GOOD HOPE, Ala. – The Good Hope Raiders welcomed West Point to James W. Shabel Stadium Friday night for a high-scoring, high-temperature battle and after falling behind in the opening period, the Warriors rallied and raced past Good Hope to earn a 49-32, season-opening win. The Raiders led 20-0 at the end of the first quarter but West Point was able to cut the lead to 20-14 by halftime and outscored Good Hope 35-12 in the second half to secure the win. The Warriors made some mistakes early in the game that helped the Raiders jump out to an early lead but Head Coach Don Farley was proud of the way his team responded to the tough start.
“There’s no doubt its fortitude. We preached it all summer and we made some plays that put us in a hole,” Farley said. “We gave up a pick-six, had a fumble on a kickoff and another turnover and I think that led to all their points. We just kept telling our guys to take it one drive at a time and keep playing, it’s a long football game. It’s a testament to the fortitude of these guys and my hats off to them. I’m glad with the way we responded.”
Good Hope capped off its first possession of the night with an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Colten Whatley to Tucker Malin and took a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter. Later in the first, Hank Hudson added to the Raider lead by scoring on a 33-yard pick-six and making it a 14-0 game. The Warriors fumbled on the ensuing kick return and Good Hope took advantage with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Malin, putting the Raiders in front 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.
However, West Point responded in the second. Following an interception by Eli Sims, quarterback Hunter Hensley connected with Noah Bryan for a 45-yard touchdown and trimmed the lead to 20-6. The Raiders were forced to punt on their next possession and with three minutes to play in the first half, Garit Roberson broke free for a 47-yard touchdown run and brought the Good Hope lead down to 20-14 at the halftime break.
The Raiders found their rhythm again to start the third quarter, driving the ball down the field and finishing the possession with a 1-yard touchdown dive by Tyler Cone that gave Good Hope a 26-14 lead with just over nine minutes on the clock in the third. That’s when the Warriors began to step on the gas offensively, cutting the lead to 26-20 just a few plays later on a 41-yard scoring run by Ollie Howell. After a fumble ended the next Raiders possession, West Point took its first lead of the night when Hensley ran one in from 9 yards out and the two-point conversion put the Warriors on top 28-26 midway through the period.
That score held until the start of the fourth quarter but less than a minute into the final frame, a 37-yard touchdown run by Hensley extended the lead to 35-26. Good Hope was forced to punt on its ensuing possession and Hensley ran in his third rushing touchdown of the night from 11 yards out to give West Point a 42-26 advantage with about eight minutes to play. A 61-yard touchdown pass to Parker Marks added to the Warrior lead midway through the fourth and the Raiders were able to find the end zone one more time when Whatley hit Cone for a 5-yard touchdown pass, but Good Hope couldn’t climb back any further than that and West Point held on to take a 49-32 shootout over the Raiders.
Hensley racked up 137 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in the win, adding 190 yards and a pair of scores through the air as well. Howell finished with 98 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and Marks led the way amongst the receivers with 73 yards and a touchdown on three catches.
Whatley completed 24 of 40 pass attempts for 294 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions in the loss. Cone led the game with 100 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions and Malin pulled down a pair of touchdowns as well.
West Point will look to keep the momentum going when they host another county matchup with Hanceville next week and the Raiders will try to bounce back in their own county battle at Vinemont.
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