Cromwell — The game was tied and in overtime, and Valley Regional/Old Lyme receiver Jason O’Brien was in the Cromwell/Portland end zone watching, watching, watching Michael Cullina scramble on third-and-goal from the 9.

“(I’m thinking) ‘Mikey, throw it up,’” O’Brien said. “‘Mikey, throw it up.’ And then he threw it up.”

“When he threw the ball, Jason came into the frame,” Valley/Old Lyme head coach Tim King said. “I saw those long arms go up and I was like, ‘Oh. My. God.’”

Touchdown.

Ball game.

Valley Regional/Old Lyme 34, Cromwell/Portland 28.

Wow.

“I waited and waited,” said King, now in his 20th season as head coach. “It was almost slow motion, the (official’s) arms going up.

“That’s right up there, one of the big victories for us (in program history).”

The win kept the Warriors (6-1, 5-1) alive in both for both the Pequot League Sassacus Division title and a CIAC Class S playoff berth.

It was the first loss for the Panthers (6-1, 5-1), which beat Old Saybrook/Westbrook last week 12-6.

Old Saybrook/Westbrook (5-1, 3-1) beat the Warriors 34-13 on Oct. 6.

“We showed the state who we were,” Cullina said. “We didn’t play well at all (against Old Saybrook/Westbrook). We came out here today. We kept focused. We got down a couple of times, faced adversity and we came out on top. And we did what we do.”

Cromwell/Portland got the ball first in overtime. On fourth down from the 10-yard line, Dianta Highsmith took a reverse and cut up field toward the Warriors’ sideline.

Judson O’Brien and a few of his Valley/Old Lyme teammates stopped Highsmith at the 1.

Cromwell/Portland had gotten to Cullina a few times late in regulation, and it looked as if they were going to get him again on third down in overtime.

“I have no idea,” Cullina said about avoiding being tackled. “I was just trying to keep the play alive. … I saw Jason, that’s my boy. I threw it up.”

King said: “I was just hoping that he didn’t fumble the ball on a sack because they were coming behind him. I was like, ‘hold on to the ball, hold on to the ball and run.’ I figured if he could get us another 3, 4 yards, maybe we’d be able to try another field goal.”

There was no need as Jason O’Brien had his first — and most important — catch of the game.

“Mikey did a great job of getting away and scrambling,” O’Brien said. “I was like, this is my moment. This is my one catch of the game. I don’t care if I get one catch in the game if I get that every game.”

Cullina completed 10 of 18 passes for 213 yards and four touchdowns with one pick.

Brent Robbins scored on a 5-yard run to give Cromwell/Portland a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Cullina threw a 7-yard touchdown to Jae’len Arnum on the Warriors next possession to give them a 7-6 edge.

Nick Braga caught a 9-yard touchdown from Cullina with 20.3 seconds left in the half to push Valley/Old Lyme ahead 14-6. It then recovered a pooch kick and tried a 21-yard field goal to end the half.

The kick was blocked, and the Panthers’ Kittrell Lauray got the ball and raced for a 79-yard touchdown with no time left. The two-point conversion failed.

Bryan Lockwood ran for a 6-yard touchdown to put Cromwell/Portland back ahead 20-14 with 6:35 left in the third quarter.

Ernest Jean-Pierre gave the Warriors the lead three plays later with a 48-yard touchdown catch from Cullina. Jean-Pierre had four catches for 143 yards.

Cole Ensinger ran for an 8-yard touchdown to push Valley/Old Lyme ahead 28-20 with 1:14 remaining in the third.

Bryce Karstetter threw a 38-yard touchdown to Highsmith — on fourth-and-20 — and ran in for the conversion to tie the game at 28 with 7:55 remaining.

“We knew if we lost tonight and won out, if we won out, that we could be 8-2 and not make the playoffs,” King said. “And how sad is that after a game like this?

“The kids came to play, and we told them to have some fun. Don’t play so tight. Just go out and have some fun.”

n.griffen@theday.com