Nate Gordon saw the football go into the air. Within a moment, the ball fell into his hands.

Poly’s sideline went crazy as Gordon sprinted to the end zone. The senior defensive back’s game-changing play lifted the Engineers to a 14-6 victory over No. 7 Mervo in a Baltimore City Division I contest.

The win pushes Poly to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in Division I. It’s the best start for the North Baltimore school since 2011 when it won the city Division I title.

“Unreal,” Engineers coach Marquise O’Neal said. “Being an alum of the school, part of a rich football tradition, being hired to try and get it back to where we once were. This is a big major step in that direction. It’s kind of surreal.”

Poly made a stunning statement Friday night in North Baltimore, ending a seven-game losing streak against Mervo (3-2, 2-2 Division I), the reigning Class 4A/3A state champions. The Mustangs defeated the Engineers, 42-0, last season.

Those past failures were exorcised by Gordon, who led a defensive effort that frustrated Mervo Friday evening. Gordon stripped the ball from Mustangs’ junior quarterback Malik Woodrum.

“It was like the greatest feeling ever,” said Gordon, whose play was complimented with quarterback Jason Lindsay’s two-point conversion pass to Daryl Spence. “To get that and put our team up, it felt real good, man. It’s a blessing to be able to do this everyday.”

“Everyone was doubting us,” Gordon added. “Even the mayor of Baltimore said this team (Mervo) was going to put 35 on us and we weren’t going to score…That scoreboard says 14-6.”

In a game where opportunities were few, Poly got into the red zone in the second quarter. After a keeper by Lindsey, Mervo senior linebacker Sterling Thomas was injured and had to be taken off the field in an ambulance.

On the first play after the game was resumed, the Mustangs recovered a Poly fumble. Mervo capitalized as junior quarterback Raymond Moore threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tysean Cox.

The Engineers’ defense turned momentum in the second half. Poly forced a Mervo punt and Tyrese Stanley broke through the line, blocked the punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for the tying score.

“We practice all week, all three phases of the game, " O’Neal said. “If you can win two out of the three, usually you win the game.”

After winning its previous 14 decisions, Mervo has back-to-back losses for the first time since 2017. The Mustangs lost to Dunbar, 24-20, last week at Morgan State University.

Mustangs coach Patrick Nixon afterwards was concerned with Thomas, who’s been a team leader through the tragic losses of teammates Elijah Gorham and Jeremiah Brogden.

In the Mustangs’ previous game at Poly last year, Gorham suffered a brain injury after landing hard in the zone while attempting to catch a pass. He died several weeks later.

“It was tough,” Mervo coach Patrick Nixon said. “I’d be lying to you if I said it wasn’t tough. I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t very, very emotional about it.”

Though Poly was impressive in its first five games (outscored opponents, 162-17), some wondered if the Engineers were ready to play with the elite of Baltimore City.

They answered that question Friday night. Next up, undefeated reigning city Division I and Class 2A/1A state champ Dunbar Thursday.

“I’m sure we’re the only school that’s playing two back-to-back state champions,” O’Neal said. “So we’ll be battle tested.”

POLY 14, NO. 7 MERVO 6

Mervo 0 6 0 0 - 6

Poly 0 0 6 8 - 14

Second quarter

Mervo - Tysean Cox 10 pass from Raymond Moore (run failed)

Third quarter

Poly - Tyrese Stanley blocked punt and fumble recovery in end zone (run failed)

Fourth quarter

Poly - Nate Gordon 10 fumble recovery (Daryl Spence pass from Jason Lindsey)