SETH – Sherman senior superstar Colby Treadway lay on the ground Saturday, looking toward the blue sky and white clouds above Zontini Field.

He shut his eyes and shook his head, unable to believe what had happened.

Making its first appearance in the high school football state playoffs since 2004, No. 3 Sherman was headed toward a one-and-done elimination via a first-round upset by No. 14 Chapmanville.

The Tigers had scored two touchdowns in two minutes, allowing them to take a one-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

Chapmanville’s second score in that stretch came off Treadway’s second interception, leaving him alone with his thoughts in the aforementioned scene along Sherman’s sideline.

Treadway pounded his fists into the ground and jumped to his feet, a refuse-to-lose look in his eyes as he walked toward his coaches and teammates.

“When that play happened, everybody was devastated,” said Treadway, a do-it-all athlete who starts at quarterback, linebacker and punter for the Tide. “It was my responsibility because it was my fault. I knew we had to do something to get the lead back.”

Treadway and his teammates did just enough to avoid the upset, advancing to the Class AA quarterfinals with a 48-41 victory in front of more than 3,000 fans who literally and figuratively sweated throughout the back-and-forth game on a hotter-than-normal autumn afternoon.

Sherman improved to 11-0. Chapmanville dropped to 6-5.

“It means the world to us,” Treadway said. “We worked real hard this season. All we wanted to do was make the playoffs.”

Driving 72 yards on nine plays, Chapmanville pulled within six points at 34-28 on a 1-yard touchdown run and extra point by senior fullback Todd Terry with 11:32 remaining in the third quarter.

The Tigers stunned and silenced the home crowd on the Tide’s next possession.

Sherman planned to punt on fourth-and-15 from its 29, but the snap sailed over Treadway’s head. Treadway recovered the ball near the goal line and tried to turn a negative into a positive with his scrambling ability.

Nearing the home sideline and spotting wide-open receivers 10 yards downfield, Treadway tried to throw a pass to pick up a first down or at least some extra yards. Instead, the ball was knocked out of Treadway’s hands and into sophomore linebacker Andy Bender’s hands.

Bender returned his impromptu interception 20 yards for a game-tying touchdown. Terry followed with the extra point to give the Tigers a momentum-turning 35-34 lead with 9:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“I was just trying to get some positive yards out of it,” Treadway said. “Once I got about 10 yards out of it, I saw (senior wide receivers Tyler Boulet and Jake Rollo) down the field waving their hands wide open. I went back to pass and somebody hit my arm and the guy picked it off. I was trying to throw it about 10 yards.”

The Tide regained the lead with an 11-play, 45-yard drive in which Treadway converted a pair of fourth downs -- a 9-yard scramble on fourth-and-6 from the Tigers’ 31 and a 17-yard touchdown pass to Boulet on fourth-and-5.

“He was frustrated early a little bit,” Sherman coach Shann Elkins said of Boulet. “We were missing him. I just kept telling him, ‘Just keep working, keep working, keep working. It’ll come.’ He just kept working and working and working. He popped open, and Colby made a great throw.”

A delay of game penalty moved junior kicker David Chapman’s extra point attempt back 5 yards, but he made it without any trouble to give Sherman a 41-35 advantage with 5:01 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers stopped the Tide on fourth-and-1 from their 38 with 2:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, dropping Treadway a few inches short of the first-down marker after he ran on a fake punt.

Four plays later, junior quarterback Josh Easterling threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tailback Dylan Wiley to tie the score at 41-41 with 1:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. Terry missed the extra point, however, pulling it wide right.

For the second time in the game, Treadway and Rollo needed only one play to respond.

On the first play of Sherman’s next possession, Treadway and Rollo connected on a 54-yard touchdown pass. Chapman added the extra point to give the Tide a 48-41 lead with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Sherman had to withstand a valiant effort from Chapmanville before it could secure a second-round date with No. 6 Bluefield (9-2), which advanced with a 62-24 victory over No. 11 Liberty Raleigh (7-4).

“We bent and bent all day,” Elkins said. “When the time came, we stepped up and played.”

Easterling fired a 47-yard pass to senior wide receiver Greg Farley and a 10-yard pass to junior tight end Craig Johnson on the second and third plays of the Tigers’ final possession, moving the ball to the Tide’s 26.

Easterling misfired on his next two attempts but connected with Terry for a 24-yard gain to give Chapmanville a first down at Sherman’s 2 with fewer than 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Easterling spiked the ball on first down to stop the clock with 11 seconds left. A maroon-and-gold swarm engulfed Terry at the line of scrimmage on second down, forcing the Tigers to use their final timeout with 3.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Chapmanville coach George Barker once again called on Terry, a Division I recruit who has received interest from West Virginia University.

“That was the guy who got us here,” Barker told the Charleston Gazette. “He was going to get a chance to put it in the end zone.”

Terry, as it turns out, had no chance on the game’s final play. Treadway exploded through the line and dropped Terry for a 5-yard loss as time expired, sealing Sherman’s hard-fought victory.

“Senior leadership,” Treadway said. “We got everybody in the huddle. We told them it’s our home field (and) it’s our first home playoff game. We have to go out with a bang. We can’t let Chapmanville beat us. We have to move on to next week.

