GOOD HOPE, Ala. – The Good Hope Raiders were back home taking on the Hatton Hornets in the first round of the 4A state playoffs Friday night and after a tight first half, Good Hope broke things open in the second half, scoring four times to pull away with a 42-12 win and move on to the second round.
Good Hope recovered the onside kick to start out the game, and after picking up a first down on a run by Mason Drake, the offense stalled. Their punt attempt got blocked, and the Hornets took over in great field condition at the 25. A 16-yard pass on third down gave them a first down at the 14, but a pair of penalties put them behind the sticks, and they were forced to turn the ball over on downs.
A nine-yard pass from Tyler Cone to Carter Rutherford gave Good Hope a first down. Three plays later, Cone kept the ball and evaded multiple Hatton defenders on his way to a 57-yard score to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead with a little over three minutes to go in the opening quarter. A pair of big passes by the Hornets quickly put them at the five, then they scored on the next play to cut it to 7-6. A punt gave the ball back to Hatton and picked up 35 yards on a fake punt attempt to keep their drive alive. Two plays later, though, Cone picked off an errant pass at the 26.
Runs by Ryker Hancock, Drake, and Cone quickly put the Raiders past midfield. Cone broke free for a 37-yard run two plays later as that put them at the seven, then he scored on the next play to make it 14-6 with less than three minutes to go in the first half. The Hornets’ passing game quickly got them to the 20, but the Raider defense stiffened after that, as Callahan Lindsey collected a sack on fourth down to help keep the score at 14-6 going into the locker room.
Good Hope pounded the ball right at Hatton’s defense to start out the second half, as Cone collected a pair of first downs during the drive. After finding Parker Johnson for 11 yards, Cone kept it on the next play and muscled his way through multiple Hornet tacklers to score from 27 yards out to push their lead to 21-6 with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter. The Raider defense quickly forced a turnover on its next series, as Drake picked off a Hatton pass and returned it all the way to the one. Cone punched it in on the first play to increase their lead to 28-6.
Hatton quickly moved the ball down the field and ended up scoring on a 33-yard run to cut it to 28-12. Good Hope quickly answered on its next series, as Cone found Tucker Malin for a 32-yard score to make it 35-12 late in the third quarter. Cody Stevens recovered a Hornet fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and they added yet another score, as Cone again connected with Malin for a 33-yard touchdown to stretch their lead to 42-12. The younger players got a lot of playing time after that, and Good Hope ended up defeating Hatton, 42-12, to move on to the second round.
Cone finished with 164 yards on 16 carries and four scores and went 5/8 for 93 yards and two more touchdowns. Malin collected a pair of receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Drake picked off a pair of passes, and Cone added one of his own. Stevens recovered a fumble.
Good Hope will travel to take on Anniston in the second round of the state playoffs next Friday night.
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