MALVERN -- It came down to the final seconds, but Fountain Lake's defense stood tall to secure the Cobras' first conference win of the season.
With 3:28 left in the game, Malvern quarterback Cedric Simmons aimed for Dante Reed in the back of the end zone, but Brayden Branstetter picked off the pass to turn the game around with an 18-14 lead.
The Leopards held the Cobras to a three-and-out, and Reed muffed the punt but recovered it and ran it back to the Cobras 38.
Fountain Lake denied a pass before putting heavy pressure on Simmons, pushing him back to the 44. Simmons aimed for Jacobe Hart, but the ball slipped through his hands. A delay of game moved the ball back five yards, and Simmons hit Reed for a 20-yard gain, a yard short of the first down to let the Cobras set up in victory formation.
Fountain Lake got on the scoreboard first as kicker Wesley Campbell split the uprights on a 27-yard attempt with 3:06 left in the first quarter.
Malvern responded with 2:32 off the clock in the second quarter as Hart ran it in from the 1, and Rodea's kick made it 7-3.
DeArmon responded with a 56-yard breakaway with 8:02 left in the half, and Campbell's kick made it 9-7.
The Leopards responded with 16 seconds left in the half as Simmons found Carter Martin in the back corner of the end zone, and Rodea made it 14-9, which is where the score stood at the half.
DeArmon ran the ball in from about six inches out with 7:03 left in the third quarter to pull the Cobras ahead 15-14. Malvern's TreSean Moorman was ejected after a personal foul, leading Fountain Lake to opt for the conversion, but DeArmon was stopped short.
The Cobras pushed their lead back out with 7:26 left in the game as Campbell hit a 23-yard field goal for an 18-14 lead.
Fountain Lake quarterback Jack Wurz was 3 for 5 for 24 yards, including a 23-yard shot to Asa Westerman, and he added 13 yards on two carries. Steven DeArmon led the Cobras offense with 25 carries for 179 yards and two touchdowns.
Simmons was 14 for 24 for 122 yards and a touchdown. Reed had seven catches for 87 yards, and Martin had six catches for 38 yards and a score. Hart led the ground game with 15 carries for 93 yards, and Simmons had 12 touches for 40 yards.
The Cobras host Haskell Harmony Grove next Friday, and Malvern travels to Nashville.