GOOD HOPE – Two onside kick recoveries in the first 25 seconds set up two touchdown runs that sparked the Good Hope Middle School Raiders’ 44-20 triumph over the West Point Warriors Monday evening at James Shabel Stadium.
Catching West Point off guard, Walter Perez's two kicks were recovered by the Raiders' Eli Pugh and Colton Bagwell. Good Hope needed two plays to score following the work of the special teams with Bagwell going 33 yards and Pugh finding his way to the end zone on a 40-yard jaunt.
Good Hope has completed five consecutive regular seasons without losing a game. The Raiders are 6-0 and take 31 consecutive regular wins to the Cullman County championship game Oct. 17 on the Good Hope campus.
The opponent is to be determined, but Hanceville appears to be the front runner. The Bulldogs played Holly Pond Monday and had a 2-1 record going in, second best in the county behind Good Hope.
Pugh and Bagwell were able to run down the right sidelines on the onside kicks, beating the West Point receivers to the ball and putting Good Hope in excellent field position.
Pugh got the ball at the West Point 38 then an offside penalty sent the Raiders to the 33. Bagwell ran up the middle for the first score with 10 seconds elapsed in the game. Cody Dye recovered the 2-point conversion try in the end zone and it was Raiders 8, Warriors 0.
Good Hope used Bagwell to hustle downfield and get the second recovery. Pugh carried for the first time with this one from the West Point 40 and on to the end zone. The conversion failed and the Raiders had a 14-0 lead with this the start of a very strong first quarter for Tyler Hudson's squad.
The Raiders' third drive began from their 40 with Bagwell finishing it on a 35-yard run. A pass from Braxton Marshall to Lane Speegle made it 22-0 with 5:08 still to play in the first.
West Point fumbled the ball on its next series as Jesse Blackmon pounced on the pigskin at the Warriors' 47.
This drive took almost 4:00 off the clock with balanced running. Austin Cordes ran it in from the 2 and the Raiders were ahead 28-0 when the first ended. Good Hope gained 182 yards rushing with seven first downs and held the Warriors to -5 on five first-quarter snaps.
After the Raiders returned a punt to the West Point 42 early in the second, the next touchdown was put on the scoreboard. Jared Pugh ran off left tackle for the score and the Raiders went up 36-0 when Speegle added the 2-point play.
The final TD of the half and of the game for the Raiders came with 2:01 to go in the half. After a 2-yard loss, Bagwell got free for the longest run of the night, 84 yards, and the Raiders took a comfortable 44-0 advantage to the locker room. Nelson Hernandez provided the 2-point conversion with the Raiders gaining 306 yards in the half, all on the ground, producing nine first downs and scoring on six possessions.
Most of the starters were done by halftime. West Point recovered the second half kickoff and started from the Good Hope 39. The Warriors drove it to the end zone and scored on an 8-yard run by Lucas McAfee. McAfee tallied the conversion and the Warriors were on the board, down 44-8 at the 5:28 mark of the third.
Forcing a Raider punt, the Warriors ended the third with their second score. McAfee took it in from the 2 after the score was set up by a 14-yard run from Matthew Hawley and a 10-yard pass by Kaleb Heatherly to Will Cochran.
The conversion was no good and the Warriors were down 44-14 when time ran out in the third quarter.
A 75-yard scoring drive was up next for Toby Denson's Warriors in the final stanza with a 45-yard pass to Hawley, followed by a 5-yard scoring play from Heatherly to Carter Thornton with 2:18 remaining.
West Point trailed 44-20. Good Hope got the ball and was able to take it near midfield before losing possession on downs with 0:08 left. The Warriors got a 13-yard pass to Hawley to the 34 and the game was over.
Bagwell had four carries for 160 yards and three touchdowns, anchoring the Raider running attack. Eli Pugh had four rushes for 67 yards and a touchdown, Jared Pugh had 76 yards on four carries and a score.
Speegle accounted for a pair of 2-point conversions and set up the first score in the second quarter on a 22-yard punt return to the West Point 42.
The Raiders needed just 15 plays to get six touchdowns on the board by the time the game reached halftime.
Through six games, the Raiders have scored 204 points, averaging 34 points a game. The 44 on Monday was the second highest of the season with 48 coming in a win against Fairview on Sept. 6.
The Raiders are after their fourth Cullman County championship in the last five years. The run was ended by a Vinemont in 2015 when the Eagles upset the Raiders at Shabel Stadium.
Kickoff for the title bout will take place at 6 p.m.
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