SETH — Jeff Cooper stood on the Sherman sideline Friday night, unable to do anything but watch the final minute of his high school football career slowly tick off the scoreboard clock at Zontini Field.

Forty-three seconds remained when Sherman coach Shann Elkins called his team’s final timeout in its Class AA quarterfinal matchup against Bluefield, a perennial power that has won nine state titles in school history.

Cooper and his fellow seniors knew the sixth-seeded Beavers (10-2) would need only a pair of quarterback kneels to use up the rest of the time in their 25-18

victory over the third-seeded Tide (11-1), but they didn't want to believe it.

“It ain’t over,” Cooper yelled to his teammates on the field for the game’s final snaps. “Get the ball back. It ain’t over.”

Unfortunately for Cooper and the Tide, it was.

The Beavers had used their rushing attack to perfection, keeping the football for almost two-thirds of their second-round state playoff game.

Bluefield dominated the time of possession, particularly in the game-deciding third and fourth quarters. The Beavers had the football for 30 minutes and 18 seconds during the 48-minute game, with a 13:23-10:37

advantage in the first half and a 16:55-7:05 advantage in the

second half.

The Beavers ran 53 times for 257 yards against the Tide, including 28 times for 159 yards in the second half.

“Well, we have been decent all year with our rush game,” Bluefield coach Fred Simon said. “But, daggone, they hustled. We didn’t break too many big plays. Everything we got, we had to earn.

“They knew what it would take to beat us, and they gave it their all,” he added. “Shoot, (my) hat’s off to them. They played their a** off. Excuse my language. (I was) very impressed with them.”

With Bluefield holding the football and killing the clock, Sherman had 105 total yards on 14 plays in the second half

compared to 163 total yards on 26 plays in the first half.

“They’re good at what they do,” said Elkins, whose team made a dramatic turnaround from a 2-8 season last year and an

11-19 combined record the past three years. “They don’t do a whole lot, but they’re very good at what they do. It’s just a real good football team.”

Senior quarterback Colby Treadway completed 5-of-13

passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions for the Tide, which made the state playoffs for the first time since 2004, when it was a Class A

program. Treadway also carried 14 times for 142 yards and one score.

“What a game he had,” Simon said of Treadway. “He ran better than I thought. I knew he could throw. But, daggone, I didn’t think he could run like he did. He kept us at bay with his runs.”

Junior tailback Jake Halstead added 20 yards on 12 carries and 9 yards on one catch.

Senior wide receiver Jake Rollo’s only catch was a 40-yard touchdown; his only carry was a 4-yard run.

Senior wide receiver Tyler Boulet had two catches for 37 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown.

Sophomore fullback Brad Fox led Bluefield with 106 yards on 15 carries and had 20 yards on two catches.

Senior tailback Jake Lilly had 82 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

Junior quarterback Levi Beckett added 41 yards and one score on seven carries. Beckett also completed 5-of-9 passes for 56 yards.

Senior wide receiver Marcus Patterson contributed 28 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries along with 15 yards on two catches.

It wasn’t a good night for the teams’ kickers. Bluefield freshman Justin Mariotti was 1-for-4, including one attempt that Rollo blocked. Sherman junior David Chapman was 0-for-3.

Sherman’s scored on the game’s first possession.

Treadway capped an eight-play, 55-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run that gave the Tide a 6-0 lead with 9:05 remaining in the first quarter.

Halstead kickstarted the drive by returning the opening kickoff 35 yards to Sherman’s 45-yard line.

Rollo recovered an onside kick, but the Tide couldn’t capitalize as the Beavers forced a punt after a three-and-out series.

The teams traded punts on the next two possessions before Bluefield drove 72 yards in 15 plays to tie the score at 6-6 on a 2-yard touchdown run by Lilly with 9:19 remaining in the second quarter.

Sherman struck again on its ensuing possession, going 74 yards in five plays. Treadway found Boulet for a 27-yard touchdown pass to give the Tide a 12-6 lead with 7:49 left before halftime.

Bluefield responded with a touchdown of its own, driving 64 yards in five plays, two of which ended with half-the-distance-to-the-goalline penalties against Sherman (a personal foul and a facemask).

Patterson tied the score on a

4-yard touchdown run. Mariotti made the extra point to give the Beavers a 13-12 lead with 5:47 remaining in the second quarter.

Bluefield added to its advantage on the first possession of the second half.

Lilly capped a 10-play, 58-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run, giving the Beavers a 19-12 lead with 7:46 remaining in the third quarter.

Bluefield took a two-score lead in the fourth quarter.

Aiming only to pick up a first down on third-and-1, Beckett instead exploded through the middle of the line on a sneak and sprinted untouched into the end zone on a 24-yard touchdown run with 5:04 left in the game.

“Well, I can lie to you and tell you all of our plays are designed to score touchdowns, but we just hoped to get a first down there and keep the ball away from them,” Simon said. “It just fortunately worked out because Levi has got good speed.”

Sherman cut the lead to a touchdown on its ensuing

possession. Treadway capped a four-play, 75-yard drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Rollo, who made a magnificent catch between a pair of defenders.

“He made a real nice play there,” Simon said of Rollo. “That was a heck of a catch.”

Simon praised the Tide for its refuse-to-lose attitude. Sherman, he noted, had rallied to beat Scott, Mount Hope and Chapmanville in its last three games.

“They were behind, but they never quit,” Simon said, recalling what he noticed about the Tide when he watched game film last week. “They showed a lot of heart.

“We’re proud to come out of here with a win. I’m proud of our players for not giving in or giving up. But, daggone, they played hard.”

Elkins was equally impressed with his team's effort.

“Our kids, everybody has doubted them all year,” he said. “I tell you the character that they showed. We saw it every week. Everybody doesn’t get to see that in practice and how they worked in the off-season. I thought they played their hearts out.

“There were times where I felt we made a couple of mistakes (against Bluefield). Defensively, we did some things that hurt us a little bit. They just kept fighting and fighting and battling and battling. That’s what happens when you get great senior leadership, and, daggone, that’s what we have had. It has been unbelievable.

“These kids won 11 games this year. That’s as many games as they had won the three years previous. It goes to show you what hard work and effort and sticking together as a group and good

leadership will do for you. And that’s what they have done.

“They have pushed themselves and everybody around them. Shoot, they even pushed the coaching staff because they wanted to go undefeated and they wanted to do some of those things. That’s what got us to where we’re at.”

Sherman will lose Boulet, Cooper, Rollo, Treadway, Johnathan Bowman, Josh Caldwell, Eric Davis, Levi Holstein, Michael Layton, Codie Santonio and Cody Washington to graduation.