In the school's second season of varsity play, the Upper Cape Tech Rams defeated the Dorchester Bears, 22-8, at Curry College in Milton for the Super Bowl title on Saturday, Dec. 1.

Upper Cape put the first touchdown on the board, and didn't back down. The Rams were 10-1 in regular season play. The Bears were undefeated.

"It was back and forth for the whole game. There were turnovers on both sides of the ball," said Upper Cape Tech Coach Mike Hernon. "Each team probably had their chances to capitalize on those turnovers," Hernon continued, noting that with the help of junior Richard Semple, of Wareham, the Rams were able to grab two interceptions.

Upper Cape junior Jonathan Dumont led the team with two touchdowns in the win.

It was an epic season for the Rams, who won just two games last year in the team's first season of varsity play. The school has only had a football team for three years.

"We came into the season with a goal,"  said Nick Strawn, a senior from Wareham, and one of the team's four captains. "The coaches pounded into our heads that we could win a division. ... We had to put the work into it."

The players credited their coaches with helping the team first become a Super Bowl contender, and then the Super Bowl champion.

"They just never gave up on us," said Semple, a student in the school's plumbing program. "They never took a practice lightly."

On Saturday, the air was brisk, and light snow fell from the sky.

"A Super Bowl in the snow," Strawn, a culinary student, recalled thinking. "I was amped."

And after the game?

"It was like a dream come true," said Strawn. "I was in tears. I was in shock."

Semple echoed that sentiment.

"I didn't even know how to react," he said.

Hernon, who has coached the team since its inception, gave all the credit to the students.

"It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of time" to build a football program from the ground up, Hernon explained. "You really need the kids to be invested. They put in the time. They put in the work. They're the ones who built this program."

The younger students are committed to keeping the program going strong.

"It'd be cool to win the Super Bowl two years in a row," Semple noted.

Wareham's Nelson Ash, currently a second-string sophomore, is up to the challenge.

"We need to step up," said Ash, a student in the electrical program, "and try to take the positions of the seniors who are leaving."

But right now, the players are enjoying the glory of the Super Bowl win.

On Saturday, emergency responders from Wareham and Onset escorted the Rams through town as the team headed back to Bourne.

Hernon was humbled by the community's reaction.

"Community support leading up to the game, now we're a few days after the game, has just been tremendous," he said. "These kids are finally getting the credit they deserve."