MALDEN -- Malden thought it had done the improbable.

With the Greater Boston League title hanging in the balance, quarterback Shakarus Semexant fired a 4-yard pass to Ramon Viches on fourth down that appeared to tie the score and set up Malden for a potential game-winning two-point conversion. Jubilation turned to despair however, when an illegal shift penalty negated the touchdown, and moments later Everett defensive back Rodman Noel hit David Console as he was making a catch in the end zone, jarring the ball loose and preserving a heart-stopping 13-7 victory for the No. 9 Crimson Tide Sunday at Macdonald Stadium.

‘It hurts that a silly, tinky-winky motion hurts us there,‘ said first-year Malden (4-5, 2-1) coach Joe Pappagallo. ‘And then on the last play it looked like (Noel) went through our guy. But you can’t choose those things, and if you leave it up to that then negative things can affect the outcome.‘

Everett (6-2, 3-0) quarterback Jonathan DiBiaso delivered the game-winning 6-yard touchdown pass to Manny Asprilla in overtime.

The Golden Tornadoes were just six minutes away from denying Everett a postseason berth for the first time since 2000, courtesy of a second-quarter 34-yard pass from Semexant to Frankie Dunn, granting Malden a 7-0 lead that its stout, hard-hitting defense held until midway through the fourth.

Halfway through the final quarter on fourth-and-inches, Everett’s Jean Bourdeau scored on a 49-yard run that tied the score.

‘We thought we were going to have this done by the second half,‘ said Bourdeau, who exploited Malden’s goal-line defense by breaking his touchdown run wide left. ‘Guess they wanted something, but we wanted it more at the end.‘

Malden got the ball back, marching to the 19-yard with under a minute left. Pappagallo went for it on fourth-and-5, but Semexant was sacked by linebacker Mike LaRochelle to ensure overtime.

Everett will face Merrimack Valley Conference (Large) champion Billerica Dec.1 in the first round of the playoffs.