said. “It was a great season and I really enjoyed it last year and love those guys but that’s going to be big shoes to fill. Like I said, we’ve got guys that are working really hard and they want to be good so that’s a positive. I think the standard has kind of been set so these guys want to just take what’s been done and run with it and not try to duplicate something that anyone else has done but continue to try and compete and be the very best that we can be.”
There are some obvious disadvantages that come with being a younger, inexperienced team, but Scott pointed out some of the positives that come with those circumstances. After a massive senior class graduated in May, a lot of positions opened up for the Raiders and Scott is excited to see who steps up and fills those needs.
“The competition should be really good. We should have several guys trying to earn their spot on the field whether it’s in a starting role, everybody kind of gets hung up on the starters, or just to contribute. I think we’re going to have to have some of those guys that are ninth and 10th graders coming in hopefully give us some quality playing time on Friday nights,” Scott said. “Whether it’s to start the game off or right in the middle or if we’ve got a series going and we’re on our second or third set of downs, we’re going to have to move some guys in there. What happens every year though is a young man that you don’t even really have on the radar, gets his opportunity in a situation whether it’s an injury or somebody is tired and this season we don’t know who it’s going to be. But they’ll make the most out of that opportunity and earn themselves a spot and that’s kind of the fun part is seeing which of these guys are going to step up and take on that role. It presents them a good opportunity.”
When you lose as much offensive production as Good Hope is losing this fall, it could bring about some schematic adjustments. Scott said he and his staff want to establish a consistent system for their kids to work and develop in but they want to tailor their plan to this team’s strengths as well.
“I think that by nature, our coaching staff wants to have a system in place. We want to have a base set of plays and formations and we want to have the same thing on defense, but we also want to tailor that to what our strengths are going to be this year. So, the play names might not change, the formations might look a little different, but you know football really comes down to blocking and tackling so if our guys can feel comfortable within the system and know where they’re going and can get there at 100 mph and have a little bit of an attitude when they get there, we feel like we can compete,” Scott said. “Football is a simple game, if you can run the football effectively, you’re going to be tough to stop but if you can also attack people on the outside with the pass and compliment that, it makes you even better. So, if we can do those two things on offense and then play sound defense, make sure we’re aligned properly and be really solid tacklers I think everything will be fine.”
The bar was raised for football at Good Hope last season as soon as the game against Jacksonville was over, but Scott just wants his guys to stay within themselves, play hard and have fun.
“When you have a younger team, they tend to be very coachable, they tend not to get discouraged or anything like that. They just want to go out and play football and I think that’s great so we’re definitely not going to try to put any pressure on them other than the fact we just want them to play hard,” Scott said. “Play with a lot of effort and represent their school well and be disciplined and if they can do those things, I’ll be very proud of them.”
Good Hope (Class 4A, Region 5)
2018 record: 11-2 (5-1)
2018 opponents record: 65-76
Averaged 34 points per game, allowed 16 points per game. Defeated top-ranked, undefeated Jacksonville at home 27-12 in round two of the AHSAA State Playoffs. Advanced to round three for first time since 1997.
Alan Scott entering fifth season as head coach.
Departing seniors: Bailey Quick, Matthew Hancock, Matt Dixon, Preston Bagwell, Levi McCall, Jonathan Quick, Cameron Twilley, Isaiah Green, Matthew Schwaiger, Oscar Tepetate, Dylan McDonald, Austin Knight, Robert Speegle, Samuel Jones, Peyton Hill, Jackson Hancock, Riley Kilpatrick, Ethan Rasco, Justin Rasco, Slade Heatherly, Brandon Oliver, D.J. Anderson, Tommy Fetters, Sam Jones, Zebb Kagel, Dalton White, Slade Heatherly.
2019 Schedule
Aug. 23r – vs. Carbon Hill
Aug. 30t – vs. Priceville
Sep. 6t – @ Cordova *
Sep. 13t – @ Tanner
Sep. 20t – @ Oak Grove *
Oct. 4t – vs. Northside *
Oct. 11t – @ Haleyville *
Oct. 18t – vs. Curry *
Oct. 25t – vs. Fayette County *
Nov. 1s – @ Hanceville
Good Hope Cheerleaders
(junior varsity): Gracelyn Bowerman, Hannah Evans, Amy Wray, Bonnie Williams, Kaliza Brown, Aubrey Aker, Marlee Williams and Katie Woodall; (varsity): Paris Stricklin, Raven Adams, Allie Sartin, Rileigh Ray, Callie Shelton, Destiny Powe, Bella Davis, Savanna Derrick, Kayla Quick, Audri Patrick, Ashlin Hamm and Zoe Vincent
2019 Good Hope Football Roster
No. Name Grade
1 Eli Ray 12
2 Cole Maddox 12
3 Ethan Anderson 10
4 Jager Burns 10
5 Colton Williams 12
6 Eli Pugh 11
7 Drew Maddox 12
8 CJ Brannan 11
9 Kason Smith 9
10 Jesse Blackmon 11
11 Tanner Malin 10
12 John King 12
13 Ashton Twilley 12
14 Paydon Bagwell 10
15 Lawton Farr 11
19 Max Bavar 12
20 Briley Mattox 10
21 Zach Watson 12
22 Walter Perez 11
23 Jed Clements 9
24 Colton Bagwell 11
25 Michael Owens 11
26 Jake Kicker 10
28 Will Flynt 11
30 Drew Easterwood 10
31 Caleb Willingham 9
32 Jared Pugh 11
33 Kaleb Jones 9
35 Taz Bartlett 9
41 Charlie O’Neal 9
42 Braxton Marshall 10
44 Russ Wooten 9
50 Doston Putman 11
51 Matt Kraus 12
52 Justin Wisener 12
53 Wyatt Jones 10
54 Cody Dye 11
55 Dalton Farr 12
56 Lucas Hill 11
57 Jackson Dillashaw 11
58 Clayton Herring 10
59 Justin Crumpton 12
60 Israel Ramos 12
61 Landon Piper 10
62 Caleb Willis 10
63 Trevor Pace 12
64 Matt Self 10
65 Ben Gillespie 9
66 Levi Freeman 9
67 Noah Grogan 9
68 Morgan Cook 10
70 Jake Doss 10
71 Ethan Anderson 11
72 Jeb Jarrett 10
73 Jude Johnson 9
74 Kaden Cornelius 9
76 Logan Self 10
78 Christian Davis 12
79 Kash Hembree 9
80 Tyler Black 10
84 Nick Fletcher 12
88 Bricen Harper 11
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