With eight-man reaching the regional finals and Class B and Class C past the first-round mismatches, more intriguing and probably competitive games are on tap.
The early-round blowouts have been taken care of in Class B and Class C football, and regional championship hardware is at stake for eight-man teams. Maine’s high school football playoffs get more interesting, more intense and likely more competitive this weekend. Here’s a look at four games that seem especially intriguing, each a rematch from the regular season, starting with two games involving Portland teams with unblemished records. The Large School South final pits arguably the top two teams among the 25 that played eight-man football in 2021. Mt. Ararat, the inaugural eight-man state champions in 2019, has the largest enrollment of schools playing eight-man. Cheverus has the largest roster, with over 40 players (albeit most are freshmen and sophomores). In the regular season, Cheverus won 44-32 in Topsham, shutting out the Eagles in the second half. A key in that game was holding Mt. Ararat’s two-headed running attack – junior Shea Farrell and senior Kaiden Getchell – in check. Farrell did gain 109 yards, but it was on 27 carries. Cheverus has not allowed a point in its three games since playing Mt. Ararat, including a 44-0 playoff win against Lake Region last week. Mt. Ararat had a much tougher time in its opening playoff game, struggling to contain Spruce Mountain’s passing game in a 44-36 victory. The winner will advance to the Large School eight-man state championship game against either Waterville or Morse, two North teams with explosive offenses and suspect defenses. The Class B South semifinal is a rematch of a regular-season game won by Portland 21-6 at Fitzpatrick Stadium. Noble held Portland to its lowest scoring output of the season and trailed 7-0 at the half.
