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The final regular season football game played at Paint Branch High's current football stadium — probably the last, period — will go down as a memorable night.

Just not for the Panthers.

Looking to reach the postseason for the first time since 2003, rival Springbrook got a solid performance on the ground from junior tailback Devon Pestano and a stingy defensive effort to upend Paint Branch, 20-0, Friday night. In doing so, the Blue Devils earned the No. 4 seed in next week's 4A West Region playoffs.

The Blue Devils (7-3 overall, 4-1 Montgomery 4A East Division) will travel to top-seeded Sherwood. The Panthers (8-2, 3-2 4A East) dropped to the third seed and will play at No. 2 Whitman in the other regional semifinal.

"We knew that they had a good quarterback [Tracy Martin, Jr.] who ran a lot, so we made sure we kept him contained," said Springbrook defensive end Errol Brewster. "That was the key. They have a big-play offense. We limited the big plays. ... Springbrook hasn't been in the playoffs for a while. We used to be a dynasty [six state titles, 21-6 postseason record]. We were in it every year and we want to bring that back."

The Blue Devils set the tone defensively on Paint Branch's first possession, with Marquise Anderson sacking Martin for a 9-yard loss on third down. After a short punt, Pestano took the ball 42 yards on two carries, including the touchdown, to put the Blue Devils ahead midway through first quarter.

The Panthers went three-and-out on their next possession, giving Springbrook the ball on their 45-yard line. Six plays later, Pestano ran in from the 4 and the score was 14-0.

"The game plan was to keep pounding and do what we do every game to be successful," said Pestano, who ran for 125 yards. "I've got to thank my line first, though, because without them, I probably wouldn't be in the end zone. I'd probably be flat on my back."

Neither team did much offensively the rest of the half, but Springbrook scored again on a 46-yard interception return by Mitchell Pollard, who raced down the home sideline untouched after picking off Martin.

"Their defense played pretty hard [and] they had a good game plan," said Martin, who threw two interceptions and was held to -21 yards rushing. "It worked pretty well against us. We're in the playoffs so we've got to get our minds right to come out next week to do what we've got to do."

Martin and backup quarterback Xavier Staley were intercepted a combined three more times in the second half, including a pair by Pestano.

The only drawback to Springbrook's win was the loss of quarterback Eric Freniere. Playing against his former teammates, the transfer from Paint Branch was sacked late in the first half and suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury. He was taken to the hospital in an ambulance at halftime.

With Freniere out of the game, the Panthers were dominant defensively, though the Blue Devils did successfully execute two fake punts for first downs. One was a 21-yard run by punter Pollard, who scored from 74 yards out on the play, but it was negated by a holding penalty at midfield.