Giant killers.

That's the name of the game for the Battlefield varsity football team as the Bobcats defeated previously undefeated Colonial Forge 42-14 Saturday afternoon in Stafford to clinch the Group AAA Division 6 Northwest Region championship and a berth to the state semi-finals.

The win marks the second straight for the Bobcats in the playoffs against a previously undefeated opponent on the road, coming one week after Battlefield stomped Hylton by a similar 48-14 mark in Woodbridge.

"What's not to love?," said senior offensive tackle Eric Loehl.

Running back Nagee Jackson had a career day against the Eagles (11-1 overall), scoring four touchdowns after rushing for 264 yards on 26 carries. His senior classmate Bobo Beathard also caught a 17-yard touchdown in the first quarter and quarterback Ryan Swingle rushed in another touchdown.

"I knew that I could beat that corner on me," said Beathard, crediting the offensive line for providing adequate protection.

Battlefield (11-2) led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter and 21-0 at half time, having missed a chip-shot field goal as time expired due to an extreme wind pushing the ball past the right upright. Colonial Forge made good on two Battlefield turnovers in the third quarter by scoring quick touchdowns to tighten the game up at 21-14.

The first touchdown came 52 seconds into the third quarter off of a fumble recovery by Troy Washington deep in Battlefield territory. Battlefield then coughed up the ball again on the ensuing possession, setting up a short field for quarterback Blake Frohnapfel to find brother Eric Frohnapfel for the Eagles second score, putting the game within a single touchdown.

Yet, Battlefield coach Mark Cox kept Greene in the game and continued the alternate quarterbacking system.

"One of them was, he checked off and went the other way and he shouldn't have. But the first one, you know, that was up front, it wasn't his fault," said Cox. "So it really wasn't anything that he was doing poorly. It just happened that he was in there at that time."

According to Greene, Cox told him to pick up his game.

"I came out sluggish in the second half. I got a little comfortable, I admit it," said Greene. "But we came out and I knew what we had to do and I did it."

When Battlefield regained control, two third-and-long conversations by Beathard and Jackson along with a 41-yard Jackson touchdown neutralized any Colonial Forge momentum.

"We used people as distractions," said senior fullback Andrew Smith. "We used Nagee; just ram it down their throats. Sending Bobo in motion, led him as a distraction, thinking it was going to go to Bobo and we just ran it down their throat with Nagee."

Jackson emphasized Battlefield's ability to use each member of the backfield's strength to their advantage.

"Every time I get in, we basically run inside plays, having the lead blocker (out front), but Bobo's fast. When he gets around the corner, that's trouble," said Jackson.

Both Cox and the players alike noticed Colonial Forge adjusted its defensive attack in the second half by being much more aggressive in the box and sending more rushers after Greene and Swingle.

But to borrow a phrase from a television commercial, there's an app for that in the Battlefield playbook.

"We had to change some things, we couldn't motion around as much because they blitzed every motion, which they probably saw against Osbourn and Gar-Field," said Cox. "So we just had to line up and go straight at them. A lot of people have done that, so we have plays that we go to when they start blitzing like that and that paid off for us."

"Before the Hylton game, we were just on-point with picking up the linebackers blitzing," added wide receiver Chris Wendle. "They got us a few times, but we just picked them up."

Battlefield further marginalized Colonial Forge, a team featuring three NCAA Division I-A-bound players, four plays into the fourth quarter when Jackson burst through a hole on the right side of the offensive line for an eight-yard touchdown.

After the Bobcats' defense forced a three-and-out punt on Colonial Forge's next possession, Jackson put the game away for good with a 31-yard touchdown run during which he broke at least four tackles and dragged two Eagle defenders into the end zone with him.

What set up the play may have completely surprised the home team's play callers as Swingle opted for a run on what appeared to be a play-action pass coming out of an I-formation. He burst to his right side and just kept plowing down field, picking up 24 yards to bring the ball across field into Eagle territory.

Normally, a play like that would be reserved for Greene, who Cox traditionally uses as his team's option back.

"You know what? We don't even look to see who's in the game anymore," said the coach. "We just call the plays. We found that we're quicker getting the plays in, the quarterback understands what he has to do because we're telling him before hand."

"They were expecting certain things from certain quarterbacks and we just mixed it up and it got to them," said Swingle. "They weren't expecting me to run on that last run and when I ran... it was just a good call by coach."

The Bobcats' trip to the regional final marked the team's fourth straight appearance in the final round before states and the second time in a row Battlefield won the title. It's also the first time the Bobcats have gotten this far into the post-season without first winning the Cedar Run district title. Group AAA Division 5 Northwest Region winner Osbourn claimed the district title this year and is also set to appear at states.

Battlefield bowed out of the state tournament in the first round last season. The state semi-finals this year are set to be held Saturday against Northern region winner Lake Braddock. The championship is set for Dec. 11.

"Yeah, states," said Wendle as he marched to the bus after the game next to Beathard. "Lake Braddock, let's go."