HANCEVILLE, Ala. – There was a great crowd on hand at Ray Talley Stadium in Hanceville to watch the hometown Bulldogs face off against the Good Hope Raiders in not only a huge county game, but a huge region game as well. Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Raiders dominated the Bulldogs on their home field and ended up leaving Ray Talley Stadium with the 28-0, shutout win.
Both defenses came out strong to start the game, as the first three series saw three punts. Good Hope got the ball at the 20 to start out its next series and on third down, Colten Whatley found Tucker Malin for a 28-yard gain to put the ball at midfield. A holding penalty, though, would force them to punt a few plays later, but Hanceville mishandled the punt and Jordan Rainwater recovered the ball for the Raiders at the 20. Later on, an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Bulldogs, plus a short run by Malin, put the Raiders at the nine-yard line. Three plays later, Whatley found Hank Hudson for a three-yard score to give Good Hope a 7-0 lead with 11 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Marquies Leeth broke free for a 28-yard gain to start out the second quarter for Hanceville, but the Raider defense stiffened after that, and Leeth came up a yard short on fourth down. Both defenses forced a turnover on downs on their next series. A sack by the Bulldogs on second down put Good Hope in a third-and-16 situation, but Whatley found Landon Bagwell for 19 yards to keep the series alive. Hanceville’s defense looked to get off the field on third down, but the Raiders had other plans, though, as Whatley connected with Tyler Cone for a 50-yard score to give Good Hope a 14-0 lead with 1:57 left to go in the first half.
Hunter Black connected with J.T. Davis for 11 and 12 yards, respectively, to put the Bulldogs at the 39, as they looked to get in the end zone before the half. The Bulldogs were at the 31 after Black found Davis for three yards, but a holding penalty on the next play backed up to the 41, and they were forced to turn the ball over on downs to end the half. Good Hope took a 14-0 lead into the locker room.
Both defenses forced a punt to start out the second half. A penalty on the Raiders on the first play backed them up to the 43. On third down and 15 from the 43, Whatley found Malin for eight yards to put the ball at the 35. On the next play, Whatley threw a 35-yard strike to Carter Rutherford for the score, and the Raiders pushed their lead to 21-0 with 6:58 left to go in the third quarter. Back-to-back punts gave the ball back to the Bulldogs, as they started their next series at the 32.
Black found Boston Brewer for six yards, then on a huge fourth down play, Black connected with Davis for nine yards and a first down. Passes from Black to Drake Bentley (seven yards), Brewer (16 yards) and Davis (10 yards), put Hanceville at the 10, as they looked for their first score of the game. As quick as a flash, though, they were forced to turn the ball over on downs once again. The Bulldogs’ Eli Clements recovered a Raider fumble at the 24. A 16-yard pass from Black to Brewer had the Bulldogs at the eight-yard line, but once again, Good Hope’s defense stood tall, and forced another turnover on downs.
Good Hope started its next series at the eight-yard line, and after being stopped just short on third down, a fake punt on fourth down allowed Cone to scamper for 13 yards and a first down. Two plays later, a pair of Bulldog penalties put the ball at the 39. On fourth down from the 32, Cone found a hole on the right side of the line and scored on a 32-yard run to make it a 28-0 lead for the Raiders with less than three minutes to go in the game. Another turnover-on-downs gave the ball back to the Raiders, and three kneel downs helped seal the 28-0 win for Good Hope.
Whatley finished 10/13 for 148 yards and three scores for Good Hope (2-5, 1-2). Rutherford finished with four receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown. Cone added 96 yards on the ground and a score and had a 50-yard touchdown reception as well. Hudson had a three-yard touchdown reception in the contest. Rainwater recovered a fumble for the Raiders. For Hanceville (3-4, 1-3), Black went 14/33 for 123 yards. Leeth finished with 60 rushing yards. Davis added eight receptions for 75 yards. Clements recovered a fumble for the Bulldogs.
Good Hope will be heading home for another huge region game next Friday night against Ashville and Hanceville will remain home for a big region game against Etowah.
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