The Goshen Eagles established their dominance quickly over the Keith Bears when Reginald Foster found paydirt just two minutes after the opening kickoff in a 33-14 rout at the Eagles Nest.

He would nearly repeat the feat with just under three minutes left in the first quarter by breaking a 72-yard run around the corner and setting up a Deon Merritt touchdown a couple of plays later.

Foster, with 154 yards total rushing, set the pace for a Goshen rout of their area foe, pulling the Eagles to a 2-0 season. Foster, a sophomore, combined with junior running back Marcus Jackson’s 153 yards rushing to account for all but 75 of the Eagles’ total yardage. Each running back posted two touchdowns.

“We came out flat and stayed unmotivated,” said Keith head coach Harry Crum. “We were down by three touchdowns — but we had come back before — and couldn’t overcome it tonight.”

For Crum, leadership, experience and four players out sick made the difference in the game.

“We have young guys and only five seniors, but they have to be leaders,” he said.

That intensity got demonstrated after Foster’s second touchdown when a botched two-point conversion bounced off Foster’s helmet and ended up in Jackson’s hands and then in the end zone.

The Bears did not mount a serious drive until late in the second half.

With just over five minutes left in the first half, Keith senior quarterback Gerald Matthews was nearly picked off; fortunately, the tip was caught for a touchdown.

It wouldn’t be the last near-interception for the Keith team — Goshen stalled two late-game drives with strong pass coverage.

“The defense had an outstanding game with several key plays and (John) Bean was strong,” Snyder said.

Bean, a junior, led the defense with eight tackles, three assists and on e fumble recover. Freshman DeVandrick Merritt contributed five tackles, two assists and three sacks – two on consecutive plays early in third quarter.

After trading field position, a series of Bear penalties put the Eagles into scoring position and Jackson posted his first points of the game with under a minute remaining in the half. A personal foul against Keith was assessed on the kickoff, which Foster put out of the end zone.

Another series of penalties late in the third quarter backed Keith up to its own 18 after Goshen sophomore running back Marcus Coleman carried for 7 yards to the 4-yard line. Jackson got the nod for the 1-yard carry into end zone and the Eagle’s last score for the night.

The Bears posted their final 8 points on a pair of runs by freshman Martavius Harris. With a little over a minute to play in regulation, Harris broke a 52-yard run for the end zone and made good on a 2-point conversion.

The Bears face Zion Chapel next week.

“We slippe d up on them last year,” said Crum. “This year is a different team and we can’t sneak up on them.”