New Britain — Nothing else captured the moment better than one voice on the Killingly High School sideline:

"I'm going to need more fingers," he said with jubilation late Saturday afternoon, "for all these rings."

Indeed. There are more rings forthcoming to the Eastern Connecticut Conference's torch-bearing football program.

Top-seeded Killingly used the prototypical punishment from backs Soren Rief and Jack Sharpe and Ben Jax's interception return for a touchdown to defeat No. 2 Rockville, 28-14, in the CIAC Class M title game Saturday at Veterans Stadium.

This was the second state title in the last five years for the program and fourth overall, joining teams from 1981, 1996 and 2017.

"The kids have been through a lot in the past year," the now two-time state championship coach Chad Neal said. "But the kids of Killingly are resilient."

Not to mention tougher than Clorox. Rief, a sophomore, ran for 173 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown late in the third quarter and the game-clinching 28-yard gain for a first down in the final two minutes.

"We played our hearts out," Rief said. "We did good this year."

Rief finished the season with 1,140 yards. Sharpe, meanwhile, ran for 101 yards and the game's first score. Sharpe finished with a team-high 1,405 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Killingly, which finishes 12-0, trailed 7-6 in the second quarter when quarterback Thomas Dreibholz threw an interception, but nonetheless pinned the Rams at their own two. On a third and eight, Jax stepped in front of Matt Ryan's pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown and the lead Killingly never relinquished.

"Ben Jax again," Neal said. "He makes big plays."

Jax: "The ball fell right in my lap."

From there, Killingly dominated the third quarter, turning a 14-7 lead into 28-7. But the Rams, who finish 10-3, didn't merely score on Deshaun Perry's 29-yard touchdown reception with 9:02 left. They also turned Killingly over on downs and was driving in the final five minutes, making for a tense moment or two on the Killingly sideline.

They reached the Killingly 20 before Nate Keefe's pressure on fourth down forced an incomplete pass from Ryan and gave Killingly possession. And a championship.

"It's just an amazing thing to be part of," said Jax, a junior, who will return with Dreibholz and Rief, among others, next season when Killingly will go for three rings in six years.

"I'm so proud to be your coach," Neal told his players just before the postgame ceremonies on the field. "We had one hell of a last ride, didn't we?"

m.dimauro@theday.com