TAHLEQUAH — A postseason that began with so much promise ended with a thud Friday night for Sequoyah.

A dominant Sperry rushing attack and a costly fourth-quarter fumble led to one of the biggest upsets of 2009 as the Pirates downed the Indians 28-14 at Thompson Field on the Sequoyah High School campus.

The Pirates (7-4), led by running backs Charlie Jones (18 rushes, 119 yards) and Barret Bowman (14 rushes, 101 yards) played keep away with the football, racking up over 28 minutes of time of possession and churning out 272 yards rushing on the evening.

“We got whipped,” Sequoyah head coach Brent Scott said. “Give Sperry a lot of credit. They keep the ball away and force you into mistakes. They made plays and we didn’t.”

The Indians were down 19-14 with 10 minutes left in the game when they took possession at their own 43 yard line. From there, the Indians marched to the Pirate 28 in five plays. But on first down, a fumble by Ryker Salazar gave Sperry the ball with 7:31 left.

The Indian defense appeared ready to make a stand, stuffing two runs to bring up a third-and-11. But sophomore quarterback Jeremy Bernhardt rolled right and found Kevin Ervin near the sideline for a first down. Bernhardt later found Bowman for a 19-yard gain on a second-and-13 for another first down. That resulted in a 37-yard touchdown run by Bennie Driver that put the game away at 26-14 with just under three minutes to play.

The beginning of the game seemed to be the beginning of the blowout everyone anticipated. The Indians (10-1) moved sharply down the field, covering 79 yards on nine plays, all on the ground, ending with a 16-yard touchdown by Justin Lepley. Lepley finished with a team-high 108 yards on 12 carries.

But unlike Sequoyah’s 10 regular season opponents, the Pirates refused to wilt under the early onslaught. The Pirates used 10 plays to cover 70 yards, ending with an 11-yard run by Jones to get back in the game at 7-6.

After the Indians were stopped on fourth down at the Sperry 45 early in the second quarter, the Pirates went back to work. With Jones exploiting the middle of the Indian defense on trap plays, the Pirates struck again on his second touchdown of the night from 20 yards out. A failed two-point conversion attempt left the score at 12-7 at the half.

Sperry wasted no time extending their lead in the third quarter. Bowman finished the Pirates’ opening drive of the second half with a 31-yard touchdown to make the score 19-7.

The Indians began to get the momentum back late in the third. Taking over on their own 20 after stopping the Pirates on downs, Sequoyah used two big completions from freshman quarterback Brayden Scott to wideout T.J. Scraper to move the ball across midfield. Lepley finished the drive from 36 yards out for his second touchdown of the night to make the score 19-14 going into the fourth quarter.

But the Indians got no closer, with Salazar’s fumble ending Sequoyah’s best chance to take the lead. An intentional grounding call against Scott resulted in a safety with two minutes left in the game for the final margin.

“Games like this you can’t have turnovers,” the elder Scott said.

With the loss, Sequoyah says goodbye to 30 seniors, the most successful class in school history. “These seniors have done a heck of a job,” Scott said. “It’s too bad it had to end like this.”