FREEPORT — James Purdy couldn’t have possibly made a bigger punt in his career than on Saturday.

Purdy, the quarterback/punter for the Freeport football team, lined up at his own endzone, less than three minutes remaining, holding a 6-0 lead on a hungry Old Orchard Beach team desperate for a win.

One false move could lead the Seagulls into having the ball inside the 20-yard line for the potential win. But for the first time of the day, in sloppy conditions, Purdy took the snap and booted the ball over 50 yards, pinning Old Orchard Beach back into its own territory.

The kick helped seal the win for the Falcons, who held on to the 6-0 win over the Seagulls at Pownal Road Recreation Field.

“I had worked on punting during the offseason, and I was nervous down there, because we were backed up and I needed to get it out,” Purdy said. “I just tried my best to get it out, and it worked out well. I had good blocking.”

Freeport head coach Rob Grover said the kick was instrumental in sealing the win.

“That was big,” Grover said. “He’s a (heck) of a punter when he’s able to get it off, and that’s all we were hoping for, just let him get his foot on it. That was probably the game decider right there.”

Though Old Orchard Beach remains winless this season, it was the best game put together by the Gulls this season, something not lost on the mind of head coach Dean Plante. Plante was especially happy to have his entire team together for the game, as the Gulls have been bitten by the injury bug this season.

“It’s the first game we’ve had everybody,” Plante said. “We just didn’t have everybody. We get worn out. If we got worn out, they would have popped another (touchdown) in, but we’ve got kids back. We’re not a bad team when we have everybody, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to showcase it. Now we can, but we’ve got to clean things up offensively.”

Old Orchard Beach has had the unenviable task of playing five strong Class C programs to start the season. The Gulls were forced to play Yarmouth, Lisbon and Dirigo, all playoff teams a year ago, to start the season before losing to Traip Academy last week.

Some sunlight may finally be breaking through for Old Orchard Beach. The Gulls play Poland, Sacopee Valley and Boothbay Regional in their final three games. The three opponents have a combined 3-12 record.

“It’s no lack of fight or effort in these kids,” Plante said. “They stay positive, they find the good in everything they’ve done, even though it’s been frustrating at times. These games are tough when you lose 6-0, but you’ve got to reward them with accolades for fighting and staying positive and staying together.”

The Gulls received praise from Purdy and his teammates after the game for giving the Falcons a tough contest.

“They fought hard,” Purdy said. “It was just a weird day today. It was in the mud, and fighting hard in the trenches. It really came down to our lineman, they made key blocks and our receivers made good catches and our backs hit holes.”

A team that had allowed an average of 38 points per game in its first four contests, the Gulls defense put together their best effort, holding the Falcons to 264 yards of offense and six points, while forcing two turnovers, one of which included a 56-yard interception return by defensive back Joe Gildard.

“I give our coaching staff credit, they knew what was coming, our kids new what was coming,” Plante said. “They stopped them with the exception of one play, a tough non-penalty call, so you live with it.”

The game was a defensive battle through the entire contest, with a total of six turnovers combined between both teams. The final turnover would prove to be the costliest, as Seagulls running back Bryan Roberts fumbled on their final possession, with Freeport recovering, sealing the win with two minutes to play.

Neither team gained much ground in the first half.

Freeport scored the lone touchdown of the contest on its final drive of the first half, when Purdy found tight end Kaleb Farmer open on a seam route for a 17-yard touchdown strike.

A botched snap on the extra point kept the score at 6-0 heading into halftime. Neither team threatened each other through most of the third quarter, until the final possession, when Gildard sniped a Purdy pass at his own 15-yard line and returned it to the Freeport 29-yard line, giving the Seagulls their best chance to score in the contest.

“We were one broken tackle from being in,” Plante said.