Published: October 03, 2007 12:23 am            

No more turnovers

GOOD HOPE — Enough is enough.

Or at least that was what Good Hope High football coach Chris Moss had to say after the Raiders 28-20 loss to West End-Walnut Grove last week.

Throughout the weeks, Moss has become frustrated about the high amount of turnovers his team has committed this season. That didn’t change Friday night.

Just like all season, Good Hope had another multiple turnover game. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Raiders were also hurt by a couple of bad snaps.

Immediately after the game, Chris Moss raised his concerns about his team’s offensive miscues.

“We can’t do what we did tonight and win ballgames,” Moss said after the game. “We’ve got Holly Pond coming here next week and hopefully we’ll correct things on the practice field. We have got to correct those mistakes if we are going to be successful.”

On the bright side, Good Hope has played exceptionally well on the other side of the football.

The Raiders’ defense was ranked in the top five in Class 3A as of last week, with the unit winning a couple of football games for Moss’ team.

Good Hope hosts Holly Pond Friday night in a battle of the only two undefeated teams in Class 3A, Region 7.

After Good Hope plays Holly Pond Friday, the Raiders’ opponents in the next two games — Danville and Hanceville — have not won a game this season.

Vinemont

The Eagles are on the road for the second consecutive week with a trip to New Hope Friday night.

As if another region foe was not enough motivation for them, the Indians have made the game with Vinemont their homecoming game.

Eagles head coach A.J. Lamar said they are not thinking about any of that, but they are instead trying to get back to playing the kind of football they were playing at the beginning of the year.

“We were playing real physical football against West Point in the jamboree and then the first two weeks against Fairview and Hanceville,” Lamar said. “We’ve been spending the past couple of weeks trying to get to that point, and I think we did a better job of that last week. But we can’t wait until the second or third quarter to do it.”

Lamar said New Hope will be better than its record with one win indicates.

“They have been in every game and had some bad luck,” Lamar said. “But they are a team with a lot of size and good senior leadership.

“While we have motivation to win another region game, they haven’t won one yet. They are probably thinking they need to win the next four games to get into the playoffs, and we are the first team in those four weeks. We cannot focus on their record. We need to take care of ourselves.”

Holly Pond

Coming off a disappointing loss to Fairview, Holly Pond will be trying to bounce back in time for this week’s key matchup with Good Hope.

In Holly Pond’s loss to Fairview, the Broncos had trouble running the football at times. At the same time, Fairview quarterback Trett Hardman put together one of his best performances of the season by throwing seven touchdown passes.

After the game, Holly Pond coach Steve Miller expressed the importance of this week’s game.

“That’s going to be a big one for us,” he said. “It’s really important that we bounce back. We’re the only two undefeated teams in the region, so there will be a lot riding on it.”

Hanceville

After Hanceville’s season opener against Cullman, Bulldogs coach Daryl Burnham expressed his concerns about his team’s play on defense.

Heading into week six, defense is still a concern for Hanceville. Through the first four games of the season, Hanceville gave up 50 or more points each time. The Bulldogs gave up 46 points to Cold Springs last week, which was the Eagles’ first win of the season.

Hanceville hosts Sumiton Christian Friday night, which is a team expected to compete for a playoff spot in Class 3A, Region 7.

        

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