It is the final weekend of the regular season in high school football for every class except Class A.
That means playoff berths and seedings will be decided in Classes B, C and D along with the Eight-Man Large School and Eight-Man Small School divisions.
Here are four matchups to keep an eye on.
Bangor (2-5) at Edward Little (1-6), Friday, 7 p.m.
Bangor is coming off a thrilling 28-27 win over Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H. in which it erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit. That win elevated the Rams into the fourth and final playoff spot in Class A North and a win over the Eddies would certainly help their playoff aspirations.
Bangor won last year’s meeting 42-26.
Junior quarterback Kyle Johnson ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns and the game-winning two-point conversion and also recovered a fumble that set up the game-winning drive.
He ran for 130 yards on 20 carries and threw for 156 more with nine completions in 19 attempts.
Edward Little is coming off a 49-0 loss at Oxford Hills/Buckfield and has allowed at least 34 points in five of its seven games.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for us,” said Bangor coach Dave Morris. “They have a lot of really good athletes. They’re very similar to us in that they have had to weather a lot of storms.
“Our defense is going to have to tackle well. We want to get some three-and-outs so our offense can get on the field. We’re going to need to play basic, balanced fundamental football in all three phases,” said Morris, who acknowledged that his team got a shot of confidence from the Winnacunnet victory.
Houlton/Hodgdon/SA/GHCA at Camden Hills, Saturday, 1 p.m.
This is an intriguing match-up between a pair of 6-1 teams in different Eight-Man classes.
Houlton/Hodgdon/Southern Aroostook/Greater Houlton Christian Academy is in the Small Schools division while Camden Hills is in the Large Schools class.
Houlton/Hodgdon/SA/GHCA has scored at least 46 points in six of its seven games but the Windjammer defense has held five of its opponents to 11 points or less.
The Shiretowners have one of the region’s most dynamic players in quarterback Isaiah Ervin, who has rushed for 1,424 yards and 25 touchdowns on 103 carries and has completed 26 of 49 passes for 440 yards and seven TDs. Two of his favorite receivers are Payton Powell (9 catches-225 yards, 2 TDs) and Sam Boone (6-for-128, 3 TDs).
Ervin also leads the team in tackles with 57 and Gage Folsom has 39 including seven sacks.
Camden Hills has a top-notch quarterback in Hollis Schwalm, who threw TD passes of 56 yards to Braden Beveridge and 36 yards to Justin Batty in a 24-6 win over Mount Desert Island last weekend and also ran 22 yards for a touchdown.
Isaac Dutille ran for the other score.
Foxcroft Academy (7-0) at John Bapst/Bangor Christian/Central (4-3), Saturday, 1 p.m.
The defending three-time D North champion Ponies may not have the high-powered offense they’ve had in recent years due to heavy graduation losses but their defense has been stout, holding teams to just 7.1 points per game.
Foxcroft hasn’t scored more than 21 points in any of its last four wins but the most points they have allowed in a game is 14.
They will be challenged by John Bapst’s triple option attack that has produced at least 27 points in each of its last four games including three with 34 or more.
Three-year starter Aiden Ouellette, the junior quarterback, effectively engineers the triple option and can both run and throw. Tyler Wilkinson and Malcolm Butler are the other running threats with James Seymour and Zach Babcock being Ouellette’s primary receivers.
Linebacker Zach Gaudette anchors the defense.
The Ponies have two solid quarterbacks in Griffin Caruso, who is a good passer, and Aiden Harvey, an impressive runner. Finn Holmes is a hard-running back and Silas Topolski and Lucas Sands are dependable receivers.
John Bapst is coming off a 34-20 win over Mattanawcook/Valley/Lee in which the Crusaders erased a 20-point halftime deficit.
“Our team has been resilient. They’ve battled back a lot,” said John Bapst coach Dan O’Connell, who added that they can’t afford to spot Foxcroft Academy a big lead.
“We have to play four (good) quarters of football. Foxcroft is well-coached, they are fundamentally sound, they run their system well and they always play hard,” said O’Connell.
Ellsworth/Sumner (6-1) at Stearns/Schenck (6-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.
These are two of the title contenders in Eight-Man Small North.
Stearns/Schenck won last year’s game 58-42.
Ellsworth/Sumner features Ripley Strout, who has rushed for 1,152 yards and 17 touchdowns on 70 carries and has also caught 10 passes for 203 yards and six more TDs.
Quarterback Thomas Jude has completed 36 of 71 passes for 680 yards and 11 TDs with Cameron Conners (11 catches, 236 yards, 3 TDs) being another favorite target.
Stearns has three productive runners in quarterback Cam Atkinson (66-for-864 yards, 18 TDs) and running backs Cohen Raymond (60-543, 7 TDs) and Lucas Pelkey (71-525, 9 TDs).
Atkinson has thrown for 670 yards and 10 TDs and Gavin Gagnon (15-for-194 yards, 5 TDs) and Sam Jacobs (10-209, 2 TDs) have been his go-to receivers.
Dan Carter (46 tackles), Strout (37) and Boris Felix (26) headline the Ellsworth/Sumner defense while Pelkey (60 tackles), Davin McGreevy (52, 6 sacks) and Emerson Michaud (35) have been Stearns/Schenck’s defensive catalysts.
