Bobcats clinch first trip to states by beating Jackets

As he walked off the field Saturday afternoon, Battlefield Coach Mark Cox said if he died tonight he would die a happy man. That feeling of gratification came from his team having just pulled off an improbable victory.

Battlefield scored three touchdowns in the final 1:56 of the fourth quarter to overcome an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit and beat the Osbourn Park Yellow Jackets 32-27 to win the Group AAA Northwest Region Division 6 championship.

"Our kids never give up," said Cox in his usual laid-back tone, the regional championship trophy in his right hand. "As long as I've been here, when we get down we don't give up, and all we needed was a little break and we got one."

The break Cox spoke about was an onside kick recovery that came after Battlefield failed on a two-point conversion attempt following Cedric Agyeman's 6-yard touchdown run that pulled the Bobcats to within two at 21-19.

Instead of starting at the Bobcat 40, Battlefield kicked from the Osbourn Park 45. The ball was moved up after the Yellow Jackets were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct after they celebrated when they stopped the two-point conversion attempt.

Chris Wendle leapt into the air to catch Jason Hoepker's onside kick, which gave Battlefield possession at the Osbourn Park 34-yard line.

"I knew it was coming my way," Wendle said of the onside kick. "I saw it in the air and I just grabbed it and caught it."

Four plays later, Battlefield quarterback Bo Revell threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Danny Drazl, who was wide open in the seam. The touchdown was Revell's second scoring toss of the game and gave the Bobcats the lead for good.

JoiQuan James recovered a loose ball in the end zone with two seconds left after Osbourn Park fumbled on the ensuing kickoff.

"Emotionally and physically drained," said an elated Revell as he pulled tape off his rib pads after the game. "The team played their butts off and there was so much adversity we had to overcome, but we just did a great job of staying together and not giving up."

Battlefield (12-0) will host Lake Braddock (11-2) next Saturday at 3 p.m. in the state semifinals.

Osbourn Park (10-3) was playing in its first regional final since 2003.

"I thought we played well, but there were some tough breaks down the stretch," Yellow Jacket head coach Brian Beaty said.

Drazl's game-winning touchdown catch came on a play that the Bobcats had installed earlier in the week in practice. Cox said his decision to call the play came after one of his assistants reminded him that Drazl was on the field and had run the play successfully during the week.

"We didn't think anyone would cover me down the sidelines," said Drazl. "We installed it just in case we needed it and before the snap, I just kept thinking to myself 'I've got to catch the ball.' "

The win came on a day when the Bobcats and Revell did not have solid performances. Battlefield was flagged for 13 penalties, including two false starts on the Bobcats' first drive of the second half after they had reached the Osbourn Park 19-yard line.

That drive ended with a Revell interception, one of three on the day for the senior. Revell also threw an interception in the Osbourn Park end zone with 8:53 remaining in the game to end another potential scoring drive. Revell finished 13 for 21 for 232 yards as well as two touchdowns.

"That's just bad decision-making on my part," said Revell. "We can't have that happen if we want to keep winning."

Revell's end-zone interception almost proved costly for Battlefield. Three plays later, Osbourn Park quarterback Dominique Terrell took a direct snap and went 79 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown and a 21-13 lead with 7:31 remaining.

"I just kept thinking we had to come back and score," Revell said. "One of my defensive coaches told me earlier in the week that I had to outperform him for us to win, and I never try to do that, but I knew I had to come back and make a play."

Battlefield responded with a 14-play drive that resulted in Agyeman's 6-yard score. Battlefield failed on the two-point try as Nagee Jackson was stopped at the 3-yard line on a run play that went off of left tackle behind Jimmy Long.

Cox admitted after the game he wanted to throw the ball instead, but changed his mind after his players told him they wanted to run behind Long.

"The kids were fired up and that's what they wanted," said Cox.

Osbourn Park's first two scores came when Terrell connected with Travis Marion for 24 and 21 yards in the second and third quarters.

"It's tough now, but we won't forget this," Beaty said. "We will learn from it and take it into next season."