Last night, Leominster came in and did just that, giving the second-ranked Boxers all they could handle before the hosts were able to come away with a 13-9 nonleague victory.

“It was a good win,’’ said Colombo, whose team has won five straight to improve to 7-1. “When teams come to Marciano Stadium we tend to get their best. That’s part of the whole legacy of Brockton football. Leominster has a great tradition going back to when they dethroned us as the No. 1 team in the country [in 1988]. It’s a tough win and we’ll take it.’’

After a scoreless first half, the floodgates opened. Senior Dominique Williams ran back the second-half kickoff 79 yards to put the Boxers ahead, 7-0. But the Blue Devils answered that score after recovering a fumble on the Boxers’ 33.

Needing just two plays, sophomore Kyle Sanders hauled in a 33-yard pass from Curtis Ludden in the end zone to tie the game, 7-7, with 4:21 to go in the third quarter. But Brockton marched right back, covering 32 yards before Williams plowed in from the 1.

Brockton’s top back, Trevon Offley, saw limited action because of a shoulder injury. He finished with just 26 yards on nine carries. Quarterback Sam Previte gained 49 yards on 12 attempts.

With time running down in the fourth, Colombo opted to take a safety since the Blue Devils (3-5) had just a couple of timeouts remaining. Their final attempts to win the game fell short.

“We played a great game,’’ Leominster coach John Dubzinski said. “The second-half kickoff for a touchdown was a killer for us. But I feel we couldn’t play any better than we did tonight. We had our chances. I have no complaints.’’

Brockton finished with 167 total yards to Leominster’s 196. Malik Daniel led the Blue Devils with 52 yards on 16 carries.

“We knew coming out in the second half that we would get the ball and we wanted to score first and we did,’’ Colombo said.

In the first half, both clubs reached the red zone once only to come away with nothing to show for it.

No. 2 Brockton can clinch a playoff berth and the Big Three title next week against New Bedford.