GOOD HOPE, Ala. – Friday night was Senior Night at James W. Shabel Stadium at Good Hope as the Raiders took on the Oneonta Redskins in a big regional matchup but unfortunately for the Raider fans, Oneonta took control in the second quarter and ended up pulling away to defeat Good Hope 49-21.
Good Hope got the ball to start out the game and Colten Whatley found Tucker Malin for nine yards on the first play. Three plays later, an offsides penalty on Oneonta gave the Raiders a first down at the 49-yard line. Two plays later, Whatley found K’mal Bell all alone on the right side as they connected for a 52-yard score to give the Raiders an early 7-0 lead. The Redskins answered quickly on its opening series as a one-yard touchdown run tied the game up at 7.
On the Raiders’ next series, Whatley found Tucker Keef for 16 yards on second down as that put the ball at the 44. A false start penalty pushed them back to the 45 and were later faced with a fourth-and-11 from the 45. Good Hope faked the punt and Whatley connected with Malin for a 36-yard completion. The Redskins got called for a personal foul after the play and the Raiders had the ball at the seven. Whatley found Bell on the next play for a touchdown as that gave Good Hope a 14-7 lead with 5:07 remaining in the first quarter. Mason Drake recovered the ball on the kickoff for Good Hope but were later forced to punt.
Every time Good Hope looked to get some momentum going defensively, Oneonta would break free for a big run or complete a huge pass. That was the case on this drive as the Redskins ended up finishing the drive by scoring on a 52-yard run to tie the game up at 14. Whatley found Malin for a 36-yard gain as that quickly put the Raiders at the 33. Good Hope was faced with fourth-and-one from the 24, but an incomplete pass forced them to turn the ball over on downs. A 61-yard touchdown run on just the third play of the series for Oneonta gave them a 21-14 lead. A Whatley interception gave the ball back to the Redskins and Oneonta added another score before the half as a 28-yard touchdown pass pushed their lead to 28-14 at the half.
Both defenses forced a punt to start out the second half and the Redskins ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run on the first play to make it 35-14. The ground game got going on the Raiders’ next series as Kaleb Jones picked up consecutive first downs, then Whatley found Callahan Lindsey for a 13-yard gain and another first down. Jones picked up another first down running the ball, but the drive came to an end on fourth down as Oneonta recovered a Raider fumble. The running game continued to give Good Hope fits and the Redskins scored on a 39-yard run to make it 42-14.
Good Hope looked to get something going offensively as a huge 44-yard pass from Whatley to Malin quickly put them at the 10. Bell came up just short of scoring on fourth down and the Raiders turned the ball over on downs. An 85-yard touchdown run pushed the Redskin lead to 49-14 and Good Hope found the end zone for the final time in the game as Whatley connected with Tyler Cone for a 16-yard score to put the final score at 49-21.
Whatley finished 13/24 for 240 yards and three touchdowns for Good Hope (5-5, 3-3). Malin added five receptions for 125 yards. Bell ended up with 65 yards on three receptions and two touchdowns while Cone added 28 yards on a pair of catches and a score. Jones finished with 47 yards on 10 carries. Drake recovered a fumble for the Raiders on special teams.
Good Hope will be off next week, and the Raiders will begin preparing for their first-round playoff matchup coming up Nov. 4.
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