SOUTH HADLEY — The Chicopee Comp football team simply wore down South Hadley.

The Tigers held the bigger and deeper Colts in check, but the loss of players in the second half and a persistent Comp rushing attack late pushed the Colts to a 22-8 victory, Friday night.

“It’s adversity. We talk about it all the time — adopt and overcome,” South Hadley coach Brian Couture said. “We were right there going into the fourth quarter. Proud of these guys.”

Comp (1-2) scored late in the third quarter and late in the fourth quarter to seal its first win of the season. South Hadley tied the game on its first possession on the third quarter, but it was the only time the Tigers (1-2) reached the red zone.

“It’s a new offense right now and they’re still learning,” Couture said. “They’re putting in the hard work and we’re going to keep it up going into league. Hopefully, we can put more stuff together.”

The Tigers’ defense held Comp to 11 yards in the first half. A 90-yard kickoff return by Shane Upham to open the game stood as the only first-half score. Comp had 208 yards of offense in the second half.

“We ran out of gas,” said Couture, who added an illness went through the team this week. “No excuses, but it catches up to you in the long run.”

The Tigers built off their 119 yards of offense in the first half. Nehemiah Marrin opened the second half with a 20-yard gain. A taunting penalty on the Colts after the play put the Tigers on Comp’s 30. A 15-yard run by Marrin put the Tigers on the 15. Following a flag and a short run, South Hadley quarterback Griffin Soderbaum connected with Julius Hebenth for a 22-yard touchdown pass.

“I saw the safety bite down and I saw my guy at the backside post,” Soderbaum said. “I just let it fly.”

Noah Hambley ran over Charles Santiago en route to the conversion. Santiago lost his helmet on the play as South Hadley tied the score at 8 with 9 minutes, 57 seconds left.

The first hit for the Tigers came on the first Comp play after Hebenth’s touchdown. Quarterback Matt Perez found Tyler Larkin for a short gain, but while Larkin was wrapped up, Hambley rushed in to finish the tackle. The sophomore left his feet and hit Larkin high. He was flagged for targeting and ejected from the game.

Hambley left with 7 carries for 50 yards, plus an interception on defense. He will also miss the first half of next week’s game against Pittsfield.

“It’s a part of the game and it happens,” Couture said. “He took a leadership role on the sidelines. … He stepped up on the sideline to help (Chase Blais and Lincoln Belsky) out and make sure they were prepared.”

A few plays later Marrin (11 carries, 73 yards) left with cramps. He missed the next two Comp offensive series. Comp took a 14-8 lead on a Perez 13-yard keeper with 2:24 left in the third.

South Hadley struggled to move the ball without Hambley and Marrin.

“Losing some of those players sucks, but we have to adopt and overcome,” Soderbaum said. “When players go down, at a program like this it’s called ironman football. Next man up.”

Comp put the game away with a Joziah Feliz (11 carries, 114 yards) touchdown with 3:21 left.