Weekend Blitz: Some interesting matchups as season nears halfway point

Cheverus (1-0) at Spruce Mountain (2-1)
Friday, 7 p.m.
The Phoenix have been a different team since the return of quarterback Camden Phillips. The Stags won their first eight-man football game 54-8 over Yarmouth on Sept. 4 but haven’t played since.

Scarborough (1-2) at Edward Little (0-3)
Friday, 7 p.m.
The Red Eddies are hoping to find their footing during what has been a winless season so far. The Red Storm, expected to be a Class A contender, are hoping to get off the schneid after setbacks to fellow Class A elites Bonny Eagle and Bangor.

Traip (0-3) at Dirigo (1-2)
Friday, 7 p.m.
The young Cougars claimed their first eight-man football win against Boothbay last week. Now they face the Rangers, who have been outscored by an average of 58-18.7 in three losses.

Yarmouth (1-2) at Gray-New Gloucester (1-2)
Friday, 7 p.m.
The Patriots and the Clippers will battle to notch their second win of 2021. Friday’s game is the first of at least three winnable games for Gray-NG over its final four regular season games.

Bonny Eagle (3-0) at Oxford Hills (3-0)
Saturday, 11 a.m.

Showdown of early-season Class A contenders who have played each other tight in their previous two meetings, the Vikings winning 31-22 in 2018 and the Scots winning 33-21 in 2019.

Mt. Blue (0-1) at Lewiston (0-3)
Saturday, 1 p.m.

The Blue Devils opened the season with games against three creams of the Class A crop. The Cougars opened the season with a blowout loss to Lawrence and have had to stew in it since Week 1 due to a series of unfortunate events that canceled their next two games.

Freeport (2-1) at Lisbon (0-2)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
The Greyhounds’ 2019 state title run is proof that a slow start doesn’t mean much in November. But the tide needs to turn somewhere; will it be in Saturday’s home game against the Falcons?

Gardiner (1-2) at Leavitt (1-0)
Saturday, 7 p.m.
The Hornets may have started their season later than the rest of the state, but they wasted no time when they finally did start, rolling over Wells 41-0 last week. If the Tigers were impressed, don’t expect them to show it Saturday during what always seems to be a competitive matchup.

Madison/Carrabec/Valley (0-1) at Oak Hill (1-1)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
The Raiders defeated rival Lisbon last week and aim to make a streak of it against Madison/Carrabec/Valley, which hasn’t played since Week 1 due to COVID-19 issues.

Maranacook (0-1) at Telstar (3-0)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
The Rebels are off to special start, outscoring their first three opponents 126-12. High scoring is common in eight-man football, but allowing only 12 points in three games? Not common. The Black Bears finally played their first game last week, but were rusty in a loss to Dirigo.

Mountain Valley (1-1) at Sacopee Valley (1-2)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
The Falcons had a harsh introduction to eight-man football, facing the most recent state champion. They fared better last week in a win over Boothbay. This week, they play the Hawks, who put up 66 points on Traip last week.

Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (2-0) at Poland (1-0)
Saturday, 7 p.m.
The Knights have only played one game but already appear to have established an identity: They’re a running team. The Ramblers also have established an identity through two games: They can do a lot of things quite well.