Two state champions and eight regional champs will be crowned this weekend across the state.
The Eight-Player Large and Small Schools state championship games will be played at the $4.2 million sports complex in Kennebunk, while regional championships will be contested for Classes A, B, C and D.
Here are four games to keep an eye on.
Bangor (5-5) at Portland (8-2), Friday, 6 p.m.
The Rams have won four games in a row to go from a team that was going to miss the playoffs to one that is playing in the A North title game against a top-seeded Portland High team.
Portland beat the Rams 35-7 in Bangor on Oct. 11. That was Bangor’s last loss.
In the final regular season game, the Rams upset Oxford Hills/Buckfield 20-6 to earn a playoff berth and claim the third seed before upsetting Lewiston 22-14 in the semifinal.
The Rams have allowed a total of 20 points in their last three games.
Offensively, junior dual-threat quarterback Kyle Johnson has had a terrific season with 1,073 rushing yards, 808 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, 16 of which were rushing and two passing. Fullback Zac Cota and running backs Eli Marsh and Ian Blackwell have been key contributors.
Portland has a stable of weapons as evidenced by its 42-14 semifinal win over Windham. Quarterback Louis Thurston carried the ball 10 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns and also tossed a touchdown pass. Aidan McGowan gained 98 yards on 15 carries and Cordell Jones had 63 more on 10 carries.
Former UMaine quarterback Chris Ferguson is on Portland head coach Sean Green’s coaching staff.
Stearns/Schenck (9-1) vs. Old Orchard Beach (10-0), Saturday, 2 p.m., in Kennebunk
After losing the last three Eight-Player Small North championship games, Stearns/Schenck earned its first regional title with impressive 52-0 and 62-20 playoff wins over Ellsworth/Sumner/George Stevens Academy and Houlton/Hodgdon/Southern Aroostook/Greater Houlton Christian Academy, respectively.
Stearns/Schenck’s only loss this season came to Eight-Player Large School state finalist Greely High School of Cumberland Center, 42-40, on Sept. 20.
Old Orchard Beach won the title two years ago and lost to Orono in last year’s title game 46-18.
This game features an Old Orchard Beach team averaging 61 points per game against a Stearns/Schenck team that has averaged 55.4 per contest.
Both teams have dynamic quarterbacks.
OOB’s Brady Plante threw three touchdown passes, ran for another and returned a kickoff 94 yards for a TD in its 60-14 win over Sacopee Valley of South Hiram in the C South final.
Stearns/Schenck’s Cam Atkinson has rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 28 TDs and thrown for 1,000 yards and 17 TDs.
Cohen Raymond and Lucas Pelkey have combined to run for more than 1,600 yards and the Minutemen defense is led by ends David McGreevy and Gavin Gagnon and tackler Brady Brooker.
Stearns/Schenck coach Cody Herring said the Gulls have a half-dozen players that can hurt you with their speed, so the game could come down to which defense can slow the other offense down.
Plante threw TD passes to three different players against Sacopee Valley: Riley Provencher, Brayden Mansur and Kooper Gervais. Provencher also ran for a TD and five two-point conversions.
Hermon (7-2) vs. Medomak Valley (7-2), Saturday, 2:30 p.m., at Hampden Academy
These two teams met in the C North semifinals a year ago with Medomak Valley of Waldoboro emerging with an 18-6 win.
They met again in the season-opener and Hermon won 14-8.
Hermon is seeking its first regional title while Medomak Valley won it two years ago before losing to Leavitt of Turner in the state final.
Bruce Coulter ran for touchdowns of 7, 25 and 19 yards in Hermon’s 32-6 semifinal win over defending champ Oceanside of Rockland and the Hopkins brothers, Sam and Max, are the other productive running options for Hermon.
Freshman standout Jaydiin Ruiz rushed for 266 yards for Medomak Valley in its 36-6 win over Nokomis of Newport and has now rushed for 1,334 yards in eight games.
Medomak Valley’s defense, led by safety Gabe Lash, tackle Porter Gahagan and end-linebacker Walker Simmons, has allowed just 9.7 points per game this season and held eight of nine opponents to 14 points or less.
The Hawks have allowed 18 points in their last four games.
Foxcroft Academy (10-0) vs. Winslow (6-4), Saturday, 11 a.m., at Hampden Academy
Foxcroft is the defending three-time regional champ and has won five of the last six D North titles.
Winslow was the C North champ in 2021.
These teams met on Sept. 21 in Winslow and the Ponies triumphed 35-3.
Foxcroft shut out Old Town 29-0 in the regional semifinal as Landon Smith carried the ball 12 times for 89 yards and a touchdown, Finn Holmes had 11 carries for 80 yards and two TDs and Griffin Caruso completed 13 of 19 yards for 131 yards.
Winslow rushed for more than 500 yards in its 56-34 semifinal victory over John Bapst/Bangor Christian/Central behind Liem Fortin’s 331 rushing yards and Hassan Hobbi’s 207. Each scored two touchdowns.
