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VASSALBORO — With its possession of the Class A state championship at stake, the Cheverus golf team dusted off a familiar gameplan — and even a familiar speech.

Sam Sirois shot even-par 72 for medalist honors, and Keane McGrath and Joe Stratman were among eight players who tied for second with 76s as the Stags successfully defended their state title Friday, shooting 304 to hold off Falmouth (314), Messalonskee (324), Thornton Academy (328), South Portland and Gorham (340 each) at Natanis Golf Course.

Falmouth’s Dante Iannetta, Gorham’s Charlie Sands, Messalonskee’s Greyson Dooley, Bangor’s Jacoby Harvey, Mt. Ararat’s Caleb Greenleaf and Oxford Hills’ Sawyer Poland joined Stratman and McGrath at 4 over.

Lila Dailey of Camden Hills and Jacquelin Sirois of Cheverus shot 97 to share the title in the girls division.

“It feels great, again,” said Sirois, who tied for second individually last year. “Going into this, we didn’t really think we had a shot, so I’m really glad we got it done.”

Such doubt was reasonable after Falmouth rolled to the SMAA championship at the same Tomahawk course on Monday, shooting 304 to beat the Stags by nine shots while getting scores under 80 from five players.

Cheverus coach Billy Goodman told his players there was no way to beat the Navigators if they were that hot, a similar angle he used when addressing the girls basketball team in February before the Stags turned a 19-point deficit into a 63-61 overtime victory against Hampden Academy in the Class A final.

“I told my team going back to Portland, it was kind of like the halftime speech for my basketball team,” he said. “‘If they shoot like that again, they’re going to win.’ But we just had a really good week of practice. A lot of kids focused and did better than Monday.”

The Stags’ roadmap to victory looked like last year’s, when it had the medalist in Mick Madden and a second-place finisher in Sirois. This time, Sirois jumped to the top spot, hitting 11 greens in regulation and carding four birdies, one coming when he rolled in a 20-foot putt on the fourth hole.

“Teamwise, I knew we all had to play well,” Sirois said. “I didn’t want to let my teammates down.”

The rest of the scores fell in line. McGrath, who was third at the SMAAs with a 74, was excellent again, notching 13 pars and an eagle on the par-5 third. Stratman, who had an 81 on Monday, improved by five shots. Ray, who shot 87 on Monday, improved by seven strokes. Garrett Thees went from a 90 to an 84.

“I guess it was Cheverus’ day today. We did really well, everyone kind of came together,” McGrath said. “Everyone was very focused this morning, it was a different mood than the SMAA.”

Stratman didn’t play in the state championship last year. He was front and center this time.

“I fed off the pressure, it’s one of the greatest things to do,” said Stratman, who carded four birdies. “I shot 106 in the qualifiers last year. It really pushed me to work harder.”

Iannetta tied for second for the second straight year. He was joined by Alex Novick (78), Griffin Jacobsen (78) and Anthony Graceffa (82) among the Falmouth scorers.

“I hit the ball pretty solid all day, it’s just putts didn’t fall,” Iannetta said. “Golf’s a game that happens on one day. When a tournament’s only one day long, anything can happen. It’s tough. … I believe we could have gone lower than 304, but it just wasn’t today. It’s unfortunate.”

Messalonskee’s Dooley, the first-place finisher at the KVAC qualifier, notched four birdies, one of which stabilized his round. It came two holes after a triple bogey on the par 3 10th.

“It was basically putting today that saved me,” he said. “It was mostly just a mental game out there, and having to just stay through it the rest of the round.”