WEST POINT, Ala. – The Good Hope Raiders traveled to West Point to take on the Warriors in their season opener on Friday night and points were hard to come by early on. Good Hope leaned on a solid running game and a strong defense to pull away in the second half and earn a 17-3 win over West Point.
West Point got the ball to start out the game and picked up some first downs early on in the drive, led by Hunter Hensley and Ollie Howell. Later in the drive, a penalty and a sack forced the Warriors to punt. Good Hope got a first down on a West Point penalty, then a couple of plays later, Parker Johnson picked up 18 yards and another first down. Two plays later, though, Sylar Philyaw recovered a Good Hope fumble at the 46.
Howell picked up a couple of first downs on the drive, and Hensley ran for 12 yards and another first down at the one. The Raider defense stiffened after that, and Julio Fuentes nailed a 25-yard field goal to give West Point a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter. After allowing a first down, the Warrior defense would force a Good Hope punt on its next series. Each team forced a punt to end the first half, and West Point would take a 3-0 lead into the locker room.
It was a heavy dose of Parker Johnson to start out the second half for the Raiders as he picked up a pair of first down on the ground. Johnson finished off the series with a 38-yard touchdown pass to give Good Hope a 7-3 lead early in the third quarter. The Raiders got the ball back off a Warrior punt but quickly found themselves looking at a 1st-and-21 after back-to-back penalties. On the next play, Johnson found Tyler Byrd for 36 yards and a first down. Johnson would later find Tyler Cone for eight yards and another first down, and a big pass from Johnson to Mason Drake put them at the three. Johnson found the end zone on the next play to make it a 14-3 lead for Good Hope.
The Raiders recovered the kickoff and picked up a first down on a short run by Cone. They ended up settling for a 31-yard field goal, and the Raiders pushed their lead to 17-3 going into the fourth quarter. Good Hope recovered a Warrior fumble, but West Point got the ball back off a turnover-on-downs. The Warriors ended up turning the ball over on downs themselves on its final drive, and the Raiders ended up running the remaining few seconds off the clock, as they picked up a 17-3 win over West Point.
Good Hope will head back home to take on Fultondale in its region opener next week while West Point travels to take on Fairview in its region opener.
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