Ledyard — This magical night was about to fizzle, what with Windham having tied the game late in regulation and now but five yards away from taking the lead in overtime.

Go figure. Ledyard executed its game plan of patience to perfection, had an eight-point lead late and suddenly it’s swirling the bowl, to the chagrin of a packed house at Bill Mignault Field.

So there is was, 20-20 in overtime Friday night and the Ledyard defense, as it had two other times, forced a fumble, this one at the 1-yard line. Two plays later on offense, James Green scored from four yards out and the Colonels celebrated their biggest win in years, 26-20.

Ledyard (7-1, 3-0) didn’t merely hand Windham (7-1, 3-1) its first loss, but won the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II championship as well.

Green, who shared a long, joyful, emotional embrace with his mother on the field after the game, made sure he reminded mom of her prediction from a few weeks back, too.

“After Windham beat Killingly my mom said we’d never beat them. My own mother,” Green said through a 50,000-watt grin. “But we believed in each other.”

They believed in coach Mike Serricchio’s game plan, too. Serricchio made sure his offense did not snap the ball all night until the back judge raised his right arm, signifying there were five seconds remaining on the play clock. Ledyard successfully burned time and shortened the game.

“Windham is a tremendous team. No weak links,” Serricchio said. “You can’t give them the ball. It’s not easy to ask kids to be patient. But our guys did a great job.”

Green’s 41-yard touchdown run gave Ledyard a 13-6 lead early in the third quarter. Victor Mejia’s 16-yard touchdown run made it 13-12, but what ensued told part of the game story, too.

Ledyard’s Matt Tebbetts blocked the extra point, one of several miscues the Colonels forced, in addition to three fumbles and a blocked punt.

The Colonels pounced on another fumble at the Windham 13, scoring a touchdown on Jackson Poulton’s 1-yard run with 6:20 left. Ledyard led by eight.

Windham’s path to tying the game began on fourth and seven with 3:07 left. Zachary Robinson-Smey hit Mejia with a 40-yard fullback screen for a touchdown, followed by Mejia’s two-point conversion run.

But the Colonels forced the fateful fumble in overtime, leading to the biggest victory in years.

“It means a lot to all of us,” Poulton said. “I’m very appreciative of the guys who came before me in the program and taught me. The guys who practice against us every day to make us better. A great team win.”

Indeed.

“It’s vindication,” Serricchio said. “We’ve told the kids that when we put it together on offense, defense and special teams, we’ll be hard to stop. We’ve had some wins, but nothing like this. You can only tell kids it’s coming for so long. But they really put it together tonight.”

m.dimauro@theday.com