ONEONTA, Ala. – The Good Hope Raiders traveled to take on the Redskins in their final game of the regular season on Friday night and after a wild back-and-forth start to the first half, Oneonta started to pull away in the second quarter and ended up knocking off Good Hope 55-42.
Oneonta got the ball first to start the game, and a 30-yard run on second down put them at the five-yard line. Two plays later, they scored on a three-yard run to give them an early 7-0 lead almost two minutes into the game. Good Hope had a quick answer on its opening drive. Colten Whatley connected with Tucker Malin for a 36-yard gain, then Whatley found him again for a 25-yard score to tie the game up at seven with 9:08 remaining in the first quarter. A quick 27-yard touchdown run gave Oneonta 14-7 lead, then they recovered a Raider fumble.
Good Hope’s defense, though, stood tall on its next series and forced a turnover on downs. A 17-yard pass from Whatley to Carter Rutherford, plus a pass interference penalty on the Redskins, put the Raiders at the 18. On the next play, Whatley found Malin for an 18-yard score to tie the game up at 14 with a little over three minutes to go in the first period. Oneonta quickly broke the tie with an 11-yard run to take a 21-14 lead, and later added a seven-yard score to make it 28-14 with 1:05 left to go in the first quarter.
Huge runs by Whatley and Mason Drake, plus a big 36-yard pass from Whatley to Malin, had the Raiders at the six. Drake punched it in on the next play to cut it to 28-21 with a little over a minute gone in the second quarter. The Redskins quickly countered with a 46-yard touchdown run to make it 35-21, then after recovering another Good Hope fumble, added a one-yard run, then later on, a three-yard touchdown pass, to push their lead to 48-21. Neither team added another score before the half, as the Raiders went into the locker room down, 48-21.
Good Hope punted to start the second half, and Oneonta scored on a 29-yard pass to push their lead to 55-21. Some big yards on the ground by Whatley, Drake, and Rutherford, plus a face mask penalty on the Redskins, put the Raiders at the 15. Whatley scored on the next play to cut it to 55-28, then in the fourth quarter, the backups got some playing time. Parker Johnson punched it in from four yards out, then later in the period, Karson Hollis scored on a five-yard run, and Johnson added the two-point conversion to put the final score at 55-42.
Whatley finished 9/19 for 161 yards and a pair of scores, plus 42 more on the ground and another touchdown, for Good Hope (3-7). Malin added four receptions for 115 yards and two scores. Mason Drake finished with 98 yards on the ground and a score.
The Raiders will lose some key seniors this season, but will have some key players, plus some young talent, coming back next season, as they look to get back in the postseason in 2024.
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