Keith (1-6) had an early lead Friday against Marengo (5-2), but couldn’t hang onto what turned into a 28-16 loss.

The Bears Ja’Quan Lipscomb ran in a 2-yard touchdown on the first drive of the game to put Keith up 8-0.

Later in the game, Brian Crum threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Travis Goldsby. Jeremiah Campbell ran in the two-point conversion for the Bears.

Keith looked as if it might be mounting a comeback, but a long run by Domonique Jones was called back due to a block in the back and a personal foul after the play moved the Bears’ even farther back.

“We got a holding penalty, which ended up negating a 50-yard run by Domonique Jones and that pretty much took the wind out of our sails,” said Keith head coach Harry Crum.

Crum said his team had over 200 yards in penalties, but guessed that it might’ve been even more than that.

“Every time we got a good drive going, we shot ourselves in the foot,” Crum said.

The Bears have dropped three consecutive games but remain alive for a playoff berth. Keith finished region play at last week against A.L. Johnson and must wait to see how other teams fare down the stretch.

More than likely, the final two playoff spots in class 1A, region 4 will be decided by a game between Ellwood Christian and A.L. Johnson on Nov. 23.

The Bears play at Isabella next week.