COLD SPRINGS — The scene inside Cranford Stricklin Stadium couldn’t have been more picturesque for Holly Pond.

After three years of close calls, heartbreaking losses and tears of despair, the Broncos finally broke through on Thursday night, edging Cold Springs 49-40 to snap a state-worst 29-game losing streak and notch their first win since the 2012 season.

They wasted little time soaking in the moment.

As soon as the clock struck zero, those donned in Green and White took to midfield for a celebration not soon to be forgotten.

Massive hugs were given out, happy tears were shed and the weight of a seemingly unceasing nightmare disappeared quickly into oblivion.

“I was just hoping that it wasn’t going to turn out like another Vinemont or Hanceville,” junior quarterback Michael Lambert said. “I wouldn’t have been able to take that. Not again. I’ve held back a lot of emotions, but that would have been awful. This win is worth some of those emotions. We’ve worked so hard for this. It feels amazing.”

Teammate Caleb Jones couldn’t have agreed more.

“This is the best feeling I’ve had in a long time,” he said. “Incredible.”

Both teams started fast, as Cold Springs grabbed a 6-0 lead following a 30-yard touchdown run by Christian Crandall.

The Broncos responded one play later with a 77-yard scoring strike from Lambert to Jones, but the Eagles bounced right back with a 41-yard pitch-and-catch from quarterback Cayde Elliott to Fisher Willoughby to regain a 12-6 cushion.

Neither offense slowed throughout the high-scoring affair.

That said, perhaps the biggest play of the matchup came late in the first half on the defensive side of the ball.

Cold Springs — nursing a slight 26-21 advantage — had two chances to punch it into the end zone inside of a minute remaining. On the last snap, though, Jones shed a block and plowed Crandall at the line of scrimmage.

With no timeouts in the pocket, the Eagles came away empty.

“That was a gamechanger,” Jones said. “I was just trying make a nice play and it turned out to be really big for us. Those guys were fighting as hard as they could for every yard. They kept coming, but we were able to stop them there.”

The two teams swapped leads three more times heading into the fourth quarter before Jones cashed in on another big-time play.

The junior running back dropped what the Blue and Gold thought to be a simple incomplete pass on a quick screen.

However, knowing it was a lateral, Jones scooped the ball up on a dead sprint and raced through a confused Cold Springs defense for a go-ahead, crowd-pleasing touchdown.

Coach Mike Bates has seen his group fall short time and time again. But on this day, plays were made and players stepped up.

“Coach (Bear) Bryant once said, ‘Every game sooner or later gets jaw to jaw and cheek to cheek,’” he said. “We made big plays where, in the past, we couldn’t do it. I was confident we could do some things coming in this game. I knew we’d get a win one day. We just didn’t know when it’d be.”

Jones’ touchdown, however, didn’t seal the deal. Instead, it was a solid defense that forced a turnover on downs inside the 20. Four plays later, a clutch 14-yard run by Jones on fourth down moved the chains.

Four snaps after that, Lambert found the end zone on a sublime bootleg fake — he completed a short throw to Zac Naler for the 2-point play — to give his team a 49-40 advantage.

Any ideas the Eagles had of avoiding an upset were dashed quickly by a Naler interception of Elliott with 1:02 on the clock.

Pandemonium ensued.

“I don’t even know what I was thinking on that play,” Naler said. “I was just trying to do what I needed to do. Nothing was going through my mind at the end. That’s how this group is, though. We fight. I don’t even … I’m just speechless. This is priceless.”

It was only after Naler’s pick that Bates was finally able to call what he’s been wanting to call for the past three seasons.

“We got to run my favorite play — the victory formation,” he said with a hearty laugh. “I don’t want to sound like a magnanimous coach, but I only thought about the kids when it was over. I’ve never been happier for them or any other group I’ve had more.

“They’ve been through so much together. To get through that, then play like they did today, it’s just really, really awesome. I was like a coach in a football movie those last five minutes. I was just thinking, ‘One time, one time. Let’s make a play and end this.’ And that’s what we did.”

Lambert finished his outstanding effort 13 of 19 passing for a robust 336 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Jones toted the ball 14 times for 82 yards and three scores. He hauled in seven catches for 203 yards and two more touchdowns.

Alex Cornelgio (four catches, 55 yards), Dylan Morton (two catches, 57) and Naler (two catches, 21) also contributed to the pass game.

The defense, which surrendered chunks of yardage during a difficult first half, allowed only 183 in the second.

“Our last win, if you don’t count our jamboree, was back in eighth grade,” Lambert said. “This is the first one since then — and it feels amazing. This is finally the taste of learning how to win. Once you get momentum moving in the right direction, you can’t stop it. This is what we wanted.”

For Cold Springs, Crandall finished with 195 yard and three scores on a 19-carry workload. Nic Rollo (17 carries, 93 yards, two touchdowns) and Fisher Willoughby (128 total yards, touchdown) also had solid games for the Eagles, who dropped to 6-4 on the season.

Elliott completed 7 of 9 passes for 121 yards and had 42 on the ground.

Blue and Gold head man Rod Elliott wasn’t pleased with his team’s tilt but couldn’t take away credit from where it was due.

“Holly Pond played fantastic,” he said. “They came ready. Congrats out to them. I hate it for our kids, but it is what it is. It was a real good game.”

The Eagles will travel to Sulligent next Friday for a playoff contest.

In the meantime, the Broncos — not to mention the fans, cheerleaders, band and other support staff — aren’t about to stop celebrating this hard-fought victory any time soon.

Now it’s just a matter of carrying it into 2016 and beyond.

“I think this finally lets us move forward with some confidence,” Bates said. “We can win. They know that now. Maybe that means we’ll simply move on and have more of these wonderful experiences.”