East Hartford - Hillhouse High School of New Haven received mixed messages late in the season.

Outsiders were telling the Academics that they're Class M state football playoff hopes were quashed after a 9-6 loss to No. 1 Xavier of Middletown dropped their record to 4-3.

The Hillhouse coaching staff insisted otherwise.

"The toughest thing is telling your kids, 'Hey, we still have a shot,'" Academics coach Tom Dyer said during Monday's CIAC championship luncheon at Rentschler Field. "We have three losses, and everyone in the world was telling them they're out and you're telling them, 'We're going to be in if we win.'

"We asked the kids to believe in it. They believed in it."

Hillhouse won its final three regular-season games to qualify as the eighth and final seed in the newly expanded playoffs. Saturday, it will play No. 2 New London for the state championship at Rentschler Field at 11 a.m.

"It's been a great journey so far," Dyer said.

He chuckled and added, "It's been a real ride. Hopefully we can keep it going on Saturday."

The Academics (9-3) have been 1-1, 2-2 and 4-3 this season, the product of injuries and playing a competitive Southern Connecticut Conference schedule. Two losses were to playoff teams - Xavier and Lyman Hall of Wallingford.

Hillhouse's other loss was to Cheshire. The defending Class LL champion didn't make states but in its only nonconference game went on the road and beat Southington 46-36 on Thanksgiving Day. Southington (8-2) would've qualified in Class LL with a win.

"They're big up front," Cheshire coach Mark Ecke said about the Academics. "They're a big and physical team. They're very well-coached and they run the option really well.

"I think having gone through the schedule that they've played and the teams they've played week in and week out, they're more than prepared to get the thing done this week."

The Oct. 29 game against Xavier, ranked No. 1 in The Day's Top 10 state coaches poll, gave Hillhouse a boost of confidence. The Academics trailed by nine points at halftime against one of the best defenses in the state, but outplayed the Falcons in the second half.

Hillhouse had a chance to win with 25 seconds left, but on fourth down, a 27-yard pass to Steven DeJournett in the end zone was batted down.

"After that Xavier game, I was thinking that we can beat anybody in the state," DeJournett said. "We gave the No. 1 team a run for their money and we only lost by three. We had a shot to win, but we came up short."

The Academics won their final three regular-season games, including a 30-28 nail-biter on Thanksgiving against city-rival Wilbur Cross.

"I'm not a guy that's big into moral victories at all," Dyer said. "I don't know if the kids felt they could handle (Xavier). We were at two losses already and we were going to play the No. 1 team in the state. I don't think the kids believed yet.

"I think as the game went on and the closer the game got, the kids were like, 'Hey, we can do this. We haven't even played well yet.' It really helped the kids out, and as the year went on, the kids started really building confidence."

Hillhouse began the playoffs at Berlin and trailed by nine points with over three minutes left in the game. The Academics then scored two touchdowns, including Taurese Washington's 3-yard run with 30 seconds left to give the Academics the win.

"Down nine points with a couple of minutes left, most teams would've folded," Dyer said. "This group of kids, through our senior leadership and really some big plays, were able to pull it together and squeak it out."

n.griffen@theday.com

MEET HILLHOUSE

Record: 9-3

Playoffs: def. No. 1 Berlin in the quarterfinals, 33-30; def. No. 4 Gilbert/Northwestern Regional of Winsted, 42-14.

About the Academics: Run a flexbone offense simliar to Navy. Sophomore Je'Vaughn Moore has rushed for 382 yards and four touchdowns and completed 27 of 68 passes for 467 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman Harold Cooper has been the Academics' top rusher (123 carries, 1,254 yards, 13 touchdowns) with senior fullback Taurese Washington getting the tough yards (93 carries, 511 yards, nine touchdowns). The offensive line, led by seniors Darrin Dixon (center) and Dashon Riley (guard), averages 271 pounds. Moore, a defensive back, has a team-high 87 tackles and Washington (linebacker) has 82.