GOOD HOPE – This was a big region game for Good Hope as they looked to avoid going 0-3 on the season and 0-2 in the region in their game against Hamilton. But the Bulldogs were just a little too much for the Raiders to handle, as Hamilton ended up taking the game 35-24.
It did not take long for the Bulldogs to find the end zone. They started their first possession on Good Hope's 49-yard line. A huge 42-yard run by senior James Wilson on the first play put Hamilton on the 7-yard line and on the next play, junior Tristen Stewart scored to quickly put Hamilton up 7-0 with only 26 seconds coming off the clock.
On Good Hope's first offensive series, they got off to a slow start and on third-and-15, Preston Bagwell forced a pass over the middle, which Tristen Stewart timed perfectly as he intercepted it and he went 35 yards for the score to put the Bulldogs up 14-0 with 9:29 left to go in the first quarter. The Raiders used five different players to help get the running game going and it worked like a charm, as Bagwell also found Matt Cofer on pass plays of 15 and 19 yards. Off a Dixon 6-yard loss on a toss play on first down from the 6, Bagwell found him for a 12-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7 with 2:52 remaining in the quarter. On Hamilton's next series, they fumbled the ball and Riley Kilpatrick recovered for Good Hope as they looked to tie the game up. After he got 2 yards on the first play, he broke off a 49-yard run at the end of the first quarter to put Good Hope in great field position at the 36-yard line to start the second.
But a few plays later, Bagwell got picked off once again by Stewart. Good Hope forced another fumble, this time Stewart got the ball out of his hands and Raider Matt Hancock recovered the ball at the 22. Three straight plays left Good Hope with a fourth-and-11 from the 23. Bagwell connected with Kyle Carlton for a 13-yard pass to keep the drive alive. A few plays later, Good Hope settled for a Cameron Twilley field goal from the 5-yard line and cut the lead to 14-10. They forced another Hamilton fumble as Jathan Jackson could not handle the ball cleanly and Cofer recovered it in Bulldog territory at the 48-yard line. Hancock broke runs of 16 and 15, plus Bagwell connected with Cofer twice more on passes of 13 and 6 yards, but they ran out of time, and the Raiders went into the half trailing 14-10.
Good Hope was on the move again to start the third quarter as Cofer picked up two key first downs to help keep their drive alive. Hancock slipped on a fourth-and-4 and they turned the ball over on downs at the Hamilton 42-yard line. After getting stopped on their first two plays, Jaron Scott found Mitchell Harris for 15 yards. Stewart touched the ball the next four plays for 18 yards, then Wilson picked up another huge first down for Hamilton on a 15-yard run on a reserve. Stewart finished the drive by getting the final 15 yards, including an 8-yard run to put the Bulldogs up 21-10 with 2:18 remaining in the quarter. They forced Good Hope to punt on their next series. Tanner Chandler blocked the punt and Scott recovered it at the 30. Brett Holcomb got things started for the Bulldogs with an 11-yard run. Two more runs netted a combined 2 yards before the quarter ended.
Hamilton quickly struck on the first play of the fourth quarter as Scott found Alex Reid for a 19-yard touchdown pass to widen the lead to 28-10 with 11:52 remaining in the game. Hamilton forced yet another interception by Bagwell and they quickly capitalized with some help from Good Hope as two costly penalties by the Raiders put Hamilton in excellent field position. After a Holcomb 21-yard run, Good Hope was hit with one of their costly penalties: a face mask, which put Hamilton at the 1-yard line and Holcomb scored on the next play as the lead widened even more to 35-10 with 5:13 remaining in the game.
The Raiders tried to make things a lot more interesting in the end, and they got help from Hamilton penalty-wise. Off an incomplete pass by Bagwell, the Bulldogs got called for pass interference on the next play. An incomplete pass later, Bagwell found Carlton for a 35-yard connection which put them at the 11-yard line and Bagwell got those yards using his legs, including a 1-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown as Good Hope cut the lead to 35-16 with 2:48 remaining in the game.
Hamilton could not handle the onside kick, and the Raiders recovered it in Bulldog territory at the 48. Bagwell found Cofer again for 19 yards on the first play. Off a Bulldog sack, they again got called for pass interference, which put the Raiders at the 21-yard line. Off a false start penalty, Bagwell found Carlton for 6 yards and then Cofer for 15 more before he finished the drive with another 1-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 35-24 with 50 seconds remaining in the game. They recovered another onside kick at their own 39-yard line. Three straight incomplete passes had Good Hope looking at a fourth-and-10, which they had converted three other times earlier in the game. Bagwell found Dixon on the right side, but he was a yard short and their amazing comeback fell just short.
"Our kids fought very hard and they had a positive attitude." Coach Alan Scott said. "We just fell short."
Stewart finished with 51 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns, plus a big defensive game as he picked off two passes; one went for a touchdown. Holcomb had 54 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. Scott finished 5 of 6 for 56 yards and a touchdown. Hamilton improves to 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in the region and will take on Dora at home next Friday night.
Dixon finished with 64 yards on 15 carries in his first game after missing the second half of the game against Vinemont and last week against Fayette County with a leg injury. He also caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown. Bagwell completed 13 of 29 passes for 165 yards, had one touchdown and three interceptions. He also had 14 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Cofer had a big game as well, as he had six receptions for 88 yards, plus 23 yards on eight carries. He had a fumble recovery as well. Carlton had four receptions for 62 yards. Hancock and Riley Kilpatrick also had fumble recoveries for the Raiders. Good Hope will travel to Cordova next Friday night in search of their first win of the season and in the region.
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