Raiders Narrow win over Hornets

Two local teams, East Paulding and Hiram, faced each other last Friday with East Paulding walking away with a marginal victory. A game that could have gone to Hiram if not for the fate of one fumble and opting for two failed 2 point conversions.
Hiram took the lead in the first half. It started with Marcus Fulks 79 Yard TD followed by Hiram 9 yard pass completion. Hiram missed the Extra Point on the 1st TD and failed on a 2 Point Conversion on the second. East closed the gap with Tyrell Robinson 38 yard TD in the middle of the 3rd Qtr.
East offense turned up the pressure on Hiram in the 3 Qtr with 2 TD, the first completed by Melton Skyler for a 38 Yard Rush followed by Tyrell Robinson. Hiram’s Jermaine Banks answered back with a spectacular 99-yard kick off return. Just as it looked like the Raider’s defense had Banks at the 23-yard line, he broke free leaving the Raiders behind. The 2 point conversion was good.
Marcus Fulk TD in the 4th quarter was Hiram’s last TD with yet another 2 point conversion. Hiram, leading by 6 and had the ball on 1 and 10 on East 23 yard line with less than 7 mins left. Another TD for Hiram could finish the game for East Paulding. But just as the Hornet’s was looking to clinch the game, they fumbled with East gaining possession. The Raiders capitated on the error and Tyrell Robinson drove it in for a TD after few more plays. With the extra point, East held Hiram with a one-point lead.
It was not the touchdowns on each team that won or lost the game. It was a game that came down to miss extra points and failed 2 point conversion.
East Paulding is going to travel to Rome to face the #1 Rank team in the region. Hiram is favored to win against Cass at Hiram.

Chance Foster intercepted the ball on Hiram’s first drive. Tyrell Johnson run would have been a 1st down if not for a penalty on East Paulding. Michael Williams stops Darryl Holley from completing a pass. Dominic Burnam completed pass would have been a first down had it not been for penalties against the Raiders. Ishmael Hairston received a pass from Nathan Presnell for a TD. East Paulding’s Tyrell Robinson 1st TD of the night for East. He goes on to make two more TD for East rushing 225 yards with an average of 7.3 yards. Raiders’ Maverick Hering sacked Nathan Presnell. Jermaine Banks returns a 99 yard kick off returned. He breaks free of the Raiders about the 15-yard line and runs untouched to the end zone. Five Raiders swarm Jermain Banks yet he breaks out with the assistance of his teammate for a 99 yard TD kick off return.