High school football season is coming to a close in Maine on Saturday, and new state champions will be crowned in Class A, B, C and D.
Four schools will join Camden Hills and Stearns/Schenck, the large and small school 8-man champions, atop their respective divisions as the last team standing across the state.
And there are no surprises about which teams are vying for those state titles. Each of the schools playing in Saturday’s finals are either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in their region, with the top squads from the regular season generally holding serve and making deep runs during the playoffs.
Class A: Portland vs. Thornton Academy
In a rematch of last year’s championship game, the Portland Bulldogs and Thornton Academy Trojans of Saco are once again clashing in Class A. Portland needed a gutsy performance to survive the Bangor Rams last weekend at Fitzpatrick Stadium, and will be on the same field at 11 a.m. Saturday for their title defense against TA.
The Trojans roughed the Bulldogs up 36-0 in a statement win earlier this season, but will have to go through the defending champs and reigning Gatorade Player of the Year Cordell Jones to regain their familiar spot atop Class A.
Jones was the difference maker for the Bulldogs a week ago, with several late touchdowns and a pivotal interception against Bangor. And he will surely be key yet again for 9-2 Portland as it looks to defend its title against 10-1 Thornton.
Class B: Cony vs. Westbrook
Westbrook is looking to cap an improbable turn-around season with its first-ever football championship on Saturday against Cony High School of Augusta. But to secure that historic win, Westbrook will need to do something that no one has been able to do so far this season: Stop the undefeated Cony Rams.
Cony quarterback Parker Morin and his Rams teammates have been nothing short of dominant so far this season, going 10-0 to reach the state championship while outsourcing opponents 453-90 in those 10 games. The high-powered Cony offense has only failed to score 40 or more points in one game, a 39-34 win over Class A school Oxford Hills.
Cony and Westbrook face off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, also at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
Class C: Leavitt vs. Greely
In the Class C title game, Greely of Cumberland is also on the hunt for an undefeated season as the Rangers face a rematch with Leavitt Area High School of Turner.
Greely snuck by Leavitt 28-26 in the second week of the season and has earned a 10-0 record so far this year. That was one of only two losses on the year for the Hornets, who notched a convincing 47-14 win over a talented Hermon team in the semifinals to punch their ticket to the state title game.
The Class C championship will kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lewiston High School.
Class D: Winslow vs. Winthrop
Of all the teams playing in Saturday’s championship games, only Leavitt and Winslow are not No. 1 seeds.
Leavitt is the No. 2 team in the statewide Class C table, and Winslow was No. 2 in Class D North this year. The Black Raiders earned Saturday’s trip to the state final by knocking off No. 1 John Bapst in Bangor last weekend.
Winslow rode a dominant second half, including two touchdowns by senior back Hassan Hobbi, to that convincing 42-14 regional title win. And now the Black Raiders face the undefeated Winthrop Ramblers, who have largely cruised through Class D South this year with all but one of their 10 wins being by 10 points or more.
That Class D state title game will also be at Lewiston High School and starts at 2:30 p.m.
