Holy Spirit spoiled Keith’s senior night and knocked the Bears out of the Class 1A state playoff race.

Quarterback Samuel Contorno threw for 142 yards and three touchdowns as the Saints prevailed 42-14 on Friday night at J.V. Caldwell Memorial Stadium.

Keith (3-4) is eliminated from the playoff picture, thanks to three turnovers and three missed opportunities in the red zone.

“We continue to shoot ourselves in the foot,” Bears coach Anthony Lumpkin said. “We didn’t execute. We’ve got to get better.”

Once Keith focused on Holy Spirit’s high-octane passing attack, the Saints (6-2) turned to running back Anthony Lee, who ran for 117 yards and a touchdown on just 9 carries.

“We’re usually a pass happy team, but we wore down Keith with our running game,” Contorno said.

The Saints took a 6-0 first quarter lead on Hunter Watkins’ 3-yard touchdown run.

Keith tied the game at 6-6 on Jared Edwards’ 18-yard touchdown run.

Holy Spirit regained the lead at 14-6 on Contorno’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Jaylon Stevenson and Contorno’s two-point conversion run.

The Bears had two scoring opportunities inside Holy Spirit’s 20-yard-line, but came empty each time. Keith fumbled at the Saints’ 5-yard-line and the other possession was a turnover on downs, keeping it 14-6 at halftime.

Holy Spirit began to wear down Keith in the second half. Contorno’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Brendan Mulanix and Lee’s two-point conversion run padded the Saints’ lead to 22-6 midway in the third quarter.

Keith got within 22-14 on Edwards’ 18-yard touchdown run and Mark Young’s two-point conversion run.

Holy Spirit, however, scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put away the Bears.

Lee’s 6-yard touchdown run, two-point conversion run, Contorno’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Stevenson and the Saints recovered a fumble in the end zone for the Saints’ scoring.

“We had two players out with injuries and lost our running back tonight,” Saints coach Mark Cochran said. “We had to turn to young, inexperienced players. I’m proud of our guys getting a win against a very athletic team.”

Game Roundup

West Blocton 46, Dallas Co. 8

The Hornets (0-7) remain winless, falling at Martin Field in Plantersville.

Amari Thomas scored Dallas County’s only touchdown. Aaron Lloyd added the two-point conversion run.

“They came out and hit us right in the mouth, we didn’t like it,” Dallas County coach Zeke Pigg said. “The main things coming out of tonight is our youth is starting to get experience and no one got hurt.”

Dallas County hosts Elmore County next Friday.

Montgomery Aca. 33, Southside 26

The Panthers (0-8, 0-4 Region 3-3A) nearly overcame a 26-6 deficit and had three chances to either tie or win the game.

Ernest Hatcher had three touchdown receptions. Malik Johnson threw a pair of touchdown passes to Hatcher, and Markendrick Williams threw the other scoring toss. Sandarius Smith had a kick return for a touchdown.

“It’s the story of our season,” Southside coach Daniel Flowers said. “We’ve lost our last four games by a total of 25 points. The kids fought like hell.”

Southside hosts Bullock County next Friday.

Chambers Aca. 46, Meadowview 6

The Trojans (0-7) remained winless for the season, falling to the fourth-ranked Rebels (9-0).

MCS travels to Cornerstone next Friday.