GOOD HOPE — With its back against the wall, Good Hope’s defense stood tall and proud.

Faced with tough circumstances late in Friday night’s Class 4A, Region 6 contest, the Raiders produced a phenomenal goal-line stand against Hanceville, stuffing the Bulldogs on four straight plays from inside the 5-yard line to come away with a 26-20 victory at James W. Shabel Stadium.

“I think this was our fifth goal-line stand of the season,” Good Hope coach Alan Scott said. “Hopefully, our guys aren’t getting shook back there. It was a great way to finish the game. Everything worked out in our favor.”

For a few precious moments, it looked as though fortune would favor the Bulldogs, who drove the ball down the field late and had a first-and-goal opportunity at the 3-yard line.

But Scott’s crew stopped a quartet of running plays and took possession with less than 10 seconds left.

The win was pocketed — and a four-game slide halted — one snap later.

“A four-game losing streak is tough on anyone, especially a young team,” Scott said. “And we’ve really coached these guys hard these past couple of weeks. We got back to the basics and tried to control all that we can control. I’m very proud of the way these guys are fighting. This win gives us an opportunity to keep the ball in our own hands moving forward.”

Hanceville grabbed an early 7-0 lead following Zach Campbell’s 13-yard touchdown pass to L.J. Smith at the 7:03 mark of the opening stanza.

Good Hope, though, answered later in the frame when Colten Whatley found a wide-open Kaleb Jones on a 4th-and-goal snap from the 10-yard line to make it 7-6. In the second quarter, Whatley connected with Tucker Malin — who made a tremendous grab in the back of the end zone — from 16 yards out to put the Raiders in front 12-7. The scoring drive was set up by a Hank Hudson interception.

The Bulldogs, however, had a bit more bite left in them in the first half.

With 5:49 remaining, Campbell provided an on-target throw to Konnor Helms for a 22-yard touchdown strike and 14-12 cushion heading into intermission.

Unfortunately for the road team, Good Hope came out of the locker room swinging.

Kmal Bell rumbled in from 1 yard out with 3:53 left in the third quarter, and Whatley’s 2-point toss to Eli Clements shortly afterward gifted the Red and White a 20-14 advantage.

The Raiders increased their lead to 26-14 at the 10:23 mark of the final period on Whatley’s 10-yard TD pass — yet another key fourth-down sequence — to Clements.

“Those were huge plays,” Scott said. “I’m really proud of the offense tonight. I thought Colten played a great game, and I thought the receivers made some great catches.”

Despite that momentum, Hanceville didn’t go away.

Instead, the Bulldogs cut their deficit to 26-20 following a 3-yard scoring dash from Brosnan Ward with 6:32 left in the contest and had one final chance to tie things up or go ahead.

In the end, though, Good Hope turned in a big-time stop.

The Raiders (3-4, 1-2) will travel to Ashville next week, while the Bulldogs (2-5, 1-3) will head to Etowah.