Maine high school football fans will get treated to the first round of playoff action this Halloween weekend.
It will be do-or-die for teams with games on the schedule in Class B, C and D along with both large and small school 8-man, as many teams start their postseason pushes.
While Class A still has another week of regular season contests, and some of the top teams in the other classes have bye weeks, this first weekend of playoff football offers several matchups that are likely to be exciting.
That is especially true for 8-man contests in the North region.
Here are three North games that have the potential to be scary good over the weekend, especially based on how some of these teams stacked up against each other during the regular season.
Game of the weekend: Orono vs. Dexter
Orono football started the season 0-2 after facing two of the best 8-man teams in the state in returning small school champion Old Orchard Beach and the defending runner-up Stearns/Schenck cooperative team from Millinocket and East Millinocket.
But Orono coach Bob Sinclair was happy with those early tests, figuring they would provide a good barometer for the rest of the season.
“We figured that we’d find out where we were early. Both teams are very good teams,” he said.
There’s an argument to be made that those early losses helped forge a stronger Orono team, with the Red Riots winning every game since.
That included a close 46-40 shootout win over Dexter on Sept. 27. And now the Tigers will travel to Orono Friday night for a 6 p.m. rematch.
Orono goes into the game 6-2 and Dexter is 5-3.
Rematch of week 1: Old Town at Medomak Valley
The No. 8 and No. 9 seed matchup in Class C will transport Old Town and Medomak Valley back to the first week of the season, with the 3-5 Coyotes once again traveling to Waldoboro to face the Panthers.
Medomak was 4-4 during the regular season, including a razor-thin 30-28 win over Old Town in week one.
If Saturday’s 1 p.m. game is anything like the opener, Coyote and Panther fans are in for a good one.
Stearns/Schenck host Bucksport again
Once rivals, Stearns of Millinocket and Schenck of East Millinocket have combined forces to become an 8-man small school powerhouse. After falling one game short of a state title last year against Old Orchard, Stearns/Schenck is looking to kick off another postseason run with a second win over Bucksport.
The 6-2 Stearns/Schenck team got the better of the 3-5 Golden Bucks 44-14 on Sept. 26. The teams clash again at 7 p.m. Friday in Millinocket, where they will see if recent history repeats itself or if Bucksport is able to flip the script and pull off an upset.
Either way, Friday and Saturday are sure to provide some exciting playoff football action.
