After two games that slipped out of their grasp, the Saints finally gripped a 2012 win for the time on Friday night when they beat Norfolk Christian on the road, 33-12.

“We played much better,” Saints head coach Lew Johnston said. “I haven’t seen the stats, but I’m guessing we had to have 300 yards rushing.”

They stockpiled 333 yards on the ground and 383 yards of total offense with Ryan McClain and sophomore Addison Peak leading the way.

“I made up my mind at halftime,” Johnston said, “I told ‘em, ‘We’re just going to go out and cram it down their throats,’ and we only ended up throwing one time in the second half.”

Senior quarterback Tim Burns did not have to contribute much, chipping in four completions on 12 attempts for 50 yards.

McClain had 12 carries for 126 yards and three touchdowns and Peak had nine carries for 120 yards and a touchdown.

“I just felt like we needed to assert our dominance on the line of scrimmage,” Johnston said.

They did, but defense was what turned the tide.

“But the key was, the defense in the second half really came alive,” he said. “I got a little upset at them at halftime. I told them I’m still not happy with the way we’re playing. We’re capable of better and I feel like they really responded to that, so that was very gratifying.”

The Saints defense had been an issue to Johnston in the past two games, but this game showed that lessons are being learned.

“(Norfolk Christian) had one long run in the first half for a touchdown,” Johnston said, “and then late in the game, they threw up a prayer and (the) kid went up and made a nice catch on it. So, really, except for those two plays, I felt like our defense played very well.”

Junior defensive end John Mobley and sophomore defensive linemen David Gough and Shay Wood all had sacks.

Johnston had been emphasizing gang tackling to his defense, and the team produced 12 tackles by more than one player.

The Saints held a 14-6 halftime lead, but were able to complete the bulk of the rest of their scoring in the third quarter.

“I had JV kids in there in the fourth quarter, so we got everybody playing,” Johnston said.

The Saints now have their first win, and not only that, but it came against a historically strong opponent.

“This is a good football team, they’ve been playing in the state playoffs the last two, three years,” Johnston said. “It’s good to beat a quality football team. I think that’s given everybody a lot of confidence now.”

Nansemond-Suffolk (1-2) visits Bishop Sullivan next week on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.