For the first time in nine decades, Cullman’s varsity boys basketball team will take the court with a chance to bring home the program’s first-ever state championship.

The Bearcats (28-3) will meet Huffman in the Class 6A title game — scheduled for today at 2:15 p.m. inside Birmingham’s Legacy Arena — hoping to close out a storybook season with one final triumph.

According to senior Tucker Gambrill, the opportunity that awaits him and his teammates is a direct result of the grueling work they put in during the offseason.

Not to mention the belief in themselves.

“All the stuff we did in the spring and summer and fall … our mindset is that we expected this,” he said. “Coach (Stu Stuedeman) put a lot of pressure on us and worked us hard. Obviously, I want to go there and win. It would be awesome for the team. Being able to say I played in the last game possible and being able to experience this — it’s pretty great.”

Stuedeman can’t help but feel excited as well.

“As a coach, your goal is to always get the most out of your team so that you’re playing to the best of your ability,” he said. “When I took over, we didn’t really talk about wins or losses or the Final Four. We talked about reaching our potential and becoming the best versions of ourselves — and we’ve done that. It’s exciting that our potential is the ceiling. It’s going to be a lot of fun on Saturday.”

While it might be fun, it certainly won’t be a walk in the park.

Huffman enters the matchup with a 29-6 record and no shortage of impressive wins on its résumé. The Vikings have played in their fair share of close games over the past two weeks, eliminating Springville (57-53) in the sub-regional round before knocking off Homewood (40-38) and Mountain Brook (59-56) in a pair of overtime matchups at the Northeast Regional Tournament.

That trend continued in the semifinals on Wednesday, with coach Steve Ward’s squad coming up with pivotal plays down the stretch in a 62-58 win over McGill-Toolen.

Those razor-thin victories stand out to Stuedeman.

“They have a knack for making plays to put games away,” he said. “There’s something to that. They’re here for a reason. They’re a good basketball team that’s big and athletic and shares the ball well. They’re supremely confident in their ability. Beating who all they have beaten is very impressive, and it seems like it’s destiny for them to be here. We’re going to have to be locked in for 32 minutes to be successful against a team like this.”

Gambrill also lauded Huffman’s schedule and ability to gut out tough games.

“They’re battle-tested,” he said. “They were really tested against Mountain Brook, who kind of plays the same style as we do. For them to come out there in overtime and take care of business shows what kind of team they are.”

The Vikings will also face their biggest challenge to date in the Bearcats, who have won nine straight games and are playing their best basketball at the right time.

But no matter the outcome Saturday, the foundation has been laid.

And that’s just how Stuedeman envisioned it unfolding when he was hired in 2021.

“It would be very special to win, no matter how you slice it,” he said. “This team gets after it and plays unselfishly and plays fearlessly. It’s extremely humbling to see how this team has touched the community and how the community has embraced them. Win, lose or draw, we are set here. This has established who we are and what we can be. I’m excited about what direction we’re going in. This is just the beginning.”

For Gambrill, however, Saturday’s game will mark the end of a dazzling prep career.

And though he’s proud of the mark he and the other seniors — Tucker Apel, Jamar Kay and Max Gambrill — have left on the program, he also said a win would “make a statement.”

“I think it would show there are results in hard work,” he said. “It’ll show the young kids and the community that no matter what you look like or how big you are or how fast you are … it’ll show that if you work hard, this can happen. People are talking about how crazy it is that Cullman is here. But we’re here because of how hard we work, and we have a community that backs us up. Win or lose, we’re going to be proud of how we played and competed.

“But if we win, it’s going to feel great.”