Southington — Chad Neal reminded his Killingly football team that Sunday’s game was far from over even when they took a big lead against Masuk.

Neal and his staff were very aware from scouting Masuk that big comebacks were part of its identity. It’s been the equivalent of a un-killable villain in a slasher flick this season — after everything has been thrown at it to put it down, it rises up and causes more mayhem.

Killingly’s resiliency was soon put to the test as the Panthers rose from the dead and pushed it to its limit before finally putting them away, 54-51, to advance to Saturday’s CIAC Class MM final.

Asked if he had ever been involved in a game like that, Neal said, “Not even close. Back-and-forth. Heartbreak. ‘Here we go again.’ Never in my life.”

Third-seeded Killingly (11-1) plays No. 5 North Haven (10-2) in Saturday’s championship game at Rentschler Field at 10:30 a.m.

Killingly is seeking to win its second consecutive state title (it won Class M last season) and fifth overall, which would tie it with New London for the most by an Eastern Connecticut Conference team.

Killingly and Masuk’s 105 combined points was the second-highest scoring playoff game in CIAC history.

The Panthers’ 51 points were the most scored by a losing team in a CIAC playoff game.

“I’ve never been in a game that high-scoring,” Killingly senior Soren Rief said at Tuesday’s CIAC Football Luncheon at Aqua Turf. “Just crazy. Just a complete shootout.”

Killingly had leads of 20-0 and 20-7 in the second quarter. The two teams would combine for six touchdowns and 49 points in that quarter alone.

The Panthers began the season by rallying from a 20-point halftime deficit on the road and took a one-point lead over Trumbull with 26 seconds left. The Eagles scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3 seconds left for a 49-43 win on Sept. 9.

Two weeks later, the Panthers played at St. Joseph and trailed 24-7 with 8:04 left in the game. They scored twice and had a potential game-tying 41-yard field goal hit the crossbar to end a 24-21 loss.

“We saw (that game),” Neal said. “We knew it was coming and (Masuk) just started getting going. I said at halftime we might have to score 55 to win this game.”

Rief ran for a 20-yard touchdown with Thomas Dreibholz’s extra point giving Killingly a 54-44 lead with 4:24 remaining in the game.

Killingly’s defense stopped the Panthers on their next possession but fumbled the ball away. Masuk scored with 2:41 left to cut its deficit to 54-51.

The Panthers recovered the onside kick but Killingly turned them over on downs and ran out the clock.

“(The Panthers) have been known for coming back in games like that and they did,” Rief said. “And we just responded well.”

• • • •

Attrition is as much a part of football as tackling and running the ball.

Injuries are especially tough for smaller programs such as the Valley Regional/Old Lyme co-op. It has just 39 players and has navigated through them to reach the Class SS final.

“You see a gray hair?,” Warriors coach Hill Gbunblee chucked when asked about dealing with a small roster.

Sixth-seeded Valley/Old Lyme (11-1) plays No. 5 Barlow (10-2) in Saturday night’s final at Arute Field at Central Connecticut State University (5:30).

“We really do a lot of mental reps,” Warriors senior DiAngelo Jean-Pierre said. “The seniors this year and a lot of people that are leading the team, we’ve played a lot of years of football so we know the fundamentals. We know how to play football so this year, it’s really just mental, knowing exactly what we have to do on every play.”

Gbunblee, in his second year as head coach, has had to make adjustments at practice because of his small roster.

“You have to (walk) that fine line of, ‘We have to practice tackling, we have to practice tackling,” Gbunblee said, “but I can’t get too many people injured because I don’t have depth.

“(You’re) being more creative with what you’re doing to ensure that your team, your players, get the repetition that they need to see game-like situations and be effective.”

A knee injury to senior lineman Ford Macadam has been one of the harder injuries Valley/Old Lyme has endure. There has, however, been one positive to come out of it.

“He’s pretty much one of our assistant coaches right now,” Gbunblee said. “The minute he got hurt, (he put) a set of headphones on and is on the sidelines helping us with line calls and coaching up the young linemen and everything else like that. He’s surely been invaluable.

“I’ve already told him, ‘Go do college, do what you want (and if you) come back, you’ve got a job on the staff.’”

n.griffen@theday.com