By Daniel Evans | Selma Times-Journal

Keith was unable to slow down No. 2 Maplesville in a 69-6 loss Friday night that saw the Red Devils rack up 316 total yards.

The Red Devils’ Damian Mitchell scored three touchdowns and Maplesville turned in an impressive performance that resulted in the fourth quarter being cut to a running clock of 6 minutes.

“They are goal-oriented, and I think their goal is a state title,” Keith head coach Harry Crum said of Maplesville. “I knew they were going to be good, but I didn’t know that they were going to be 69-6 good.”

Meanwhile for Maplesville, the win extends their record to 9-0 and secures an undefeated season in region play.

“They came out and executed,” Red Devils head coach Brent Hubbert said. “Fortunately for us, they have done it nine times so far and hopefully it will continue.”

The rout started early when Red Devils quarterback Colby Chambers threw a 59-yard pass on the first play of the game to receiver Kendarius Bradley to set Maplesville up in Keith territory. Four plays later, Mitchell scored on a 3-yard run to give Maplesville a 7-0 lead with 10:25 remaining in the first quarter.

“We got beat over the top on the first drive, and that is something we coach every day is that you cannot get beat over the top in Cover-3,” Crum said. “It wasn’t for a touchdown, but it gave a team that really didn’t need any momentum some early momentum. It kind of took the wind out of our sails.”

Chambers would add a 1-yard rushing score on the Red Devils’ next possession to extend the lead to 14-0. After Keith went three-and-out, a 40-yard punt return by Trevor Wallace gave Maplesville fantastic field position. Mitchell added an 18-yard score to cap the drive, pushing the lead to 21-0 Maplesville with 2:22 remaining in the opening quarter.

Two plays later, Maurice Crumpton’s pass was intercepted and run back by Anthony Moore for a 37-yard touchdown to give Maplesville a 28-0 lead. The lead would stay there until Mitchell scored again, this time from five yards out, to extend Maplesville’s lead to 35-0 with 3:41 remaining in the first half.

Keith continued to go nowhere on offense, with their next drive ending in Crumpton’s third interception of the night. After the turnover, Chambers threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Troy Harrison to give Maplesville a 42-0 advantage with 2:19 remaining in the first half.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Bears showed their first signs of life. Delmuss Irby returned the kickoff 74 yards to the Maplesville 16-yard line to set up a touchdown run by Crumpton to make the score 42-6 going into halftime.

In the second half, both teams played some of their younger players. Jerry Nix III scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to give Maplesville a 56-6 lead with 9:41 remaining in the third quarter.

Even when Keith punted, the Red Devils took advantage. After stuffing the Bears on their next drive, Nix III returned a Keith punt 60 yards for a touchdown to stretch the lead to 63-6. The final score of the game came on a 27-yard run by Nix III, but for the first time all night Chambers missed the extra point, resulting in a final score of 69-6.

The fourth quarter was cut to 6 minutes, with a running clock that resulted in only nine plays being played.

Keith was held to 119 total yards in the game, with four turnovers stopping Bears drives.