JACKSONVILLE – The Good Hope Raiders drove about two hours away to Jacksonville State University to take on Cleburne County in a spring game Saturday. They returned home 21-0 winners over the Tigers.
The first offensive play for the Raider offense came was a 34-yard run by Matt Dixon, who took it to the Cleburne County 34-yard line. Good Hope drove to the 6-yard line, then a penalty, followed by a 1-yard loss, dropped the Raiders back to the 12. Devin Moody tried a 29-yard field goal, but it was no good. The Raider defense, though, kept the Tiger offense off the scoreboard as the first quarter ended in a scoreless tie.
The second quarter, though, proved to be different as Jared Pugh picked off a pass at the Good Hope 45, one of three turnovers that the Raider defense forced on the day; later on, they cashed in on that opportunity as Bailey Quick executed an option play perfectly to Matt Schwaiger, who raced down the left sideline for a 40-yard touchdown with 9:09 remaining in the first half to put Good Hope on the scoreboard.
Schwaiger picked up the Raiders’ second interception of the game at the 38-yard line with 2:49 remaining in the half, and they quickly capitalized on this turnover like they did on their first interception; after that got called for a holding on their first play, Quick found Matt Hancock for a touchdown that was taken off the scoreboard because of a block in the black penalty. After a Dixon 4-yard run, that made it third-and-4 at the 14-yard line, and Quick got a big block by Dylan McDonald as he gained 13 yards on the keeper to put the ball at the 1. Dixon got in the end zone on the next play to make it 14-0, which was the score at the half.
There was a running clock for the whole second half, and some younger players came in to play for both sides. After stopping the Tigers with 9:39 remaining in the game, new quarterback Tanner Malin helped drive the offense down the field; he picked up 20 yards on a third-and-8 from the 30, which put the Raiders at the 10. Malin scored on a 2-yard run to put the final score at 21-0.
Good Hope out-gained Cleburne County, 235-66, in the first half, and finished with 270 total yards offensively: 197 rushing and 73 passing. Dixon finished with 65 rushing yards and a score. Quick passed for 73 yards and ran for 39 more to finish with 112 total yards. Hancock caught a pair of passes for 57 yards. The Raider defense held the Tigers to just 106 yards and three first downs; Pugh and Schwaiger each had interceptions in the game, and they forced a fumble as well. The Raiders will start out the season on the road on Aug. 24 at Carbon Hill.
Other games
Hanceville 14, Cold Springs 6
Addison 22, Falkville 13
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