Tavian Lauture and the Deering football team have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. The Rams are in the Class B South final Friday night. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographe

Going from winless as freshmen to the Class B South football final is quite an accomplishment for Deering High football seniors, like standout quarterback/safety/kicker Tavian Lauture.

“And one win as a sophomore. I mean, I don’t think there’s another story like that. And the fact that we had this story, I love it. When I’m older, I’m going to be able to tell this story,” Lauture said.

Even more improbable than going from 0-8 to 8-1 is that these Rams continued to believe they would get better.

“I went through 0-8, 1-8, 4-4, all the way to here,” said 6-foot, 260-pound guard/defensive tackle Christian Kanana, the Class B South defensive lineman of the year as a junior. “I feel like I always knew we were going to make it. I knew we would get to the point where we would be a winning team. It just took some time.”

Deering (8-1), the No. 2 seed, plays at No. 1 Kennebunk (9-0), the defending Class B state champion, in the regional final at 6 p.m. Friday.

Few outside the team shared Kanana’s faith. Deering had churned through coaches and piled up losses since the Greg Stilphen-coached 2010 team lost the Western Class A final by a whisker on a missed field goal to eventual state champion Cheverus.

When former Noble head coach and then-Massabesic athletic director Brendan Scully was hired prior to the 2023 season, he became the third head coach in three years, the eighth since Stilphen stepped down following the 2010 season.

Even in their own school, the Deering football team was ridiculed, Kanana said.

Does the student body believe in the Rams now?

“They believe we’re a good team but they don’t believe we can beat Kennebunk. We’re going to prove them wrong,” Kanana said.

Deering running back Joey Foley lunges just short of the end zone as teammate Christian Kanana tries to provide support during a Sept. 25 game in Portland. Carl D. Walsh/Press Herald

The doubt can be traced to the regular-season matchup on Oct. 5, which Kennebunk took, 41-0.

“That week really wasn’t our week. It showed. I mean, 41-0. There’s not really much I can say about it,” Lauture said. “We’re just on to this week now.”

Scully said the first Kennebunk game was a “rude awakening. Kind of a slap in the face,” for his team.

“I’m hoping to show a better version of ourselves,” Scully said. “I don’t think that was a reflection of who we are.”

Deering has outscored opponents 278-54 in its eight victories. In its last three wins, including a 21-0 regional semifinal win against No. 3 Massabesic, the defense has allowed a total of six points. Lauture’s deep kickoffs and a ground-and-pound offense led by an offensive line that features Kanana, 6-3, 300-pound two-way senior tackle DeShawn Lamour, and junior center Vinny Cavallaro combine to win the field position and time of possession battles.

Lauture is a big-play creator as a runner and in the passing game, where his mobility and strong arm make him dangerous. Joey Foley is a hard-running feature back who seems to get better with more carries. Tight end/H-backs Zeke Dewever and Corbin Burke can block, catch and gain yards after the catch.

“We had a really good younger group. Like, I started as a freshman, a lot of other guys started as freshmen and sophomores,” Burke said. “So we all knew when we were seniors and juniors we were going to be a lot better.”

Scully coming on as an experienced head coach was another key ingredient.

“That boosted the program a lot, just in terms of coaching and plays,” Burke said.

Scully said this season’s improvement can be traced to 2023. The Rams started 3-0, lost to Kennebunk, beat an undermanned Falmouth team, and then were hit hard by injuries.

“We had five or six kids who had started the season opener against Marshwood who weren’t playing after Week 5 last year, which obviously hurts,” Scully said. “Because of that, last year a bunch of younger kids had to play that probably shouldn’t have played just because of their age and experience, but that’s paying off for us now.”

Kanana said he looked at 2023’s modest improvement with a “sense of regret.”

“We knew we could have gone farther. We should have gone farther. That little chip on our shoulder kept us motivated,” Kanana said.

Now Kanana looks around the practice field and sees a contender: big, athletic dudes up front, playmakers, hard workers, good coaching.

“We have the guys. We have what we need,” Kanana said. “And the biggest difference from my freshman year to now is that everyone wants to win.”