"This is your third one in a row, boys."

Battlefield head coach Mark Cox neatly summed up his varsity football team's accomplishment Saturday afternoon in Woodbridge after the Bobcats topped Hylton 28-13 to clinch the team's third-consecutive Northwest Regional tournament title.

The win also grants Battlefield a trip back to the Group AAA state tournament, where the Bobcats will set out to defend its Division 6 title.

First, Battlefield must win in the semi-finals on Saturday, Dec. 3 against Oscar Smith High School of Chesapeake. The finals are set for Dec. 10.

Perhaps most impressive about the Nov. 26 win for Battlefield (10-2 overall) is that it marked the second straight year the Bobcats eliminated a previously-undefeated Hylton team from the playoffs while playing on the Bulldogs' home field.

Both wins came after Hylton defeated Battlefield during the regular season.

"We saw the same thing they did the first game. They just played well today, had some good breaks, had a long kick-off return," said Hylton head coach Tony Lilly, a former safety for the Denver Broncos.

As an additional bonus, Battlefield's victory marks the fourth straight win against previously undefeated teams in the playoffs dating back to the 2010 season.

Senior running back Andrew Smith led the charge for Battlefield in the first quarter this weekend with a 43-yard rushing touchdown two plays after junior quarterback Ryan Swingle completed a 12-yard pass to wide receiver Trent Saflin on a third-and-11 play.

That first down kept Battlefield's opening drive alive and brought the ball into Bulldog territory.

Smith's run came after he broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and then darted to his left, blazing past the Hylton secondary and into the end zone near the Bulldogs' sideline.

"I've been watching DeMarco Murray play football for the Dallas Cowboys, and I look up to him. And I knew, I knew that the cutbacks are there some times, and... as soon as they penetrated the outside, I just cut in and I kept going," said Smith. "I had tunnel vision."

"It hyped us all up," added Saflin. "All of us were cheering on the sidelines. He's got our back."

On Battlefield's next drive, Swingle connected with passes of 14, 18, 13 and 13 yards to Nick Newman, Brandon Whaley, Trent Saflin and Anthony Lopez respectively. That set up the Bobcats with a first-and-goal situation at the Hylton 10-yard-line.

After a one-yard rush by running back Michael Tolliver, Swingle connected with senior wide out Sidney Henry, who fell over the white plane with 26.8 seconds to go in the first quarter.

In all, Swingle hit all seven of his first quarter passes, picking up 93 yards for Battlefield and helping the Bobcats take a 14-0 lead into the second quarter.

Hylton finally figured out Swingle's game in the second quarter and picked him off three times by the end of the game, including a 17-yard return for a touchdown by Chris Harris with 3:39 left before half time.

Swingle could be heard telling his teammates after they received the regional trophy that he appreciated them believing in him after his three picks on the day.

After all, the touchdown allowed by Swingle provided Hylton with its only real momentum boost of the whole game.

"It wasn't really communication. It was just throws on my part," said Swingle in an interview. "But I just gained my confidence back by getting some short, little throws and we got it."

Smith started the second half with an 84-yard kickoff return to the Hylton 13 yard line following a bizarre case where a referee originally called a touchback when Smith caught the ball at the 5-yard-line.

Clearly having mistaken the dash mark on the mushy, muddy and discolored field commonly associated with Hylton home games, the referees had Hylton redo the second half kick off.

The ball sailed to almost the exact same spot on the field to the same receiver in Smith, essentially making the play a true redo.

"I don't know what was going on with the whistle and having them kick it over again," said Lilly. "It was just one of those games."

A big difference though is that instead of Hylton besting the Battlefield defenders in pursuit of Smith, the senior back burned a hole through their coverage through the center of the field and along the Hylton sidelines.

Smith, however, had trouble converting the short field into points himself as he coughed up the ball on a third-and-goal rush from inside the one yard line.

Once Hylton met him at the goal line, the ball popped straight up out of Smith's grasp and on to the ground.

A dog pile ensued and the referees signaled that Battlefield recovered the ball in the end zone, giving the Bobcats a touchdown with 8:37 on the clock.

Austin Wagner and Newman were the last BHS players to emerge from the pile, though neither had the ball in their hands as they stepped up.

Newman, however, made sure everyone knew his presence in a big way once Hylton got the ball back.

After being flagged for a 15-yard penalty for a late hit, the senior picked off a pass at the Battlefield 20 and returned it back to the 46 yard line to return possession back to the Bobcats.

"When we need something big to happen, Nick knows how to rise to the occasion," said Smith.

Tolliver picked up 30 yards on the ground on four rushes and a facemask call against the Hylton defense as the Bulldogs tried to tackle Tolliver again set up Battlefield with a first-and-goal drive at the 5 yard line.

The running back galloped down to the 1 yard line on the next rush, allowing Swingle to sneak in to his left side on a keeper despite the offense being set up in pass formation.

By that point in the game, including that rush, Swingle had run the ball three times for five yards.

Two of those rushes though picked up first downs and the third gave Battlefield a 28-7 lead with 1:12 left in the third quarter.

Hylton's offense didn't earn a touchdown of its own until it was too late to matter on a three-yard floater from Jaleel Dukes to Michael Price with 1:47 to go in regulation.

Even still, during the extra point attempt, Smith rushed from the kicker's right side uncontested and blocked the ball.

According to Smith, neutralizing Hylton's speedster sophomore quarterback Travon McMillian on the slippery field made a crucial difference between this game and the regular season loss to Hylton.

"In this game, we knew we needed to get pressure around him, collapse the pocket and make him either have to run because it was a muddy field that he wasn't going to be do his elusive jukes," said Smith. "When he did, he would slip and we were right there."

Lilly agreed with that sentiment.

"Well, I think if we have a dry field, he stacks up against anybody we play," said the coach about his quarterback. "We had to go to something else. His running game wasn't there. You know, (Battlefield) did a good job of taking that part of the game out of our hands and, you know, they played a good football game."

That's due at least in part to film study, according to Battlefield's Saflin.

"They've been working very hard this week, looking at films, especially their offense, and they shut them down," he said.