East Lyme — East Lyme High School coach Paul Tenaglia, the reserved guy in the headset, chastised his players all season for premature talk of playing for a state championship.

"We wanted it real bad," senior wide receiver Will Calkins said Tuesday night. "But we had to whisper it around coach."

Not anymore.

Tenaglia was even a little bit giddy himself, smiling broadly as the second-seeded Vikings ran off big play after big play in a 39-0 victory over No. 3 Vinal Tech/Coginchaug in the Class MM semifinals at Dick North Field to advance to Saturday's championship.

The Vikings, going to their fourth final in seven years, the first under Tenaglia, will play top-ranked New Canaan on Saturday at a site and time to be announced today. New Canaan defeated No. 4 St. Paul/Goodwin Tech 14-13 on Tuesday.

East Lyme scored all six of its touchdowns on plays of 34 yards or more.

"We won the football game, that's the first thing," Tenaglia said. "The shutout is exciting. That gives the defense a good feeling. We scored on big plays. We spread the football around. It was everything we could have asked. ... This is all electric for everybody."

Running back Jordan McCoy had nine carries for 123 yards and touchdown runs for 54 and 53 yards for East Lyme (10-1) and quarterback Jacob Grills threw touchdowns to Calkins (66 yards), Brendan McDermott (34 yards) and ran back an interception 45 yards for a touchdown on the game's third play.

"I don't usually play defense," said Grills, who was in at cornerback to cover Vinal Tech receiver Jeff Tiedemann on the outside. "I thought, 'Oh, there it is.' I always wanted to do that."

East Lyme scored again with six seconds remaining in the first quarter on McCoy's first carry of the game, which went down the right side for a 12-0 lead.

In the second quarter, the Vikings were in position to score twice more, but were stopped on downs. Grills slipped on fourth down the first time. The second time, after throwing a 51-yard completion to Calkins to get East Lyme to the Vinal Tech 7, Grills threw two straight incompletions on third and fourth down.

McCoy then fumbled on the Vikings' first possession of the second half.

But if it was the third touchdown Tenaglia was waiting for to breathe deeper, he got it on the third play of the next drive, when McCoy — whose speed is a definite change of pace from fellow running back Kevin Miao's more punishing style — got outside to the right again. He eluded one final tackler, Vinal's Sam Baker, to reach the end zone.

Grills then hit Calkins for 66 yards for a touchdown on the next series, as Calkins caught the ball over the middle and cut back to the left for the long run.

Tenaglia said Grills called that play himself, telling the coach that Calkins was open. That made it 26-0.

"That's a three-year starter and we're reaping the dividends," Tenaglia said of the quarterback. "He comes over and says, 'This play is open.' That makes it easier for us."

Grills said he has been throwing to Calkins since the eighth grade.

That's part of the reason this championship is special to the Vikings, who have 19 seniors that have never been to a state championship before. Also, Tenaglia has been to five as an assistant coach, two at Simsbury and three at East Lyme, but never as a head coach.

East Lyme last played for a state title in 2005 ... and rededicated itself in the offseason to getting back there.

"They're just committed," Tenaglia said. "They're committed to play football. Everybody likes to win, but you don't win without commitment. It's not enough just wanting to win; these guys paid the price."

"I'm pretty psyched," Grills said. "I've always wanted to be in this position."

Grills was 3-for-8 for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Miao had 16 carries for 79 yards and Calkins had two catches for 117 yards.