Bridgeport — It is the rare bird who finds his salvation in Bridgeport. But the "birdgang," as the Fitch High School kids fancy themselves, would have taken a victory anywhere Friday night.

"Going to Hamden last week and Bridgeport tonight, a tough way to begin," Fitch coach Mike Ellis said Friday, walking off the newly turfed lawn of Harding's football field, "so this was a super win for us. The kids showed a lot."

Especially in the second half. Fitch shook off an 8-7 deficit at halftime and ran past Harding, 28-14, earning its first win of the season.

Quarterback Tyler Nelli ran for 140 yards and three touchdowns, threw a touchdown pass and even picked one off with 5:16 remaining to all but seal it.

"I'm just glad we came out and played together, like a family," Nelli said. "We were lacking that last week."

Nelli's 60-yard touchdown run early in the third period gave the Falcons their first lead at 14-8. After Coleman Adams' second touchdown of the game tied it for the Presidents (0-2), Nelli hit Joe Vignato with a 34-yard completion to set up Nelli's touchdown run to give the Falcons the lead for good.

"Tyler let some things bother him last week, but tonight, he just came out and relaxed and had fun," Ellis said. "He faced some adversity early, twisting his ankle, but he didn't let it bother him. He played a heck of a game."

Fitch's defense, which allowed Hamden six points last week, played well again. Nick Helbig led the Falcons with three quarterback sacks and Daniel Mojica had two.

Adams' first touchdown came on a 93-yard run late in the first period. It was Harding's first play of the game using the double wing.

Fitch scored with 34 seconds left in the first half, capitalizing on a bad punt. Nelli hit Noah Charron with a 14-yard scoring pass to make it 8-7 at halftime.

"I thought one of the biggest keys for us tonight was staying composed," Ellis said. "Things didn't go well early. We've been wondering for three weeks what's been wrong with the offense. But nobody hung their heads. The kids stayed together. If we can keep doing that, we'll be OK."

Fitch leaves the Southern Connecticut Conference part of the schedule next week to host Fitch in its home opener.

m.dimauro@theday.com