OAK GROVE, Ala. — After arriving from the long drive to Oak Grove, the Raiders showed up ready to defend their undefeated record in week five. After speaking with Good Hope Head Coach Alan Scott earlier this week, asking what his thoughts were going into this game undefeated, his response was simple.
“Oak grove isn’t going to be an easy win despite their 1-3 record,” Scott said. “They’re a fighting team and they’re going to come in with something to prove.”
When asked about their recent top five ranking, Scott said the message to his team was to stay humble.
“We will have to stay humble, no doubt these guys have earned it, we’re just hoping all this doesn’t blind the fact that Oak Grove scored 48 points in their victory against Curry last week.”
Oak Grove got the ball first and after a quick three and out, the Raiders took the ball at their own 16-yard line. the Raiders drove the ball down for a score and following the extra point, it was a 7-0 game. The tigers responded with a scoring drive but after they missed the extra point, Good Hope still led it 7-6. The Raiders responded in the second quarter with a quick trip back to the end zone and following the extra point it brought us to 14-6 with the game still early in the second.
Oak Grove answered immediately with a 63-yard touchdown pass but still could not make the extra point, making it 14-12 early in the second quarter. Good Hope intercepted the ball at midfield and ran it back to the 19-yard line and looked like they were going to score, but the Tigers defense stepped up and forced the Raiders to turn the ball over on downs, allowing Oak Grove to take a knee and end the half.
The Raiders came out in the third quarter and quickly gave the ball back to the Tigers. Oak Grove punted the ball right back to the Good Hope, who took the ball down the field for another score to take a 21-12 in the third. The Tigers and Raiders couldn’t do anything on offense for several possessions, but the Raiders finally found the end zone again in the fourth quarter to bring their lead up to 27 -12 following the failed extra point.
The Tigers answered right back with a touchdown but were still unable to convert on the extra point score and trailed 27-18. Good Hope recovered an onside kick at the Tigers 48-yard line and scored to take a 34-18 lead late in the fourth. Oak Grove found the end zone one more time but the Raiders lead was too much to overcome and Good Hope collected its fifth win of the season to stay undefeated.
After the game, Coach Scott was proud of his team’s effort and proud to see them accomplish something no other Raiders team has before.
“I thought it was a good win on the road for our team,” Scott said. “That was our third straight road game and our guys played good enough to get a victory at Oak Grove for the first time in school history. I thought out running game came alive in the second half and was the difference in the game.”
The Raiders are off next week but will back home October 4th to face Northside, the only team to beat them in the regular season last year.
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