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Battlefield perfect through four after shutout of Stonewall
In 2007, the Battlefield Bobcats were the Cinderella story of the Cedar Run District, sweeping all their district opponents en route to capturing the local crown with a 9-1 regular season record.
This year, there is no Cinderella in Haymarket; Battlefield has turned into a behemoth.
The Bobcats improved to 4-0 last Thursday night by shutting out Stonewall 29-0, the third such goose egg laid on the scoreboard by a Battlefield opponent this season.
Rain drenched the annual Battle of Bull Run game, which featured everything from a safety call to two 60-plus-yard touchdown runs from both sides of the ball, though virtually every highlight of the evening favored the home team Bobcats.
The win marked Battlefield’s third shutout of the season and came at a crucial time as the Sept. 25 match was the district opener. The high school sports Web site Maxpreps.com ranked Battlefield as the No. 8 team in the commonwealth entering Thursday night’s game. That's one spot above Woodbridge, which defeated Battlefield in the regional playoffs last season.
“Well, I told them the first thing after the game is that the bull’s eye on their backs is getting bigger and bigger and they’re going to have to play tougher and tougher,” head coach Mark Cox said afterward.
Stonewall actually stayed close for three quarters, allowing the Battlefield offense to score only when quarterback Bo Revell connected with fullback Cooper Bull for a 15-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. Linebacker Zavier Stringfellow added another six points with a 64-yard return on an interception.
“They’re real physical,” Stonewall coach Mike Dougherty said of Battlefield. “I thought for the most part, ‘til late in the game, we did a good job defensively containing them.”
Cox thought Raider defensive lineman CC Davis was so effective, in fact, that he changed strategies in the second half and had his running game switch to whatever side Davis did not patrol.
“Well, I can’t give you our secrets, but it worked out really well,” said the fifth-year head coach. “The guys away from [Davis] blocked better than I had expected, so we just kept going there.”
That allowed senior running back Adrian Ingram (171 yards) to have his typical big day offensively, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns. That included one on a 69-yard dash on Battlefield’s first possession after a high snap sailed through the hands of Stonewall punter Andrew Hunt and out of the end zone for a safety.
Combined, those scores essentially turned a two-possession game into a 23-point blowout lead for Battlefield.
To make matters worse for the visiting team, a botched kick-off return by Stonewall gave possession right to Battlefield when Matt Plum recovered the ball on the SJ 4-yard line. Ingram plowed over the goal line on the next play as he charged up the gut out of a power-I formation.
“Well, as a unit, we feel that any of our skill players can score the ball,” said Revell. “We rely on the offensive line so much and we saw that passing was going to be hard tonight in [rainy] conditions, so we decided we were just going to run it. And our offensive line stepped up, made the right blocks. Adrian ran hard, you know. Cooper Bull at fullback blocked hard and that’s what really what we did: we were just unselfish and played hard for the team.”
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