New London — East Lyme found a way to rally from an early 12-point deficit against New London on Friday night.

Late in the game, the Vikings found a way to hold off New London by pushing them around.

East Lyme got the ball back with 6 minutes, 10 seconds left in the game after the Whalers had scored to cut the lead to a point. The Vikings used their power run game to run out the clock and win 21-20 in an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I game.

The Vikings are 3-1 overall, 1-0 in the division.

Three wins would be three times what East Lyme had last season (1-9).

“In years past, if we were down 12-0, we don’t come back,” Vikings head coach Rudy Bagos said. “This year is different.

“These kids are resilient. You saw it all game.”

The Whalers led 12-0 with over four minutes left in the first half when East Lyme tipped the game onto its side.

Quarterback Chris Salemme threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Hatajik with 1:51 left in the second quarter. Matt Malcom’s extra point cut the Vikings’ deficit to 12-7.

A botched snap on a New London punt attempt gave East Lyme the ball at the Whalers' 20-yard line with 58.7 seconds left in the half.

Salemme threw an 8-yard pass to Spencer Duthrie. Isaac Tomblin followed with a 7-yard run, then a 5-yard TD run that gave East Lyme the lead with 10.6 seconds remaining in the half. Malcom’s extra point put the Vikings up 14-12.

East Lyme opened the second half with a 14-play, 81-yard drive. All but one play was a run. Tyler Valdez ran for a 2-yard touchdown to extend the Vikings' lead to 21-12 with 4:48 left in the third quarter.

“When we were down 12-0, we were yelling at each other and getting annoyed at each other,” East Lyme senior tight end Sam Highman said. “That (first touchdown) drive, we came back and we just shoved it right up there.

“Once we had that (81) yard drive, we had all the momentum.”

The Vikings ran 45 times for 222 yards.

Tomblin did most of the work. The senior had 29 carries for 152 yards.

All of East Lyme’s rushing yardage was made possible by Sam Angiolelli (center), Thomas Bartok and Michael Quick (guards), Travis Clement and Liam Whaley (tackles), and Highman. Everyone but Whaley is a senior.

“The offensive line has been terrific,” Bagos said. “Our success has been because of them.”

New London (1-3, 0-1) was without starting quarterback Owen George (finger). Junior Zehki Burgis started in his place and threw two touchdowns to senior Gio Lopez

Burgis' second touchdown pass to Lopez was on fourth-and-3 at the East Lyme 9. Monty Johnson followed with a conversion run to cut the Whalers’ deficit to 21-20 with 6:16 left in the game.

Junior Jahyde Marcus stripped the ball from Hatajik and took it for a 77-yard fumble return to give New London a 12-0 lead with 8:55 left in the second quarter.

“My high school defensive coordinator, Gil Varjas, used to say you can’t lose if they don’t score,” said Whalers head coach Juan Roman, who also played for the green and gold. “We were up 12-0, and we gave up 21 points after that. So that’s on us. … For two weeks now, we’ve found a way to lose.”

The Vikings got the ball at their own 28 to start their last drive. They got all the way to the New London 5 and ended the game by taking a knee.

“(New London) gets it within one, and we have a (long drive),” Bagos said. “It’s a mark of a team that is growing up.”

n.griffen@theday.com