Winless Keith and undefeated Ellwood Christian entered Thursday night’s county showdown at Memorial Stadium as teams headed different directions. They left on opposite paths too.

Keith (1-3) picked up its first win of the season by piling up 390 yards and six first half touchdowns in a dominant 58-6 victory to hand Ellwood (3-1) its first loss of the season. Bears’ running back Domonique Jones ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns.

“When we were 0-3, I just had to believe we were probably one of the better 0-3 teams in Alabama in 1A,” said Keith head coach Harry Crum. “We’ve been working hard, and I think it is beginning to show.”

The Bears took an 8-0 lead with 4:48 left in the first quarter on a 12-yard touchdown run by Jones. From there, he and senior Jeremiah Campbell stole the show.

On the Bears’ next possession, Campbell took a handoff from quarterback Brian Crum and appeared to be going nowhere fast. Eagles players surrounded him and appeared to bring him the to the ground, but somehow he kept his knee off the grass, spun back on his feet and kept his footing down the sideline for a 15-yard run that put Keith up 14-0.

Meanwhile, Ellwood’s offense was sputtering.

The Eagles had -2 yards in the first quarter and didn’t score their first touchdown until 27.3 seconds remained in the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t show up at all and Keith did,” said Ellwood Christian head coach Trey Pike. “They came out physical, and we did not and it is what it is. When you don’t play up to par like we’ve playing the first three weeks, it shows and that’s what happened. Keith came in ready to play and we just mentally did not play.”

Jones scored his second of four touchdowns on a 75-yard run on the first play of the second quarter to put Keith up 20-0. On the next play from scrimmage, Ellwood Christian quarterback Taylor Ellis had the ball snapped over his head and the Bears fell on it in the end zone to take a 28-0 lead after a two-point conversion.

On Keith’s next two possessions, Jones capped long drives with 5-yard touchdown runs to put the Bears up 44-0.

“Domonique just took over and Jeremiah was unconscious tonight,” Crum said.

Campbell had a second incredible run where he broke multiple tackles and later scored a 5-yard touchdown in the third quarter to make it 52-0.

The Bears’ final touchdown of the night was scored on a 4-yard run by quarterback Brian Crum, who spent most of his handing the ball off.

Ellwood’s only score was a 9-yard pass from Taylor Ellis to Jaylen Colvin with 27.3 seconds remaining in the game.

“I had no idea we would be 50 points better than them,” Crum said. “They get after it on film and they have some good athletes.”

The last two seasons, Ellwood Christian had defeated Keith. Last season, the Bears led at halftime only to watch the Eagles come back in the third quarter in a game that went a long way in deciding each school’s playoff fate.

This season the game held even more importance with class 1A, region 4 down to only five teams after the closures of both Sunshine and Akron High Schools following the 2014-2015 school year.

Region foes Maplesville and Linden are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s class 1A rankings and seem likely to make the postseason, leaving A.L. Johnson, Keith and Ellwood Christian to battle for the other two spots.

Keith is 1-2 in region play and only has A.L. Johnson left on its region schedule. Ellwood Christian’s area opener was Thursday’s game.

“We aren’t out of this thing,” Pike said. “We still have three more opportunities. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board, back to the weight room to do the things we’ve got to do to get better.”

Keith hosts Selma next Friday at Memorial Stadium while Ellwood Christian plays at Verbena.