Sep. 5: Telstar at Old Orchard Beach — Eight-man football’s debut in Maine gets the spotlight all to itself to start the season.

Sep. 6: Mountain Valley at Cape Elizabeth: Devin Roberts’ first game as Falcons head coach is also the first meeting since 2015 of the subjects of the 2009 documentary “The Rivals.”

Sep. 6: Mt. Ararat at Gray-New Gloucester — Both schools begin a new era in eight-man football.

Sep. 6: Cony at Mt. Blue — Another coaching debut takes place in Farmington, where former Madison coach Scott Franzose will try to continue the Cougars’ turnaround.

Sep. 7: Maine Central Institute at Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale — First regular-season meeting since the 2000 Class C state championship, when the Lee St. Hilaire-led Ramblers won their last state title.

Sep. 7: Fryeburg at Lisbon — The Greyhounds beat the Raiders 36-14 in Week 1 last year. Fryeburg gave up 33 total points the rest of the regular season and didn’t lose again until the Class C state championship game.

Leavitt’s Damien Calder tackles Fryeburg Academy’s Dawson Jones during the 2018 Class C South championship in Turner. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Sep. 14: Leavitt at Fryeburg — The Hornets get their first crack at the Raiders since the latter beat them, 20-13, in Turner in the Class C South championship.

Sep. 20: Leavitt at Foxcroft — Two of the most decorated programs of the past 25 years (four state titles each, 16 regional titles combined) finally meet.

Sep. 20: Thornton Academy at Lewiston — The Blue Devils will be the first of the former Class A North teams to see how they measure up against the defending state champions.

Sep. 20: Falmouth/Greely at Oxford Hills — Former rivals Falmouth and Greely have formed a co-op playing in Class B, and the Vikings are their first Class A foe.

Sep. 20: Telstar at Gray-New Gloucester — Eight-man football clash on the south end of Route 26.

Sep. 21: Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale at Oak Hill — Since 2010, the Ramblers and Raiders have met 10 times, including one playoff game. Eight of those games were decided by single digits, seven by seven points or less. The past two were two-point games.

Sep. 27: Edward Little at Scarborough — Red Eddies coach Dave Sterling makes his return to Scarborough, where he was head coach from 2007-09.

Oxford Hills’ Cole Dunham gets ahold of Bonney Eagle’s Will Whyte to slow him down during the teams’ meeting last season.  Brewster Burns photo

Sep. 27: Oxford Hills at Bonny Eagle — Last year’s 31-22 comeback win over the Scots served as a turning point in the season for both teams, something the Scots likely haven’t forgotten.

Sep. 28: Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale at Lisbon — Like their series with Oak Hill, the Ramblers seem to always play nail-biters with the Greyhounds. Eight of 12 meetings since 2010 have been decided by eight points or less, including the 2016 regional final classic that Lisbon won, 20-17.

Oct. 4: Gray-New Gloucester at Yarmouth — The Patriots never beat the Clippers in four 11-man meetings. Can they turn the tables in eight-man?

Oct. 5: Edward Little at Oxford Hills — The Vikings’ homecoming features a matchup of teams with a remarkable recent history of close and often bizarre games. Surely, none will top the 2009 homecoming, in which the Red Eddies outlasted their hosts, 56-48 in five overtimes.

Oct. 11: Dirigo at Freeport — Class E is gone but is it forgotten? Not completely when the two teams to play for the only Class E state championship meet again the following year.

Oct. 11: Oak Hill at Bucksport — The last time these two teams met it was in the first Class D state championship game in 27 years, a thriller the Raiders won, 42-35.

Mountain Valley’s Dylan Desroches is taken down by Spruce Mountain’s Trent Tibbetts during last season’s matchup game in Livermore Falls. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Oct. 11: Mountain Valley at Spruce Mountain — When Jay and Livermore Falls merged to form Spruce Mountain in 2011, this was one of the most-anticipated matchups. The Phoenix hold a 5-4 edge, but the Falcons have won the past two, including a 22-15 tilt last year that ended up being a tiebreaker between the two for playoff seeding.

Oct. 11: Nokomis at Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale — Ramblers’ crossover opponents, Nokomis and MCI, have won the past two Class C state titles. At least both games will be played at Maxwell Field.

Oct. 12: Wells at Leavitt — Good luck getting a parking spot at Libby Field for this one. And if you need us to explain why, you probably shouldn’t go, anyway.

Oct. 18: Mountain Valley at Dirigo — The two neighboring, and in many ways intertwined, schools have met on the gridiron just once, a 13-0 Dirigo win at Harlow Field in Week 1 of 2017.

Oct. 18: Edward Little at Mt. Blue — This is the first meeting of the two former Pine Tree Conference foes since 2008.

Oct. 19: Oxford Hills at Thornton Academy — The Vikings were hoping to test the Golden Trojans in last year’s state championship, but Portland had other ideas.

Oct. 25: Lawrence at Lewiston — Two more old Pine Tree Conference foes reunited, this one for the first time since 2012.

Oct. 25: Mt. Blue at Skowhegan — An underrated rivalry. Six of the last seven games have been decided by seven points or less, including a 29-28 Skowhegan win last year.

Oct. 25: Spruce Mountain at Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale — Typically one of the most physical games each season finally gets the rivalry week treatment.

Lisbon’s Colin Houle, left, bounces off Oak Hill’s James Borkowski, Jr. as he plows through the line during the Class D South quarterfinals in October 2018. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Oct. 26: Lisbon at Oak Hill — Last year’s playoff mud bowl, which ended in a 6-0 Raiders victory, may not be topped. But, then again, it’s Lisbon and Oak Hill.

Nov. 1: Lewiston at Edward Little — The 178th Battle of the Bridge. The Red Eddies have won four of the last five, including last year’s back-to-back classics at Walton Field in Week 8 and the A North quarterfinals.