Good Hope dominated from the outset on Friday night, building a comfortable first-half lead en route to earning a 40-7 victory over Fultondale at James W. Shabel Stadium.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 5-4 (3-2 in Class 4A, Region 6) and officially garnered a spot in the playoffs for the fifth straight season under head coach Alan Scott.

“The first thought is just being thankful,” Scott said. “This is a team that had to find itself throughout the season. We had a great start, then a rough middle. Now, we’ve had three good weeks in a row. Making the playoffs is just a good feeling for our kids and coaches.”

Jacob Haynes put Good Hope in front 7-0 in the first quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Following a Kmal Bell interception, Colten Whatley hit Tucker Malin from 20 yards out to increase the lead to 13-0 later in the frame.

The Raiders pulled away in the second period.

Malin returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown, and Kaleb Jones followed a Hank Hudson fumble recovery shortly afterward with an 11-yard scoring run to put the home team ahead 27-0.

Shortly before halftime, Whatley and Malin connected yet again — this time from 23 yards out — to make it 33-0 heading into intermission.

Good Hope’s final touchdown of the matchup came in the fourth quarter, when Whatley found Eli Clements from 8 yards out for a 40-7 advantage.

“The first half was pretty solid, I thought,” Scott said. “We were able to force some turnovers and make big plays on offense and special teams. We came out a little lethargic in the third quarter, but I thought we finished strong in the fourth. I was proud of how they finished the game.”

The Raiders will close out regular-season and region play next week with a home game against Oneonta.