GOOD HOPE, Ala. – For the first time in school history, the Good Hope Raiders are victorious over the Oneonta Redskins and they did it in convincing fashion. The Raiders racked up over 500 yards on the ground and had three separate rushers with over 100 yards in the 34-7 win at James W. Shabel Stadium Thursday night.
Both teams traded punts on their opening possessions and after a great Oneonta roll, Good Hope took over possession on its own 1-yard line late in the opening quarter. The Raiders ran the ball out to get some breathing room but were forced to punt once more early in the second quarter. That’s when Good Hope began to generate some momentum. The ensuing Oneonta drive was cut short when Lawton Farr leaped up and intercepted a pass at the Good Hope 14-yard line. One play later, quarterback Tanner Malin kept one up the middle and burst past the secondary for an 86-yard touchdown run that made it 7-0 Raiders with just under 10 minutes to play in the second.
Good Hope’s defense forced a quick three and out, giving the ball back to the Raider offense and this time it was the tailback that burned the Redskins on the ground. Colton Bagwell shook off multiple tacklers to rip off a 40-yard gain and get the ball down inside the 5-yard line and on the next snap, Bagwell finished off the scoring drive from 4 yards out to make it a 13-0 game with just under six minutes to play in the half.
Another short possession and punt from Oneonta gave Good Hope the ball back on its own 20. It looked like the Raiders may be forced to punt it away facing a third down and long, but Ethan Anderson took a handoff 63 yards down the Redskins’ sideline to move the chains and keep the drive alive. Good Hope capitalized on the big run a few plays later when Malin punched in his second touchdown of the night from 4 yards out and the Raiders went into the locker room leading Oneonta 21-0 at the half.
The Redskins received the opening kickoff of the second half but once again, Good Hope’s defense forced Oneonta to punt. The ground game remained hot for the Raiders as Bagwell barreled through defenders for a 46-yard gain that set up first and goal and Malin’s third rushing touchdown of the night, this time from a yard out, extended the Good Hope lead to 28-0 with a little over six minutes to play in the third.
Oneonta got its only points of the night on its next drive, connecting on a 50-yard touchdown pass that trimmed the lead to 28-7 and both teams exchanged punts on their following possessions to give Good Hope the ball at its own 20 with less than a minute remaining in the third. That’s when Malin all but finished off the Redskins with an 80-yard touchdown sprint up the middle that gave the Raiders a 34-7 lead going into the final frame.
Good Hope stuffed Oneonta’s best drive of the night early in the fourth quarter when a goal line stand from the 4-yard line turned the ball over on downs with just over eight minutes to play. The Raiders handed the ball off, moved the chains, killed the clock and iced an impressive, 34-7 win over the Redskins to improve to finish the regular season 9-1 and secure a home game in the first round the state playoffs.
Good Hope finished the game with a whopping 505 rushing yards, 381 of which came on the legs on Bagwell and Malin. Anderson finished the game with 103 yards on just four carries, Bagwell led the team with 191 yards and a touchdown on the ground and Malin added 190 more with four touchdowns. The Raiders ripped off five runs of 40-plus yards in the win.
Good Hope will have next week off to rest up and prepare to host the opening round of the 4A state playoffs.
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