Kramlich: All right, I didn’t think I could possibly see a better version of the Edward Little vs. Oxford Hills/Buckfield matchup than the one you saw during the regular season. But the playoff version found a way to top a last-play, comeback victory.

Last Friday night’s Class A North quarterfinal in Paris never looked over for either team. That is, until John Bowen intercepted the Red Eddies’ chances at evening up the score in the first overtime.

Now I know you’ve likely covered some thrilling football games during your time working in other parts of the country, but let me just tell you that while what I saw last Friday night was undoubtedly a classic, it’s just one of many memorable high school playoff games in Maine through the years.

Our four local Class D South teams have been a part of a few of them in recent years. Oak Hill, Lisbon, Winthrop/Monmouth and Dirigo have all made local fans’ jaws drop lately. They could very well do the same this weekend.

Are you surprised at all at what the Red Eddies and Vikings did for their encore performance? And what kind of surprises do you see in store for our local teams this weekend?

Horton: Nothing that happened in Oxford Hills/Buckfield-Edward Little Part 2 could have surprised me. I doubt that there are two more evenly matched local teams.

Probably the most potential for a surprise comes from the Oak Hill-Lisbon matchup. I know the Greyhounds have been on an absolute tear since their season-opening loss to Winthrop/Monmouth— their closest game since then was a 36-14 win over Oak Hill — and that might even make them the favorite to win the Class D state championship, but I’m not yet ready to count out the Raiders. They’re a threat until the final second ticks off the clock in the fourth quarter and they have in that game accumulated less points than their opponent.

Leavitt’s close call against Kennebunk last week has me believing anything is possible. Any chance that Dirigo, Spruce Mountain or Oxford Hills/Buckfield can pull off an upset and advance to their respective regional final?

Kramlich: I think Dirigo’s 14-6 road loss at Winthrop/Monmouth during the regular season proves that the Cougars could pull off an upset. I think all four of our local Class D South teams are fairly close, as some of the regular-season scores have shown. Prognosticating the winners in both of those regional semifinals seems like a crapshoot.

I thought the first Spruce Mountain vs. Cape Elizabeth matchup was going to be a good one. It wasn’t. But that was way back in week three, before I knew that the Phoenix were missing a key cog in Dillon Webster, and that the Capers were possibly the best team in the region. The Phoenix are a better team now than they were in that meeting, but I don’t know if they have what it takes to keep pace with the Capers’ offense while facing Cape’s equally dominant defense.

I think Oxford Hills/Buckfield has a slightly better chance than does Spruce Mountain. The Vikings are a solid team, with a stout defense, but I’m not sure they’re explosive enough on offense to keep pace with Portland. Although maybe they’ve hit on something with passing touchdowns that they can use this weekend.

I’m hoping Eddies-Vikings 2 was just a preview for what this postseason has in store. I get to see both Class D South semifinals, which should be good, and next week’s regional championship game should be a memorable matchup.

Hopefully the Vikings can provide you some entertainment as well.

Horton: Oxford Hills/Buckfield has the running game and defense to play with anybody, but the Vikings will probably need to put together a perfect game in order to win Friday.

Class D South is heading for an awesome finish. Maybe you’ve already thought about this, but the D South final four being made up entirely of local teams means that the tri-county area is guaranteed to be represented at the state championship game later this month (yeah, it’s November already). I think that’s cool. And I think that state championship game will be cold.

Kramlich: Cold? Maybe. Worth it? Definitely.