Wells’ journey to its first Class B championship game in 14 years was no exception. The Warriors make no apologies for being even a little bit extreme about it.

“If you were here in July at six o’clock in the morning, the kids were here,” Wells coach Tim Roche said. “One of our coaches, Mr. (Mark) Lewia, is a nut. He downloads Navy SEAL workouts and then he puts them through it out here. The kids love it. It’s just a part of bringing it together.”

Toughness and togetherness have made the Warriors one of six surviving 11-0 teams heading into championship Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

While its Class B opponent, Leavitt, and Class A finalists Cheverus and Lawrence are frequent fliers in this thin, championship air, Wells is relatively new to the party.

The Warriors know their fair share about title tradition, however. Their school won three straight Western Maine crowns in a six-year stretch in the mid-1990s, gathering the Gold Ball in 1997.

And this senior delegation at Wells has been hearing the whispers about its potential since an undefeated season as freshmen in 2008.

“We had to play Class A teams, so they beat South Portland who was 8-0 at the time,” Roche said. “It was a big deal back then.”

Wells is an even bigger deal now, whether you’re talking about rangy, 6-foot-4 senior defensive end and tight end Josh Ingalls or diminutive, 5-foot-8 junior shutdown cornerback and kicker Joey Spinelli.

Quarterback Paul McDonough and fullback/linebacker Louis DiTomasso have started since their sophomore season.

An all-senior offensive line of Andrew Staples, Elliott Paquette, Corey Dennison, Connor Mullins and Mike DiSalvo makes the Warriors click.

“They work their butts off,” junior halfback Drew Shelley said.

Losing 18-0 in the regional final at Rumford fueled much of Wells’ winter, spring and summer fury.

Wells returned the favor against Mountain Valley twice this season, 28-12 and again 10-0 in the Western Class B championship.

“Three hundred sixty-four days ago we felt just like them,” Ingalls said. “Now we’re going to Fitzy.”

The Warriors won’t be awestruck by a Leavitt offense that scored 70 touchdowns.

Wells served up four shutouts this year. In three other games it allowed a single TD.

“I think it’s been our linebackers,” Spinelli said. “Louie (DiTomasso), Zack (Deshaies), Doug (McLean), they’ve been shutting everybody down with the run. It gives us a chance to shut down the pass too.”

One team bonding element is the ubiquitous Kenny Chesney song “The Boys of Fall,” an ode to high school football.

Roche believes that the lyrics apply more closely to his coastal community than many others in Maine.

While Wells is sequestered in the southern corridor of the state, it shares the passionate fan base that players in Leavitt and Mountain Valley know so well.

“The line about old men in the barber shop talking about the game thinking they know more than us (coaches), we love that,” Roche said. “I get that all the time. ‘Why don’t you guys throw the ball more?’ I graduated from this school. My family loves this place. We love it here. We love going down the road and seeing the signs.”

Roche’s boys of fall hope that their unswerving commitment for all seasons pays off Saturday.

Don’t think they haven’t noticed Leavitt’s three straight regional titles or Mountain Valley’s four state championships since 2004 and experienced a moment or two of envy.

“It’s old hat to guys from the Lewiston Sun Journal who’ve been dealing with it,” Roche said with a smile. “For us it’s not old hat. We’ve waited a long time.”

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