Sebastopol had potentially its most significant win in the two-season coaching reign of Leigh Hutchinson in the Ballarat Football League at Marty Busch Reserve on Saturday.
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The Burra ended Bacchus Marsh's winning run and continued its own by 52 points.
Hutchinson told his players it was probably the first time they had produced a genuine four-quarter effort in the past year and a half.
"(It was a) fantastic effort," he said.
As well as keeping Sebastopol a game inside the top six, it was their first win of the season over another finals contender and an essential result in its quest to end a two-decade finals drought.
After losing games in a row, Sebastopol has now strung together four wins and faces one of the most difficult tasks in the competition next round - playing Sunbury at Sunbury's Clarke Oval.
Bacchus Marsh had won four games on end, but after a solid enough start was brushed aside from midway through the second quarter.
It was a day for the favourites, with all five home sides taking the premiership points in resounding fashion.
Final scores:
Sunbury 16.8 (104) d Ballarat 9.6 (60)
Darley 13.14 (92) d Lake Wendouree 5.9 (39)
Melton 16.5 (101) d North Ballarat City 3.10 (28)
Redan 17.26 (128) d Melton South 8.5 (53)
Sebastopol 14.15 (99) d Bacchus Marsh 6.11 (47)
Bacchus Marsh was the big loser.
The Cobras dropped two places to sixth and is now just percentage clear of Sunbury, which accounted for Ballarat by 44 points.
Melton climbed two positions to fourth - jumping ahead of Sebastopol on percentage by the barest of margins - with a decisive 73-point win over North Ballarat City.
Redan's 75-point win over Melton South retains its one-game buffer from East Point, which had a bye, and Darley after swept past Lake Wendouree by 53 points.
This leaves Lakers six points adrift of the seventh-placed Sunbury and now facing a big task to play finals.
