Old Lyme — In his first year as head coach, 21-year-old Brady Sheffield has managed to take one of the worst teams in the Shoreline Conference a year ago to the Division V state finals.

A member of the 2019-20 Old Lyme team that had its playoff hopes dashed by COVID-19, Sheffield hopes to finish what he started Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“The main thing for me is to build the program back up to what it was,” Sheffield said. “I want people to think of us when they think of Old Lyme, just as it was when I was playing.”

The third-seeded Wildcats meet No. 8 Coventry at 3 p.m. Sunday in the championship game.

After securing the job with his alma mater, Sheffield became adjusted to the team fairly quickly. Although many of his current players had watched him on the court — and some even got to be coached by him during summer league a few years back — the team truly met Sheffield on the outdoor track.

“We were putting work in early, we started in June. With the new coaching staff and our last season, we knew we had to really buy in if we wanted to make a run for something,” senior Leland Hine said. “There was a lot of running on the track. Sometimes we’d do 5-on-5 when we had the gym. It was hell, honestly. But it’s definitely paid off up to this point.”

Sheffield said, “To be honest, we were trying to see who was going to break. I wanted to see who would really buy in and take this team seriously. Nobody broke though, surprisingly. Right off the bat it showed me how tough this team really was.”

Sheffield understood his team was built around defense, hustle, and grit. Only two scrimmages into the season, Sheffield already had an idea of what this team could become.

“We scrimmaged Waterford and Stonington, two great matchups for us,” Sheffield said. “We played okay, but the mentality was there, the physicality was there, the defense was there. It was great energy in the building, it felt like a postseason game. When I was watching the scrimmage, I was thinking, ‘Wow, it’s scrimmage two and we’re already playing with this mindset and hustling this hard?’ After those scrimmages, I knew we could compete with anybody.”

Matched up with Waterford’s Juan Morel Jr. (6-10) and Stonington’s Alex Nowak (6-6) during those scrimmages was freshman Eddie Fiske Jr., who has played a critical role in the Wildcats’ success all season. After leading his team to a 15-5 regular season record, he was named an All-Conference first team selection.

“Eddie reminds me a lot of (former Old Lyme all-stater) Aedan (Using). He’s not as polished right now, but his ability to score is unbelievable,” Sheffield said. “He’s a big guy (6-3), but he can take you on the perimeter, score in the post, he has so much already at such a young age.”

Fiske: “I didn’t have a role coming to the team, I had to work for it. With a new coach and a bunch of older players, I didn’t know where I’d fit as a freshman. After the first couple of games though, I started to feel out the high school game and the talent level. Since then, I’ve been using my talent the best I can to get buckets.”

A victory Sunday would give the program its first state title.

“I know this will be my last game,” Hine said; “I just really want to leave the Sun happy rather than crying my eyes out and celebrate with the guys one last time. I know we had a great season, but the job’s not finished.”

z.cunningham@theday.com