The motivation came in bunches: Names on the wall from Madison teams of old; a trip to visit a sick Vienna Little Leaguer in the hospital; a snub by the Northern Region coaches.

Then there was the matter of that perfect record.

Madison squeezed every ounce of motivation it could, turning it into a historic season. The Warhawks beat Centreville, 11-3, in the Northern Region championship in front of an overflow crowd of at least 800 at Fairfax Friday night.

2002 VHSL Spring Tournament Brackets

Madison became the first team to win the Northern Region with no losses since Robinson in 1978. The Warhawks also claimed their first region title since 1970.

``We wanted to go undefeated,'' Madison senior shortstop B.T. Good said. ''We didn't want to leave any doubt.''

Madison (25-0) plays Hickory (18-7) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Group AAA state tournament. Centreville (14-10-1) plays Eastern Region champion Kellam (25-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Old Dominion University.

The Warhawks are trying to become the first team to win the state with an undefeated record since Mills Godwin (24-0) in 1987.

Junior Josh Canova (3-0) pitched four innings, allowing two runs on three hits, for the win. Pat Brown (two innings) and Kevan Moniri combined for three innings of one-run relief. Eric Fox started and took the loss.

Good left no doubt that perhaps the other coaches in the region should have found a spot for him somewhere on the all-region squad. Instead, he was named second-team shortstop for the second straight season.

All he did last night was deliver again. This time, Good, the leadoff hitter, had three hits, including two doubles and scored two runs. His second double, to deep center, was part of a six-run fourth.

This after watching the all-region teams get introduced before the game.

``It's ridiculous,'' Madison coach Mark Gjormand said of Good's second-team status. ``That's an outright crime. He's one of the best nine players in the area. He is the man. B.T. means big time and that's what he's been. But all that did was get him more fired up.''

``It was motivation,'' Good said. ``I wanted to put on a good display. I used it as motivation all week to put on a good show here.''

Consider the show a crowd pleaser. But Madison used other sources of inspiration. On Thursday, Gjormand and the 11 seniors visited 12-year-old Nicky Alonge at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Alonge recently was diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment.

``This was for him,'' Gjormand said. ``When people ask about pressure, that's pressure.''

Centreville applied pressure in a baseball sense, tying the game at 2 in the top of the fourth. Chuck Mellies tripled and scored on a fielder's choice.

But Madison, which beat Centreville twice in March, responded forcefully in the bottom of the fourth. The six-run outburst ended any suspense. With two outs and the bases loaded, Joey Lewin drilled a two-run double to center field, just over Trevor House's outstretched glove.

Two batters earlier, House threw out Gabe Orsinger trying to score from second on a single. Lewin's hit swung the momentum back to Madison.

``He's been doing that all year,'' Gjormand said. ``He's Mr. Cool.''

The key: Lewin's three deep breaths before he stepped to the plate and delivered the knockout punch.

``I got as relaxed as possible,'' said Lewin, who doubled in two more runs in the fifth. ``I saw a first-pitch fastball and tried to stay on top of it.''

Centreville then dropped a routine infield popup and did the same one batter later on an outfield fly, both errors scoring runs. Part of the breakdowns stemmed from having no seniors on the roster. Meanwhile, Madison had eight seniors who played Friday.

``That's huge,'' Centreville coach Donnie Warren said. ``We don't have any real big leaders. ... Against a good team like that you can't make mistakes. You've got to be perfect. That's a damn good team. They're the best in this area.''

They want to be known as more. Which is why Gjormand gathered his team in practice Thursday and talked about Madison teams from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Several players from those teams are listed on a wall in the school.

``You see their names and it's like, `Wow,' '' Good said. ``I'm sure every one of our guys wants to be up there.''

After a year like this, some of them might be.

``We've done things no one in Northern Virginia has done,'' Gjormand said. ``In 30 years they'll be talking about B.T. Good and J.J. Hollenbeck.''

Or, perhaps, junior catcher Matt Foley. His two-run homer in the first provided Madison a 2-0 lead. Hollenbeck added a pair of hits and scored twice.

``That just set a tone for the rest of the game,'' Foley said.

Centreville tied the game at 2 with solo runs in the third and fourth innings. The No. 9 hitter, Matt Greba, singled with one out in the third. A balk and two wild pitches scored him.

Mellies scored his run in the fourth.

But the Warhawks recovered. They did so by making their coach nervous before the game. Gjormand is used to a relaxed bunch which enjoys picking on one another. There was none of that before Friday's game.

There was a reason.

``The last couple of games haven't been our sharpest,'' Good said. ''We were down to business this time.''