New London — It is perfectly understandable to judge a high school football season, particularly one such as Fitch with its two banners hanging, on playoff success.

But consider what Falcons have done in their last three games:

Last Thanksgiving vs. rival Ledyard: win.

Last week vs. neighboring rival Thames River: win.

Friday night vs. longstanding rival New London: win.

“Feels great,” quarterback Ben Perry said after his team’s 34-21 win at Cannamela Field. “Those are fun games to play in, but not easy. Ninety percent of these guys around me have been around me since I was seven. I remember getting smacked around on this field. We’ve overcome that. Three in a row feels great.”

Perry ran for two scores and threw touchdown passes of 21 and 40 yards to Calvin McCoy, whose second touchdown reception helped give the Falcons a 27-7 lead at halftime. McCoy’s 21-yard scoring catch came on Fitch’s first play from scrimmage — and the second overall play of the game — after the Falcons recovered a fumble.

“When you look at us, teams probably think run, run, run because we run the triple option,” McCoy said. “I think we came out and surprised them with the throws. The rest is history.”

Fitch’s defense held the Whalers to 125 yards of total offense. New London’s first score came on defense when Jose Rivera returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown. The Whalers’ last two scores came late after Fitch had taken a 34-7 lead.

“The defense has played well and it’s keeping us in games,” Fitch coach Mike Ellis said. “We’ve still got things to work on, like wrapping up and tackling better. We’ve got a lot to work on.”

Gianni Drab, Devon Edwards and Will Vieu had quarterback sacks for the Falcons, while Porter Carter had an interception. Carter also threw a textbook block in the first half to key Adonis Fine’s 45-yard gain that eventually led to a touchdown. Fine also scored on a 56-yard run.

“Going back to the Ledyard game last year, we beat a gutsy team,” Ellis said. “Last week against Thames River, the kids played before more than 2,000 fans and you never know if they’re going to lose their minds. Now coming here, it’s never easy winning at New London. I’m proud of the way the kids fought tonight.”

m.dimauro@theday.com