SHERWOOD - In the end, the speed was too much.

South Albany ran up against a steamroller Friday night and had no chance once it started moving forward.

Third-ranked Sherwood scored 28 second-quarter points to pull away for a 56-8 win against the No. 9 Rebels in a 5A football second- round state playoff game on the turf at Aaron Contreras Memorial Stadium.

"Obviously their speed showed up," South coach Tony Matta said of the Bowmen. "They played real well defensively. We made mistakes offensively. But overall, we couldn't run with 'em."

The host Bowmen racked up 613 yards, including 374 in the first half as they jumped out to a 42-8 halftime lead. South finished with 246 yards, including 143 rushing yards on 19 carries from senior back Jesse Duke.

South (8-4) made it interesting late in the first quarter after Sherwood (10-1) had built a 14-0 lead.

Quarterback Zac Hunter hit Justin Robbins in the right flat just as a Sherwood defender was swiping at the ball.

The defender missed, and Robbins went down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown.

"He was pretty close, and happened to over-run it," Robbins said. "At first I was a little surprised, then I noticed he was already past me."

But two plays later it was the Bowmen on the scoreboard again. And after South turned the ball over on downs near midfield, Sherwood took just one play to score. Suddenly it was 28-8.

Sherwood added two more touchdowns before the half to take total control of the game.

The loss ended the Rebels' first playoff run since 2001. South finished third in the Mid-Willamette Conference, clinching a playoff berth with two weeks remaining in the regular season after a 5-0 league start.

"We've come a long way and every year it's gotten bigger and bigger, and better," Matta said.

With fellow senior Greg Hoover on the sideline in street clothes with an injured ankle. Duke carried a majority of the offensive load for the Rebels.

Duke had six carries for 22 yards on South's opening drive, which ended in Sherwood territory but with out a score. But he was able to gain just 11 more yards on seven carries before halftime as Sherwood took over.

"We just didn't come out ready in the beginning. The offensive line did alright in the beginning, but we just went downhill from there," Duke said.

The Rebels are pinning this season's run as the start of something bigger for the program.

"We're hoping next year our team can go even farther than this," Duke said. "It will be nice to know this senior class is the first team in seven years to make it to the playoffs, and we made it to the second round.

"We're happy as a team, but we didn't play very well today."

What will Matta remember most about this season?

"The response of the kids to adversity. They bounced back. Our kids our tough. They'll come back next season with a vengeance to finish what they started."

Sherwood 56, South Albany 8

South Albany . . . . . . . . . . 8 0 0 0 - 8

Sherwood . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 28 0 14 - 56

First quarter

S: Brayde Gough 7 run (Brennan Hickok kick), 4:55

S: Tyler Dickson 13 run (Hickok kick), :25

SA: Justin Robbins 70 pass from Zac Hunter (Jesse Duke run), :04

Second quarter

S: Chase Thorson 71 pass from Gough (Hickok kick), 11:10

S: Kevin Hausner 57 run, (Hickok kick) 9:18

S: Ben Butterfield 47 pass from Gough (Hickok kick), 5:11

S: Michael Balfour 3 run (Hickok kick), 2:59

Fourth quarter

S: Dickson 1 run (Kelsey Irish kick), 9:04

S: Chris Organiz 30 run (Irish kick), 2:13

Individual statistics

Rushing: South Albany, Duke 19-143,

L. Stutzman 11-45, B. Stutzman 4-4, Metzger 1-1, Team 1-(minus-17); Sherwood, Hausner 6-115, Dickson 5-81, Balfour 10-71, Graham 2-47, Long 4-41, Organiz 2-30, Marten 2-19, Erwin 1-18, Dyer 2-14, Bowers 1-12, Duppenthaler 2-10, Gough 4-9, Potter 2-8

Passing: South Albany, Hunter 2-9-1-70; DeWolfe 0-2-0-0; Sherwood, Gough 3-6-0-138

Receiving: South Albany, Robbins 1-70; Duke 1-0; Sherwood, Thorson 1-71, Butterfield 1-47, Dickson 1-20