East Lyme — Big games don't faze the Norwich Free Academy football team.

The Wildcats have been in their share of fierce battles this season while playing a stiff non-conference schedule.

East Lyme, on the other hand, is still learning about competing on the main stage and it showed on Friday night.

NFA raced out to a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter and held on for a 27-21 victory in an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I game before a large crowd at East Lyme High School.

Two late Viking touchdowns closed the gap before NFA ran out the clock.

"Our guys have been in some big fights, going back to the first game of the year," NFA coach Jason Bakoulis said. "They just continue to not quit. You've got to give it to those guys, each one of them."

The Wildcats improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the division, while the Vikings fell to 5-2, 2-1. Both teams are chasing Fitch (7-0, 2-0) in the league race.

"It was a good ballgame," East Lyme coach Rudy Bagos said. "We just hit a stretch where we lost our composure. There was a lot on the line and this team, we haven't been there since 2009. This group is learning to adapt to the situation."

NFA senior quarterback Shea McManaway accounted for two touchdowns, hooking up with junior Jahiem Spruill for an 11-yard touchdown pass and scoring on a 4-yard run. Freshman Sean Preston ran it in from six and nine yards out and finished with a team-best 69 rushing yards.

But it was the defense that jump-started NFA.

After East Lyme drove 64 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown — senior Isaac Tomblin's four-yard run — on the game's first drive, the Vikings consistently ran into a brick wall of defenders.

Junior Kenyatta Peake's interception stopped East Lyme's next possession at the NFA 3-yard line. The Wildcats made two huge fourth down stops in NFA territory on two of East Lyme's next three drives.

"They made their adjustments and we just couldn't find the holes," Bagos said. "We were struggling. We were going inside and outside. They played us well. Hats off to them. They played very well defensively, especially on their D line."

The defense gave the NFA offense time to find its rhythm. The Wildcats scored 21 straight points in the third quarter after trailing 7-6 at halftime.

"That gave us a lot of momentum," McManaway said. "Our defense did a hell of a job tonight."

The Vikings didn't make it easy for the Wildcats.

Trailing by 20 in the fourth quarter, East Lyme scored on back-to-back possessions. Senior Tyler Valdez's 78-yard kickoff return eventually set up Tomblin's one-yard touchdown run. Tomblin finished with a team-best 50 yards on 17 carries.

Valdez caught a short pass from quarterback Chris Salemme, broke a few tackles and completed the 25-yard touchdown play to cut the gap to 27-21 with 3:30 left.

The Vikings opted to kick off, but couldn't prevent the Wildcats from running out the clock.

McManaway, who sat out two fourth-quarter series before returning to lead his team, converted an 11-yard third down pass to senior Caleb Parker for a first down to basically seal the win.

g.keefe@theday.com