“We played Sperry football,” coach Robert Park said. “We play ground-and-pound and if that works, then we win.”

Sperry carried 45 times for 438 yards and six touchdowns. Sperry (8-4) will host No. 4 Bridge Creek (11-1) in the quarterfinals next week.

B.J. Driver was a bruising running back for Sperry. Driver carried 10 times for 150 yards and two touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, Driver took a handoff and rumbled up the sideline until a Stigler defender caught up with Driver. Driver stiff-armed the potential tackler to the ground before hurdling him and jogging the rest of the way for a 69-yard TD.

“I’ve seen a lot of football games at Sperry and that might be the best run I’ve ever seen,” Park said.

Barret Bowman provided a change of pace with quickness and speed that kept the Stigler defense off-balance all game. Bowman carried 13 times for 101 yards and a TD.

Bill Gorden, Charlie Jones and Aaron Beats helped relieve the pressure from Driver and Bowman. The trio combined to carry 15 times for 177 yards and three TDs. Sperry rarely passed, but when it did, quarterback Jeremy Bernhardt made the most of his opportunity. In the second quarter, Bernhardt threw Sperry’s first pass of the game and found Zac Wenzel streaking behind the Stigler defense for a 37-yard touchdown to make the score 22-8.

In the first half, Jacob Battiest and Bowman had an interception each. Bowman returned his interception 27 yards for a touchdown.

“We worked hard in practice all week,” Bowman said. “We knew they passed a lot, and we had to be prepared.”

Stigler (8-4) was led by QB Jarret Radford, who completed 20-of-37 passes for 280 yards and two TDs. Radford also ran for a TD and completed nine passes to John Parsons, who had 166 yards.