First-year coach Danny Stiff knows Friday’s game was not a perfect performance by his Cullman Bearcats. But it was a step forward and led to the result they sought.

A year after taking a triple-overtime loss to the Red Raiders, Cullman scored the final 15 points for a 21-14 win over Decatur that could make a difference when it’s time to see which Class 6A, Region 7 teams will make the postseason.

“I kind of saw tonight as a playoff game,” Stiff said. “If you want to get in the playoffs, you need to win a game like this.”

Jackson Sessions ran for all three touchdowns for Cullman (2-2, 1-1).

“We’ve been trying to target him and find the best way to play him on both sides,” Stiff said of Sessions, who also helps in the secondary and on special teams. “ … He is our best football player. We’ve just got to get the ball in his hands.”

Decatur (1-3, 0-2) scored a touchdown late in the first half and another midway through the third quarter to take a 14-6 lead.

But Cullman’s drive late in the third ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by Sessions. Tanner Gaines then found Wyatt Buchanan for a game-tying 2-point conversion.

Sessions’ 3-yard touchdown with 5:23 left in the game put Cullman ahead.

The Bearcats then forced a turnover on downs inside the 5-yard line with less than a minute left to play to officially seal the victory.

Stiff credited the defense for limiting the number of big plays Decatur’s talented quarterback and receivers pulled off, and he said the offensive line deserved the biggest shoutout of the night.

“It was just a great team win,” Stiff said. “Both sides of the ball stepped up when they needed to.”

Cullman hosts Lee-Huntsville next week.