“We just spied the run. When he got it, I just hit him as hard as I could and he went down. I could see his eyes (before the handoff). He kept looking over to the right. I told (senior inside linebacker) Johnathan Bowman, ‘It’s coming to our side. I’m coming. So, when I blitz, just take my gap just in case he gets by me.’ When he got the ball, we stuck him.”

Added Elkins: “Character is what that is.”

Incidentally, the Tide’s last playoff win came against the Tigers in 1999.

Treadway completed 14-of-25 passes for a career-high 331 yards and four touchdowns. He also carried 17 times for 80 yards and two scores.

Rollo had five catches for 161 yards and three touchdowns.

“At first, they were trying to play man-to-man stick on me,” said Rollo, a Division I recruit whose most serious suitors are Duke, Eastern Kentucky, Marshall and West Virginia universities. “I just burnt the guy the first time. Me and Colby looked at each other and knew what we were going to do, and I blew past him.

“The second time, they were playing more of a double coverage, so I came to the inside slot and the middle was wide open and I ran a little slant and scored on it.

“You have to know what the coverage is. Me and Colby have been playing with each other since we were little. We have a connection. We don’t even have to talk to each other. We just know what the other one is thinking.

“The last time, I looked (at the defender) and I knew who the kid was. I knew if I can get him to stop and take one step forward, I have got him beat. And I did. I kind of ran a stop-and-go, and he took that little step forward, and I ran by him.”

Boulet made four receptions for 109 yards and one score.

Junior tailback Jake Halstead carried 14 times for 63 yards and one touchdown. He added 46 yards on four catches.

Junior wide receiver Zach Heaver added a 15-yard reception for the Tide, which had only one goal against the Tigers: win.

“That’s what we told our kids,” Elkins said. “You’re not playing for points. There’s nobody worth anything to you. It’s survive and advance. That’s what we’re here for -- one game at a time. Play and move on, play and move on.”

Easterling completed 14-of-25 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers, who were making their third consecutive appearance in the state playoffs.

Wiley had four catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns along with seven carries for 18 yards.

Terry ran 24 times for 172 yards and two scores. He also had three catches for 44 yards and another touchdown.

Junior tailback Jake Robinson, who transferred to Chapmanville from Scott two weeks ago, had 38 yards on eight carries.

Chapmanville took a 6-0 lead on the game’s opening possession. Easterling threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Terry with 5:18 remaining in the first quarter, capping a 16-play, 64-yard drive in which the Tigers ate 6 minutes, 42 seconds off the clock.

The Tide needed only 19 seconds to erase that deficit. On Sherman’s first play from scrimmage, Treadway found Rollo for a 75-yard touchdown pass after Chapmanville junior cornerback Brad Parsons fell in one-on-one coverage.

Chapman added the extra point to give the Tide a 7-6 lead with 4:59 remaining in the first quarter.

Treadway and Rollo hooked up again on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 10:35 left before halftime, capping a six-play, 53-yard drive. Chapman’s extra point extended Sherman’s advantage to 14-6.

The Tigers responded with a quick-strike score of their own.

Terry reeled off an 80-yard touchdown run up the middle on the first play of the ensuing possession. Easterling followed with a two-point conversion pass to senior wide receiver Nicholas Conley to tie the score at 14-14 with 10:25 remaining in the second quarter.

Treadway led the Tide on an 11-play, 68-yard drive, which he ended with a 2-yard touchdown run. Chapman added the extra point to give Sherman a 21-14 lead with 5:42 left before halftime.

The Tigers failed to convert on fourth-and-15 from the Tide’s 34-yard line in the final 90 seconds of the first half, and Treadway threw the first of his two interceptions with eight seconds remaining in the second quarter as the teams combined for a pair of turnovers before intermission.

Trailing 21-14, Chapmanville recovered an onside kick at Sherman’s 22 to start the second half. After back-to-back runs by Terry for 1 and 2 yards, Easterling found Wiley for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 10:31 remaining in the third quarter. Terry added the extra point to tie the score at 21-21.

The deadlock didn’t last long.

Treadway led the Tide 61 yards on seven plays, including his 7-yard touchdown run to end the drive. Chapman’s extra point gave Sherman a 28-21 lead with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter.

The Tide forced a punt on the Tigers’ next possession and added to its advantage on Halstead’s 6-yard touchdown run, which capped a four-play, 59-yard drive. Chapman missed the extra point, but Sherman led 34-21 with 3:33 remaining in the third quarter.

Next up for Sherman is Bluefield, a perennial power that has won nine state titles in school history.

The Beavers haven’t lost to a West Virginia team this season.

“I’m glad our kids are going to get the opportunity (to face Bluefield) because I don’t care who they are or who you are, when you want to measure yourself in Double-A, you want to measure yourself against Bluefield,” Elkins said. “That’s what everybody expects.

“(Top-ranked) Wayne is phenomenal. (Second-ranked) Magnolia is phenomenal. But you keep hearing over and over and over, Bluefield. You have got to measure yourself against Bluefield. We’re excited that we’re going to get that opportunity.

“There’s no question you’re going to have to go through Bluefield to win a state championship at some point. We’re going to get that opportunity. We went down and watched them last night, and my goodness gracious, there is speed everywhere and there are great athletes. We’re going to have to play our rear ends off.”