SAN ANTONIO — Close to 400 yards of offense and five touchdowns were not enough to get the Pflugerville Panthers past San Antonio Brandeis and Bronco Noah Copeland was the reason. The Broncos star running back torched the Panther defense, rushing for 323 yards and six touchdowns to lead Brandeis to a 51-37 win over the Panthers in the area round of the playoffs at the Alamodome on Saturday. “[Copeland] is a very good back,” Panther coach George Herrmann said. “We didn’t tackle like we normally tackle. He broke a lot of tackles and had lots of yards after contact. That played a very big role.” Pflugerville quarterback Alex Dean did everything in his power to equal Copeland’s performance. The Panther junior threw for all five Pflugerville scores and totaled 197 yards passing in the game. Dean’s performance was all the more impressive because he suffered an ankle injury late in the second quarter that left him limping for the rest of the game.   “The injury affected our run-option,” Herrmann said. “He came back and did a good job. His mobility was limited and he was a sitting duck for the pass rush, but overall I thought he did a great job.”   The night, however, belonged to the electric Copeland who opened the game with a 5-yard score and concluded it with a 66-yard run that saw him go right, reverse field and speed past everyone, Panthers and Broncos included, on his way to the end zone. In between he crossed the goal line four more times, carried the ball 35 times and averaged 9.2 yards per carry.   It was Copeland who took away the Panthers only lead of the game, scoring on a 3-yard run with just under three minutes to play in the third quarter, putting Brandeis up 36-30. Pflugerville had scored on their prior possession. After a 30-yard run by Julian Ward, who led Pflugerville with 119 yards rushing, pushed the Panthers into Bronco territory, Dean hit Sammy Flowers for a 25-yard score. Sean Ianno converted the extra point and Pflugerville was up 30-29 with 6:17 left in the third quarter.   Copeland responded with two scores, his 3-yard run in the third and a 1-yard plunge that capped a 38-yard, 6-play drive that consisted solely of Copeland runs. Trailing 44-30 the Panthers found the end zone one last time. The Panther defense forced a rare Brandeis punt. On the play the Bronco punter fielded a low snap with his knee on the turf, downing the ball and turning it over to Pflugerville at the Bronco 17-yard line. Two plays later Dean hit Drew Travis for his second touchdown of the game, cutting the Panther deficit to 44-37 with 3:53 left in the game.   Any thought of a Pflugerville comeback was quickly quelled as on the second play of their ensuing drive, Copeland went on his 66-yard dash, effectively ending the game and the Panthers’ season.   Pflugerville fell behind 7-0 in the game, but a 48-yard throw from Dean to Travis knotted the contest at 7-7. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Copeland answered for the Broncos with a 69-yard run and it became apparent the Panthers were going to be playing catch up all game long. Pflugerville answered the Brandeis score with one of their own. Dean flipped a screen pass to Ward who took the ball and raced 56 yards down the field to tie the contest at 14-14. The Broncos were up 21-14 when Dean fired a 36-yard strike to Jordan Moon with less than two minutes to play in the first half. Ianno’s extra point was blocked and the Panthers still trailed albeit 21-20. A big run by Ward set up Ianno for a 42-yard field goal with seven seconds to play in the first half. Pflugerville trailed 29-23 at halftime.   The game served as not only the end of the year for the Panthers but also the end of the line for Pflugerville’s seniors, many of whom are the final link to the 2007 team that reached the state finals.   “Our seniors did a tremendous job leading us,” Herrmann concluded. “I’m very proud of them. They fought through a lot of injuries. They should be proud they were bi-district champs. We beat Reagan and that’s a feather in our hat I would say.”