Meet Mike Schmid. Westfield quarterback Sean Glennon's already been introduced.

Schmid, a 5-foot-9, 205 pound member of the Oakton defensive line, had a breakout performance in Friday night's Group AAA, Division 6, Northern Region semifinals at Westfield, sacking Glennon twice late in the game, causing a pair of fumbles by the Bulldogs junior quarterback, blocking one early pass and getting at least one other tackle for loss.

It all helped add up to the No. 4 Cougars' 17-0 victory over the Concorde District champs and No. 2 Bulldogs, and a trip to the region championship game against No. 1 Robinson.

Not bad for a first-year varsity senior playing in his first playoff game.

``I've been learning more every game," said Schmid, whose biggest play came with just 1 minute, 28 seconds left when he sacked Glennon on 4th-and-long with the Bulldogs on their own 5. ``I've just started playing a lot better the last couple of weeks."

Three seasons ago, Schmid played on Oakton's freshman squad. After a two-year hiatus, he returned as a senior to the Cougars, settling for a spot on the second-team defensive line. Until a teammate went out with mononucleosis before Week 1.

He's been a starter ever since.

``He got his chance and he made the most of it," Oakton coach Pete Bendorf said. ``And he was laying the wood on them tonight, too."

Schmid was one of the many formerly unheralded Oakton players who came up big Friday to help the Cougars (8-3) advance to the region championship game for the first time in four years on a frigid, blustery night before a capacity crowd at Westfield (10-1).

Fellow defensive lineman and senior Sloane Harris was another. He set the early tone for his entire unit's dominant performance with a late first-quarter sack, followed by a levelling of Glennon in the fourth quarter with Oakton up, 10-0, just as a long pass was released on 2nd-and-10 from Westfield's 32.

That pass, like Glennon's next, fell incomplete, forcing the fifth of six Bulldogs punts of the night.

``They were blitzing a lot, putting a lot of pressure on me," said Glennon, who went 14-of-40 for 140 yards, threw no interceptions and was sacked in the fourth quarter by All-Journal senior linebacker Danny Prentice. ``My line did a great job, but sometimes people got through. It made it a little hard to pass."

Also complicating things for the Bulldogs offense was the leg of Oakton junior punter Andrew Zotter.

Just biding his time until next season, when he said he will move to wide receiver, Zotter pinned Westfield inside its own 10 three times - twice in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs were in dire need to put big points up fast.

``My leg was really feeling up to the task even with the wind and everything," said Zotter, who averaged 32 yards on his eight punts. ``I'd have to say some of it was luck. Some of the punts weren't as good, but I got a good roll."

Zotter's wasn't the only special teams story for Oakton on Friday, 11 days after Westfield's field goal unit clinched the Bulldogs' 26-24 victory over the Cougars in their regular-season matchup.

On a night where Oakton's offense couldn't find the end zone until the final 1:24 on a 1-yard rumble by senior running back John Pettiford (15 yards on five attempts), it took the effort of well-known senior defensive back Terry Kimener to put the Cougars on the board midway through the first quarter.

Streaking in from the left corner, the speedy Kimener slapped the ball down from the foot of Westfield senior kicker Danny Murphy at midfield, scooped it up after nearly falling on the turf and sprinted an open 45 yards with a convoy of Cougars behind him.

It was Oakton's first blocked punt of the season.

``When I went down I stumbled a little bit and tripped over some mud or something," Kimener said. ``Then my teammates gathered me in and took me into the end zone."

Oakton, which managed only three first downs, didn't score again until senior kicker Matt Lewis converted a 27-yard field goal with 2:43 left in the third, making it 10-0.

But the fact that the Cougars' defense recorded a shutout of the Northern Region's most potent offense - keeping the Bulldogs to just 146 yards of total offense - overshadowed any offensive woes Oakton may have experienced. Senior quarterback Pat Day, who led his team's rushing with 50 yards on 17 scrambles, did not complete a pass in nine attempts, throwing one interception.

``It ranks right up there," Bendorf said when asked about the importance of the victory in his program's history. ``We shut out Lake Braddock, 22-0, to reach the region finals in 1998. To this point, I would have to say this one's got to be one or two.

``It was a phenomenal team effort, and that's what makes it special."

The tone in the Westfield locker room after the game was somber as players gathered for some parting words by coach Tom Verbanic then returned their gear to storage.

But the importance of this unprecedented season was not lost on the Bulldogs players, who clawed their way to top ranks of the region in the three short years since the school's opening.

``We've accomplished a tremendous amount," said Glennon, the corners of his mouth trembling with sadness. ``From a bunch of kids who never played with each other in their lives to coming together to win the Concorde District, it really means a lot to all of us.

``It was a great season, I wouldn't trade it for anything. But you don't want it to end. We were striving for that region championship. To see it slip away like that, it hurts."

Fortunately for the young Bulldogs, nearly their entire offense will return for one last go next season. Junior wide receiver Eddie Royal, who caught seven passes for 90 yards, said he will use the feeling in that locker room as motivation for the 2003 season.

``I just want to work hard for next year," he said. ``I realized it's a team game today. You play for each other. I just don't ever want to feel this feeling again. It's the worst feeling in the world."