GOOD HOPE, Ala. – The Good Hope Raiders hosted a massive region game against the Dora Bulldogs Friday night and were able to make just enough plays down the stretch to pull ahead and collect a 15-14 win to stay in the driver’s seat of Region 6.
Dora won the toss and deferred till the second half. The Raiders received the ball at the 16 and drove down the field where quarterback Tanner Malin took in the first touchdown of the night from 17 yards out to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Good Hope’s defense forced Dora to punt and got the ball back in the hands of its offense.
The Raiders were forced to punt the ball back to the Bulldogs and Dora took advantage of the good field position. It took the Bulldogs just five short plays to score from 23 yards out to tie the game at 7 midway through the second quarter. With the game tied, the Bulldogs forced the Raiders to turn the ball over on downs and Dora used its momentum from the last possession to go back down the field and punch another one into the end zone to take a 14-7 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.
The Raiders’ defense came up with a big stop early in the third quarter, giving the offense the ball on the 43-yard line. Good Hope took advantage of the short field in front of them and used a little trickery to score on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Paydon Bagwell to Charlie O’Neil to make it 14-13. Head Coach Alan Scott and the Raiders made the decision to go for two and Ethan Anderson made his way into the end zone to put two points on the board and give Good Hope a 15-14 lead late going into the fourth quarter.
Dora responded with an impressive drive down to the Raiders’ 19-yard line, but Good Hope’s defense forced the Bulldogs into a fourth down decision. Dora opted for the field goal attempt, but the kick was no good and the Raiders were able to run out a lot of the remaining clock in fourth quarter. The defense got the final stop they needed and Good Hope held on to defeat the Bulldogs 15-14 and remain undefeated in region play.
The Raiders will travel to take on Oneonta next week away for their final game of the regular season with a potential region championship on the line.
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