By JAMES BESSETTE

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COVENTRY — Back when he was a standout quarterback for Coventry High School, Tom O’Connell knew what it was like to have to step up in the clutch and perform at a high level when the Oakers needed him the most.

In the last month in a half, O’Connell had to come through again to help a program get back on the winning track. Only this time, he was wearing a head set rather than a football helmet.

O’Connell’s third season as part of the Coventry Rams youth program was his most successful as he led the Pee-Wee Rams to the R.I. State Pop Warner Championship on Nov. 9 at Cranston Stadium, clinching the team a spot in the Regional Tournament where Coventry lost to the New Haven (Conn.) Steelers in Bridgeport, Conn. on Nov. 16.

“It was big for a lot of these kids,” O’Connell said. “This was big for the organization, as well. We haven’t had a championship in the last three years, so this was big.”

The road to the state championship wasn’t exactly an easy one for the Rams, with very few people around the local gridiron predicting that a third-place team at 5-2-1 could go the distance.

However, none of the opinions mattered to the young Rams or even to the coaching staff. Just earning five regular-season wins was worthy of celebration for many of the Coventry players as they’ve never tasted victory before this past season. A state title was just an added bonus.

“There were some kids that went 0-for for the past two, three years,” O’Connell said. “To even win five games was a lot for these kids.”

Soon after Coventry lost for the second time during the regular season, 14-0 to the Stonington (Conn.) Bears on Oct. 12, there was a silver lining for the Rams in the form of a bye week, where the team had extra time to prepare and regroup, mentally, in order to make a final push for the postseason.

“It was a combination of a lot of things,” O’Connell said. “Some of it was coaching, seeing what the other team did and then worrying about making the proper adjustments for when we play them the second time around. The guys know that they can play with these teams. It’s just getting the confidence. They knew that they were better than the record showed.”

The extra preparation paid off right away for the Rams in their final regular-season tilt in the form of a 34-0 victory over the East Providence Mohawks on Oct. 26.

After a successful start to the playoffs, winning via shutout for the second week in a row, 33-0 over the North Kingstown Jaguars on Oct. 29, it quickly became gut-check time for the Rams that following Saturday at Cranston Stadium.

The first roadblock for Coventry came in the form of the Warwick PAL Patriots, a team that dominated the Rams during the regular season back on Sept. 21, winning 20-6 to stop the Rams’ three-game unbeaten streak to begin the year.

However, revenge was sweet albeit not simple for Coventry as it took the Rams triple overtime to take down the Warwick PAL Patriots in the semifinal, 32-26 to advance to the state championship game. Team Co-Captain Stryker Blue was fantastic for the Rams at running back, scoring four touchdowns to lead the offense.

Then, in the championship game against an old foe, Stonington, the Rams, led by wide receiver Josh Woods and teammates Kody Greenhalgh, Dylan Dupre, Austin Tingley, Brian Grant and Brandon Kenyon, reversed roles in a both a big way and at the most pristine time, winning 24-0 to capture the championship.