At 5-foot-9, 165-pounds, Jake Nardone is far from being the biggest player on the field.

But as he showed again last night, what he does when he has the ball in his hands makes him look like a giant.

Nardone rushed for 279 yards on 42 carries and scored three touchdowns, including the game-winner with 1:03 remaining, lifting Beaver to a wild 43-36 win against host Sto-Rox in a WPIAL Class AA first-round game.

Nardone entered the game as the WPIAL's second-leading rusher, and left with his team's first playoff win in five years on his back. The Bobcats (8-2) advance to the quarterfinals to play defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Jeannette (9-1), a 46-7 winner over Valley.

"I don't know if anyone should be surprised at this point," said Beaver coach Jeff Beltz. "He's one of leading rushers in the WPIAL. He's rushed for over 300 yards in a game this year (343 in a Week 1 win against New Brighton). When our backs are against the wall, Jake's going to get the football."

Such was the case after Beaver fell behind Sto-Rox (8-2) in the see-saw game, 36-35, when Vikings freshman running back Joshuae Beverly scored his third touchdown of the contest and teammate Brandon Austin added a two-point run with 5:03 left. When the Bobcats took possession, they smartly left their fate to the legs of Nardone, who carried the ball 10 times for 68 yards on the deciding drive, capped by a four-yard scamper off right-tackle to put the Bobcats ahead by five. Nardone then extended the Beaver advantage to seven on a two-point run.

Sto-Rox had one final try to gain the equalizer, but the Vikings' attempt fell short when Paul Jones was sacked at his own 43 as time expired.

Jones, the WPIAL's second-leading passer and one of the top junior quarterbacks in the state, finished 8 of 20 for 223 yards (97 of those on one play) and one touchdown.

"Our game plan was to try to use our athletic skill to move the football, and I think we did move the football," Sto-Rox coach Jason Ruscitto said.

"We did score a lot of points, but unfortunately, they scored a bit more."

The Bobcats were able to do that as their offensive line pushed around the smaller Vikings' defensive front throughout the game, racking up 378 yards on the ground. They also did a commendable job of limiting Jones, who faced constant pressure and completed just 3 of 9 passes for 66 yards in the second half.

"We did enough, and I guess that's the important part," Beltz said.

"He's a tremendous football player, and I think we'll be proud to have him from our area for years to come. "

The Vikings hit for a couple of big plays early in the game to jump to two-touchdown lead.

After falling behind, 7-6, the Vikings faced a third-and-17 from their 3-yard line. That's when Jones avoided some pressure, scrambled to his right, and found Nico DiMichele down the sideline for a 97-yard scoring strike with 8:15 left in the first half. Less than two minutes after that, DiMichele struck again, this time hauling in a 54-yard pass from wide receiver DeSoun Reddix to give Vikings a 20-7 lead.

However, Nardone scored from 38 yards out late in the half to cut the Bobcats' deficit to 20-14 at the half. And, once the second half began, it was more of the same, with Nardone and Tom Helbling nabbing back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter to put Beaver back ahead, 28-20.

That, of course, was only the beginning of a thriller neither team will soon forget.

"This game was wild," said Nardone. "We got rolling and kept rolling, and ended up winning a crazy game."