PLYMOUTH — All it took was one less miscue for No. 2 Southside to knock off top-ranked Plymouth. The Seahawks did everything in their power, giving the Vikings their toughest challenge of the playoffs, but came up short in a 17-12 loss.

The Seahawks drove deep into Viking territory on their penultimate possession. It was fourth-and-seven from Plymouth’s 19-yard line. Quarterback Johnny Sullivan was confident in his ability to make plays in the air. It was a wrinkle in Southside’s offense that consistently evolved as the playoffs progressed.

Sullivan took aim at Lawrence Brown. With over 200 yards of total offense, he had been the team’s consistent playmaker throughout the evening. He ran a post route into the end zone, stopped and slid to make the catch, but couldn’t hold on.

That wasn’t the last shot for the visiting Seahawks. The defense made short work of Plymouth’s efforts to ice the game. They got the ball back with just a shade over three minutes to play. However, Plymouth punter Chris Kelly didn’t make it easy. He pinned the Seahawks back at their own 20-yard line, giving them lots of field to cover with only a little time on the clock.

They marched right back down the field and did so with cadence. It seemed the Seahawks were balancing moving the ball and managing the clock well when Sullivan kept to Plymouth’s 20-yard line. He came up just shy of the first down. The Vikings stuffed Southside at the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-one and got the ball back with 53 seconds left on the clock.

That was it. Southside only had one timeout left. All it took was a couple of knees for Plymouth to lock down the regional championship and a fourth-straight trip to the title game.

“That’s football. This is what football is supposed to be about here,” said head coach Jeff Carrow. “Kids learn life lessons. Eastern regional final ball games are supposed to be like this.”

Early on, the game looked like it would unfold in a completely different way. Brown erupted early on for a 49-yard gain to put his Seahawks well within striking distance. Sullivan finished by scoring from a yard out to give the visitors an early 6-0 lead.

Plymouth then proceeded to fumble the ball away on its first play of the game. Southside appeared to have all the momentum, but the Viking defense thought otherwise.

The Seahawks came up empty on their next four possessions. They turned the ball over on downs twice in the red zone — once at Plymouth’s 18-yard line and again at its five. They even opted for a rare punt, going for a more conservative approach while the game was still young.

Plymouth took over at its 41-yard line and took. It wasn’t long before Chad Dance ripped off a 40-yard run to level things. Kelly converted on the extra point to give the home side a 7-6 edge with 4:32 left in the first half.

Southside was set to kickoff to begin the second half. The Vikings took over, poised to extend their four-point lead, but fumbled the ball away on their second play of the half. Joe Myers scooped it up, giving Southside a chance to pull ahead again.

Brandon Sullivan did just that when he darted two yards up the middle to give the Seahawks a 12-10 lead. The defenses continued to duel until Kevin White connected with Taiwan Ebron for a 22-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, giving Plymouth its decisive 17-12 edge.

Plymouth hung on by depriving the Seahawks of the chance to make plays when they needed to. They failed on all five of their attempts to convert on fourth down and were only 5-of-13 on third down. They outgained the Vikings, 340-283, but came up short on one too many drives.

“I expected it to be a close ball game, unlike other people. A lot of people didn’t give us credit. They didn’t think the score would be close,” Carrow said. “I believed in them, so did everyone in that locker room, our coaches and the community … What it came down to is we didn’t execute enough on offense.”

Southside wraps up its best season in over a decade with a 12-2 record. The last two senior classes have built something special in Chocowinity and that’s something to admire.

“Last year’s seniors and this year’s seniors laid the ground for what we’re doing back at Southside,” Carrow said. “Tradition, work ethic and building the program back up. I’m proud of them … (The seniors) know what they’ve contributed. They saw what last year’s seniors did. These underclassmen, they realize. They’ll especially realize next year when football season gets going again.”