New London — Ryan Jones scored a stomach-churning game-winning touchdown for the Coast Guard Academy with 9 seconds remaining Saturday in a Parents' Weekend victory over rival Norwich.

And as if that didn't mean enough, Jones, the junior quarterback, then returned to the sideline for the celebration, where he was met by captain Jack Brandt — a defensive lineman who didn't play in the game due to injury — the Bears' mascot Objee and jubilant offensive coordinator Ray LaForte, who made it from the press box to the turf on a dead run for the festivities.

Jones scored from the 3-yard-line on fourth-and-goal after leading a 16-play, 76-yard drive on which the Bears completed three fourth downs.

Coast Guard defeated Norwich 38-35 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference opener for both teams before 4,450 fans at Cadet Memorial Field in a back-and-forth game which featured five lead changes, four in the second half.

“So the play was like an option play, which is a pretty (gutsy) play on fourth down, but we practice it all the time, so I knew what I was doing. Instincts just took over,” said Jones, who bounced off a would-be tackler into the end zone.

“I'm pretty sure a linebacker came up and met me. Everybody and their brother thought probably I was going to throw, but coach LaForte always has a trick up his sleeve. … I got the play and called it to the line.”

The winning drive commenced at the Coast Guard 24 with four minutes remaining following a Norwich touchdown, a 27-yard pass from Matt Dunn to Manni Romero, which gave the Cadets (1-3, 0-1) a brief 35-31 lead.

The Bears (3-1, 1-0) were faced with a fourth-and-6 from their own 28 when Jones hit Justin Moffatt for 12 yards over the middle for a first down. Jones had consecutive completions to Chip Crowley, Liam Middleton and Crowley again for 13 yards to the Norwich 21.

With Coast Guard running its “fastball” offense at that point to try to catch the Cadets off balance, Norwich called a timeout with 1:12 to play.

During the next sequence, several penalties were called on both teams, with the Bears finally facing a fourth-and-8 from the 19 at the 29-second mark. Jones found Moffatt, who caught the ball just in bounds on the right sideline at the 6.

A personal foul on Norwich during the play gave the Bears the ball on the 3, but the final outcome was delayed until the very last play as Jones threw incompletions on the first three downs.

Brandt wrapped Jones in a long embrace following his return to the sideline.

“He told me, 'You're the only man for the job; we knew it before, but it's clear to us,'” said Jones of Brandt. “I was pretty cool (after the touchdown); I was still processing what happened.”

Jones finished 21-for-34 passing for 257 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Moffatt caught 10 passes for a career-high 178 yards and a touchdown and Crowley had three catches for 95 yards, including a 76-yard option pass from Moffatt.

Chris Gardner ran 21 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. Jake Behne led the defense with 13 tackles and R.J. Robiskie, Philip Orlando and Tyler Clemmer each had sacks.

The combined point total was the highest in the 76 meetings between the schools.

“I need to go home and lay down,” were the first words from an exhausted Coast Guard coach Bill George. “I didn't get jubilant at any lead in the game. I never felt sure. I said, 'I told you all week and I told you at half, it's going to come down to the last play.'”

George credited LaForte for calling the entire final drive.

“The only two people talking during that time were Ray LaForte talking to himself out loud,” George said.

Coast Guard led 16-14 at halftime. Kicker Cole Austin gave the Bears their first lead in the second quarter, drilling field goals from 21, 33 and 39 yards on consecutive drives, to push the team ahead 9-7.

After forcing a Norwich punt, Coast Guard scored on a fourth straight drive, only this time it was a touchdown, sparked by Moffatt's pass to Crowley down to the Norwich 1. Freshman Jay Griffin punched it in for a 16-7 lead.

Norwich executed a three-play, 75-yard drive on the next series, capped by a 50-yard scoring pass from Dunn to Romero to pull within two headed into halftime.

v.fulkerson@theday.com