GOOD HOPE, Ala. – Thursday night was a wet and muggy one at James W. Shabel Stadium but there was a tight, competitive game happening on the field between the Good Hope Raiders and the visiting Rebels of West Morgan. Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Raiders came out on the wrong end of a season-opening thriller in which the Rebels scored late to pull ahead and defeat Good Hope 34-28.
The Rebels began moving the ball down the field early but after a few positive plays, a fumble was recovered by the Raiders and gave the ball to the Good Hope offense. The Raiders took over on the 19-yard line and five plays later, Jager Burns found the endzone with a four-yard run to put Good Hope in front 7-0. However, West Morgan was able to respond quickly with a score of its own. After a Rebels touchdown, a missed extra point cut the lead to 7-6.
Good Hope got the ball back after the score and Ethan Anderson added to the Raider lead with another touchdown to make it a 14-6 game going into the second quarter. The Rebels were forced to punt on their ensuing possession and hit it right into the back of their line to give Good Hope the ball on the Rebels’ 28-yard line. However, the Raiders were held out of the endzone and turned the ball over on downs to return possession to West Morgan. The Rebels were able to put together a lengthy drive and punched another one into the endzone to cut the lead to 14-12. The Raiders responded with a quick touchdown when Tanner Malin broke free for a 66-yard touchdown run and stretched the Good Hope lead to 22-12 in the second quarter.
West Morgan continued to answer, scoring in just two plays to bring the score to 22-19 just before the half and making it a 3-point game at the halftime break.
The Raiders received the kickoff to open the second half but were forced to punt the ball away and give it to the Rebels in their own territory. West Morgan took advantage quickly and score to take a 26-22 lead in the third quarter. The Raiders defense came up with a stop when Drew Easterwood pulled down an interception and gave the ball to Good Hope on the Rebels’ 27-yard line. Three plays later, Malin ran in for another score from 4 yards, putting the Raiders back on top 28-26 going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was a battle between both teams. Both offenses were able to put together long drives, but Good Hope was unable to find the endzone again and West Morgan was able to score with less than two minutes on the clock to pull ahead of the Raiders 34-28. Four plays later, the Good Hope Raiders suffered their first loss of the season.
Head Coach Alan Scott was proud of the effort his team showed Thursday night but saw several things he knows they need to get corrected before next week as well.
“I thought our kids played hard tonight. West Morgan had a great game plan and played with a lot of emotion,” Scott said. “We will have to correct some mental errors moving forward. We have a tough schedule ahead of us, so it’s vital that we learn from tonight’s game.”
The Raiders will make the short trip to West Point to battle their county rivals next week.
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