GOOD HOPE, Ala. – The Good Hope Raiders played host to the no. 2 ranked Cherokee County Warriors Friday night in their region opener and Cherokee County left Good Hope with a 35-0 win.
Good Hope went three-and-out on its opening possession, and Cherokee County used the running game to move the ball down the field. An offsides penalty gave the Warriors a first down at the 16, and they would later score on a two-yard run to give them a 7-0 lead with seven minutes left to go in the opening period. A pass interference penalty on Cherokee County gave Good Hope a first down at the 50, then Colten Whatley found Carter Rutherford for a nine-yard gain. A holding penalty on the next play, though, hurt the Raiders and were later forced to turn the ball over on downs.
The Warriors quickly found the end zone on just the third play of its series as a 53-yard touchdown pass gave them a 14-0 lead with 3:14 left to go in the first quarter. After picking up a first down on a short run by Jacob Haynes, the offense couldn’t get much going after that, as the drive ended on a Whatley interception on fourth down. Good Hope’s defense forced a turnover on downs on its next possession, but a Raider punt gave the ball right back to the Warriors. Cherokee County’s run game continued to wear down the Raider defense, and their drive ended with a six-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0 with 2:21 left to go in the first half. Another Raider punt gave the ball back to the Warriors, but a Tyler Cone interception put a stop to their drive, and Good Hope went into the half trailing 21-0.
The second half saw the Raider defense forced Cherokee County to turn the ball over on downs on its opening possession. Good Hope picked up a first down on a seven-yard pass from Whatley to Rutherford but were later forced to punt. The Raider defense forced a punt of their own but gave the ball back to the Warriors via punt. A big run on third down put the Warriors at the 21, and three plays later, they scored on a 1-yard run to make it 28-0. They put up another score in the fourth quarter as a 10-yard run put the final score at 35-0.
Good Hope (1-2, 0-1) will travel to take on Fairview next Friday night.
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