Speed kills and so do turnovers.

Sierra was burned by both Friday in its 52-20 season-ending loss to visiting Sacramento.

The ninth-seeded Dragons (5-6) were buoyed by electric plays from Robert Hamel, Darrius Moore and Lamar Radcliffe while feasting on No. 8 Sierra’s five giveaways. They’ll head to No. 1 Escalon next week.

Sacramento recovered fumbles on a botched lateral and a muffed punt and intercepted three passes, one of which was returned 62 yards for a touchdown by 6-foot-5, 220-pound outside linebacker Shobal Barksdale. The pick-six capped the final score with 6:18 remaining.

“It’s the turnovers” Sierra quarterback Zak Willson said. “I had two interceptions, so I’m going to take the blame for this one. I also gave (running back Anthony) Grady a bad pitch — it was my fault. Turnovers were definitely the big turning point in this game.”

 “They have two really quick running backs, and (Radcliffe) was definitely the real deal,” Sierra coach Jeff Abrew said. “He has size and speed, and I wish him the best of luck at the best level. A lot of times we had guys in position, we just couldn’t get him on the ground. That’s a credit to him, because he’s a phenomenal athlete.”

Sierra also had trouble on special teams. Aside from the fumbled punt, the T’wolves missed their first point-after kick and then gave up a 96-yard touchdown return to Hamel on the ensuing kickoff. Hamel totaled 142 yards on three kickoff returns

Moore was also a factor in the return game. He ran the second-half kickoff back 49 yards, and Radcliffe scored on a 36-yard scamper two plays later as the Dragons soared to a 26-13 lead. Moore earlier had a 60-yard punt return that was reduced to 28 yards because of a blind-side block penalty.

“We definitely had some opportunities missed in that first half,” Abrew said, “but when they came out in the second half and punched it in right away we didn’t respond, that really was the nail in the coffin right there. We had a hard time stopping them, and we just couldn’t sustain any offense.”

Sacramento freshman quarterback Laron James-Radcliffe completed just two of 13 passes, but the two hook-ups went for touchdowns — a 21-yard toss to Hamel, and a 36-yarder to Damarie Taylor. James-Radcliffe threw an interception to safety Joseph Ramos-Fortes on the final play of the first half.

Despite the miscues, Willson again flashed his playmaking ability in and out of the pocket. He finished 24-of-33 passing for 246 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown to fellow junior Taylor Rowe (six receptions, 70 yards). Tali Vaipuna, also a junior, contributed six receptions for 97 yards.

 “Super proud of this team, not only because of the effort we put in,” Willson said. “We’ve been working together since February, so we just created such a good bond and took it out on the field.

“This team was very inexperienced (coming into the season), but with the people we have coming back we’ll be very good next year.”

Third-year running back Anthony Grady ground out 74 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries in his final game for Sierra. He also caught five passes for 43 yards. Following two one-win seasons, Grady was happy to go out with a taste of the postseason.

“I feel like we really beat a lot of outside expectations,” Grady said. “Everybody didn’t think we weren’t going to make the playoffs. I’m proud of my teammates that got us here.”