There's a photo of Tim King with the senior class of his 2010 Valley Regional/Old Lyme high school football team that's been hanging on his refrigerator at home.

It was a special group that took the program to its first CIAC playoff game.

There's another team photo that's headed to King's fridge, the one taken with the Class of 2015 after the Warriors beat rival Haddam-Killingworth on Nov. 25 for their second straight unbeaten regular season.

"Chris Jean-Pierre, I had at elementary school," said King, Valley/Old Lyme's head coach. "I've seen him grow up. ... I've had so many of his brothers and cousins and relatives. I'm so close to his family.

"You spend so much time together. You go to camps together, the weight room every day. You see them at basketball practices. Then I have some of them for track. They're a big part of your life. We kind of joke about it, but it's true, they're my kids.

"I don't have kids of my own, but they're my kids."

King and his "kids" will spend one last game together today (10 a.m.) when the Warriors play the biggest game in program history. They'll play for their first state title against one of the state's legendary programs, Ansonia, in the Class S-Large final at Willow Brook Park in New Britain.

"The bond that we have as a senior class is just so extraordinary," Valley/OL guard-defensive lineman Dan Figuenick said. "We've been playing together since the youth league. In the seventh grade, we won the Shoreline (Youth Football) Conference for the first time. We made history. I've been playing football with Andrew Tuscano since fourth grade.

"Our bond, our chemistry, is so close. That's what makes us a successful class."

The top-seeded Warriors (12-0) have qualified for the postseason four times in the past five years. The Class of 2015 has been a part of three of those teams.

"Even with all the success and everything like that, it goes beyond that," King said. "It goes beyond the field. It's been so much fun with them. I've seen them grow up and been a part of their lives."

Tyler Cheverier said of King: "We all love him to death like he's our father. Just a very great connection between all of us toward him."

Justin Cheverier (running back-linebacker), Evan Smith (receiver-cornerback), and Jean-Pierre (quarterback-safety) all started as freshmen. Tyler Cheverier (guard-defensive end), Figuenick and Tuscano (receiver-safety) also played a lot of snaps.

"When we won our (youth) championship with Tri-Town, the (Valley/OL) coaches were talking to us," Justin Cheverier said. "Coach King, (defensive coordinator) Paul (Ginter), (offensive coordinator and head boys' basketball coach Kevin) Woods ... all the coaches ... they care about the football aspect, but they also care about us when we move on in life.

"The coaches getting involved with us when we were young, it really grew an emotional connection between us."

Tom Brockett, who has coached Ansonia to five of its state-record 19 CIAC titles, has seen Valley/OL's team unity while scouting them.

"They just look like a veteran team with so many kids that are really good players," Brockett said. "As a high school coach, you want that loaded senior class that's played so many games and won so many games. They play really hard, and they play great defense.

"(Smith and Justin Cheverier), they're two of the elite players in Connecticut."

The second-seeded Chargers (11-1) are ranked eighth in The Day's state coaches' poll.

Their offense has been led by the dynamic trio of three-year starting quarterback Jai'Quan McKnight (929 yards passing, 9 TDs; 638 yards rushing, 7 TDs), running back Tajik Bagley (1,259 yards, 22 TDs), and the versatile Tyler Bailey (29 receptions, 600 yards, 6 TDs; 779 yards rushing, 14 TDs).

"(Ginter is) stressed out and not getting many hours of sleep right now," Figuenick said. "They have so many different offensive formations. They have a lot of playmakers."

"They have such a rich history, 19 championships, and of course watching what Arkeel Newsome did the last couple of years," Justin Cheverier said. "They're great competitors who've played big schools. That's what we love. You want to be the best, you've got to beat the best."

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED