CANTON — Some losses can stick with you for years, even forever.

Tri-County’s football squad put things in the rearview, and the Cougars are now champions.

Junior quarterback Declan Walker finished 3-for-9 passing with 98 yards to go with 159 yards rushing and three total touchdowns, while sophomore Nick O’Brien (120 yards rushing) sprinted for the game-winning score with 31 seconds remaining as Tri-County captured its first-ever Small School Vocational title with a thrilling 36-30 victory over rival Blue Hills on the road.

“The kids came to play,” said Tri-County coach Andy Gomes. “It was one of those things throughout the year. Our kids just kept getting better and better. They had a mission in their minds. They wanted to come here and they wanted to take care of business. We did, and that’s a good football team we competed against… but to get the first one in the history of the school? It’s something that I’m glad for. These kids will have that memory, and be able to say that for the rest of their lives.”

It was a rematch of last year’s Small School Vocational Bowl, which Blue Hills won 44-7. For a quarter at least, it appeared things might be trending in a similar direction as Kanyinsola Olanrewaju scampered for a 30-yard touchdown rush to provide the Warriors (7-6) an early 6-0 lead.

However, Walker kick-started the Cougars to open the second quarter, as he shed a tackle and broke free on a QB keeper for a 21-yard touchdown rush to give Tri-County its first lead at 7-6.

Then down 14-7 with seconds to play in the half, Walker decided to heave a pass toward the end zone. In miraculous fashion, freshman Jordan Pedro corralled the ball for a 34-yard touchdown strike, knotting the title bout at 14-all entering the break.

“It was the biggest play for us all game,” said Walker. “It gave us so much motivation and energy going into those buses at halftime. It gave us so much hope. Halftime last year at this game, we were down 30, 40 points or something like that. I saw so much disappointment on kids’ faces, sadness. This year is different. They never gave up. It was always a fight.”

The momentum carried into the third stanza, as O’Brien turned in his longest run of the night — a 57-yard touchdown sprint, which gave Tri-County its first lead at 21-14.

After Blue Hills took a 22-21 lead following Olanrewaju’s third touchdown rush at the end of the third quarter, the Cougars gained possession to start the fourth quarter with decent field position. Walker took another shot, connecting with Pedro again for a 30-yard touchdown strike to provide Tri-County a 28-22 edge with 10:45 remaining.

The back-and-forth continued, as Olanrewaju scored his fourth rushing touchdown to make it 30-28 with 5:29 remaining, setting the stage for one final drive.

After driving into the red zone with seconds to play, the Cougars handed it to O’Brien, who plowed to pay dirt for a four-yard touchdown run, sealing the historic win for Tri-County.

As the snow began to fall during the celebrations, the sophomore took a moment to reflect.

“To come back from that loss (last year) is truly amazing,” said O’Brien. “It’s something different. We worked every single day for this. We grinded nonstop, and we got the job done.”