Moose Keys of Kennbunk celebrates after one of his two touchdown runs in the Class B South final last weekend. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

KENNEBUNK — It didn’t take long after winning the Class B championship for the Kennebunk football team to start thinking about defending it.

“My father told me ‘Even though you won this one, I think you can do it again,'” senior running back Moose Keys said. “‘You guys have 18 seniors, you’re all coming back.’ … It wasn’t too much of a surprise that we’d go far. Of course, going to states, we always hoped to get there.”

When state championship Saturday kicks off, it will again see Kennebunk vying for the Class B Gold Ball. The Rams head into the final with a 10-0 record, and they’ll be facing a fellow unbeaten in North champion Falmouth (10-0).

“It’s just another dream come true,” Keys said. “To do it again, Coach (Keith Noel) always says it’s not easy. And it isn’t.”

Kennebunk has just made it look that way. The Rams are riding a state-best 14-game winning streak. They’re averaging 40 points per game, second only to Class D’s Wells among 11-man programs. Their regular season point differential of plus-223 was the third-highest in 11-man football, behind Wells and Thornton Academy.

“This year’s team is more all-around physical than last year’s,” junior offensive lineman Jim Spinney said. “Don’t get me wrong, last year’s team was physical, too. … But everybody this year is just bringing the boom.”

After winning their first title since 1991, Kennebunk this year has had to embrace status as the favorite, and as the team that every opponent looks to take down.

“Knowing that we won last year, there are expectations that we’re going to win again,” senior quarterback Sam Haley said. “So that’s a different kind of pressure.”

The Rams were equipped to handle it. With 18 seniors, Kennebunk has plenty of the poise, leadership and chemistry that winning a championship requires.

“A lot of us have a lot of experience, two or three years starting on varsity,” senior receiver Max Andrews said. “Which, two or three years ago, we weren’t as good, we weren’t as disciplined, we didn’t do our jobs as well. But now, after a few years, we’ve gotten used to the speed and gotten more experienced. We’ve just been more disciplined, we understand what it’s really like to be under the lights and be in the moments.”

That poise was evident in the few times Kennebunk has been tested this year. The Rams eked out a 37-35 win over Marshwood in September, and then clipped the Hawks again 29-27 in the B North semifinals.

“Going deep into playoffs, you want to be a battle-tested team because each game is going to get a little harder and a little harder,” Andrews said. “Falmouth’s a great team, they’re 10-0 for a reason. You want to be, as a team, able to be in the fourth quarter and feel confident and know that you can stick with teams and pull games out.”

For all their returners and the benefit that provides, Kennebunk had holes to fill. Jonah Barstow graduated after rushing for 1,448 yards and 12 touchdowns, and the line that paved the way for him and the other Ram ballcarriers had three starters move on.

Kennebunk’s Brady Stone has rushed for 1,261 yards, 18 touchdowns. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

The Rams, however, haven’t skipped a beat. Brady Stone (1,261 yards, 18 touchdowns), Austin West (901 yards, 12 touchdowns), Keys (405 yards, six touchdowns) and Ethan Burr (287 yards, six touchdowns) have led a balanced rushing attack, and Charlie Majkowski, Colin Qualey, Cal Johnson and Mason Binette have stepped in seamlessly to a line that brought back Spinney and Kaden Stevens.

“There’s kind of a known expectation that, when your shot is called, you’re going to make some plays,” Noel said. “The kids have done a really good job (rising) to those expectations.”

Keys said that versatility in the backfield has been a key to Kennebunk’s explosive production. The most recent game provided an example, as Deering held Stone to 38 yards but still got gashed by Keys (138 yards), West (89) and Burr (58) en route to a 35-14 defeat.

“We all can make plays,” Keys said. “Other teams have a really hard time keying in certain guys on our offense, because we have so many great backs. … It’s so hard to pick one guy to isolate.”

The passing game has also flourished under Haley, a first-year starting quarterback.

“We’ve got some of the best athletes in the state around me,” he said. “I just have to get the ball to our athletes. They’ll make plays and good things will happen.”

Noel had praise for Haley, who’s completed over 68% of his passes for 1,010 yards and eight touchdowns.

“He’s done an awesome job,” he said. “Each week he’s really improved. He stays poised, if he makes a mistake he knows it right away. … It’s what this team needs, that calm, poised leader.”

Jaiden Homa (245 yards) and Andrews (420) have been his main targets. For Andrews, who missed the end of last season due to an injury, being able to suit up Saturday will be special.

“Last year, I just wanted to get back there. Now I have the chance to go back there, so I’m just looking to enjoy it and make the most out of it,” he said. “It’s pretty crazy to get to do it again.”