But it’s been over a decade since they’ve had a finish this close.

This one wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as some but, of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And, for the Lancers, nothing appeared more exquisite than the final scoreboard tally of 21-17 in their favor, winning Layton the Battle for the Sword.

“Number one, (the win) is great,” Layton coach Trevor Thomas said of his first win over the Knights in three attempts. “Two, since when I first got here — and I’ve been at Layton basically since high school — Northridge makes (the annual matchup) a huge deal. I just told our guys, all right, if they’re going to make it a big deal, if they’re going to call us the ‘other school’ then, hey, we’re going to make it a big deal.”

“If they’re going to say those things about it, then we’re going to do it … we’re just going to make it a bigger deal than we have in the past.”

Early on, miscues set the tone for both squads.

Lincoln Wilcox had a tipped pass intercepted by Colby Rhees on Layton’s first possession.

Shortly thereafter, Andrew Ortiz dove into the end zone from the 1 to give Northridge an early 7-0 lead.

Layton knotted the score late in the opening period, set up by a Nathan Mecham interception in Knight territory. A few plays later, Gavin Hurst scooted around the left side from 3 yards out to even the count.

Layton escaped a snap over punter Preston DeWitt’s head early as DeWitt corralled the ball and salvaged the kick. But later, bad snap No. 2 was more costly. Northridge’s Sefita Koloi blocked a Layton punt attempt, setting up the Knights inside the Layton 10.

The Lancers stiffened up and put together a defensive stand before blocking a 22-yard field goal attempt by Ryker Horne.

Or so everyone thought.

In a game permeated with penalties, it was a blown whistle that didn’t actually count that left the Layton faithful stunned. An inadvertent stoppage by the officiating crew during a scramble for the ball following the block negated the entire play. The flub gave Horne a second opportunity, which he drilled, and set the Layton sideline into pandemonium.

The sequence resulted in Northridge taking a 10-7 lead into the break.

“(At half) I just told our guys we’re playing for ourselves,” Thomas said. “We’re playing for … Layton City. We’re playing for us. We’re not going to go play against them, we’re going to do what we do. We got composure and just kept going.”

Things didn’t immediately get on track for the Lancers following the break, however. The Knights seemed primed to pick up win No. 24 out of 34 in the all-time series as they went up by double digits to open the third period.

The hard-running Ortiz — who battled injuries throughout the second half — moved Northridge up the field with chunky gains, the final being a 9-yard scoring sweep around the left side.

Suddenly, things clicked in for the Lancers.

Wilcox pulled Layton back to within 17-14 on a 19-yard touchdown loft to Mecham in the end zone.

Then, with a raucous student section donned in camouflage behind it, Layton’s Harrison Swain intercepted Liam Fresques at the Northridge 12. Wilcox eventually snuck it in from the 1 as the Lancers turned a 10-point deficit into a four-point advantage in less than two minutes.

Northridge had two drives into Layton territory in the fourth quarter, but was turned away both times by stellar play from the Layton defense.

“Even down 10, I didn’t think that we were out,” Thomas said. “The composure was fine. I was just like, hey, we’re going to get the momentum, we’re going to get a couple of breaks, and we did. … Our crowd got crazy, which was awesome. I think that was the turning point. And our defense played great. They were lights out tonight.”

Layton (2-1) will host Copper Hills (2-1) next week in another nonleague clash, while the Knights (0-2) will try to pick up their first win at unbeaten Box Elder (3-0) to open Region 5 play.