The high school football regular season is winding down, with two weeks remaining in every classification except Class A, which has three more games.

Class B features interesting races in both regions. Kennebunk (South) and Falmouth (North) each have 6-0 records and sit atop their regions.

The rest of the teams might be coveting a No. 2 seed, since the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in each region receive first-round byes. In both regions, the top six teams reach the postseason.

Cony’s Ethan Demmons, left, is tackled by Leavitt’s Landon Daigle on Sept. 28 in Turner. The Rams have a chance at the second seed and a first-round bye in the Class B North playoffs, but playing their best by the time the postseason rolls around is just as important. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Lawrence (4-2) holds down the second seed in B North, but the Bulldogs have a pivotal game against Falmouth on Friday night.

Cony (3-3) and Gardiner (3-3), the third- and fourth-place teams, meet Friday and still have a chance to grab the No. 2 seed.

Cony Coach B.L. Lippert said that in some seasons, the Rams, who lost 38-14 to Medomak Valley on Friday, have been focused on earning a bye. But this year, he is more concerned about making sure the team is playing its best football heading into the postseason.

“As much as the bye is important to us, I think just playing better is more important,” Lippert said. “You don’t want to be limping your way into the playoffs, and after our last performance on Friday night, we’re up there not feeling very good. So, like any team, we want to be playing our best football come November, and if we get a bye, great. If not, then if we’re playing well, it doesn’t matter. We’ll take our chances in the first round.”

Deering (5-1) has an edge over Massabesic (5-1) for the No. 2 seed in the South, along with a head-to-head win on Sept. 27.

Deering closes out the regular season with games against Gorham and Cheverus, who are both 2-4. The Mustangs have a tougher finish, with home games against against Kennebunk this weekend and then against Marshwood, which is in fourth place and has won two straight games.

Massabesic Coach Lucas Labbe said Kennebunk is foremost on the Mustangs’ minds this week.

“If we can finish 7-1, I still don’t even know if we’re going to be the 1 or 2 seed,” Labbe said. “… We’ll control what we can control. Hopefully, we finish 7-1, and wherever we land, we land. But we’re just excited to get into the playoffs. I think that we’re a bad matchup for most of the teams. And B South, I think, we’re a really good football team this year. So whether we play a first-round playoff game, we are open to that. If we get the bye again, then that’s great. It gives us time to prepare for the next opponent.”

Looking at the rest of the state, Portland (5-1) has a nice lead in the Class A North Crabtree standings, and Thornton Academy (5-1) is at the top of A South, though Noble (5-1) had a two chances to earn some valuable Crabtree points against South Portland and Bonny Eagle.

Fryeburg Academy (5-1) has all but locked up the No. 1 seed in Class C South, while in C North, Oceanside, Medomak Valley and Hermon are all 4-2. The race for first in Class D South will likely come down to the showdown between Wells (6-0) and Winthrop (6-0) on Oct. 25. Foxcroft Academy (6-0) is first in D North and the lone undefeated team.

The 8-man Large race is wide open, with Camden Hills, Lake Region, Greely and Mt. Ararat all 5-1. Stearns, Ellsworth and Houlton are each 5-1 in 8-man Small North. Old Orchard Beach (6-0) is again the team to beat in 8-man Small South, with the Spruce Mountain-Sacopee Valley game on Oct. 25 likely deciding who takes second in the region.

SATURDAY’S PORTLAND AT Thornton Academy game could be labeled a rematch, since Thornton beat Portland 24-14 in last season’s Class A state final.

Or, maybe it’s a preview, since both teams are in first place on their respective sides of Class A.

But, let’s call this matchup the Big Play showdown. Fourteen of the Golden Trojans’ 32 touchdowns have come on plays of 20 yards or more, including three kickoff returns, one fumble return and one interception return. For Portland, 11 of its 32 touchdowns have been 20-plus yarders.

Athletes and talent obviously are essential to big plays. Preparation is just as important.

Thornton Academy quarterback Wyatt Benoit finds some running room against South Portland. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Thornton Coach Kevin Kezal said the key is choosing the right looks and plays “from your library” after scouting each opponent.

“It’s not like you’re building a whole new offense every week, but you’re just focusing on certain things you think are going to work against certain opponents, based on what you see,” Kezal said.

Thornton senior quarterback Wyatt Benoit accounted for three long TDs in Friday’s 35-7 win against South Portland: runs of 45 and 31 yards, and a 30-yard pass to Jackson Paradis in the final minute of the first half.

“It starts with lifting, getting stronger in the weight room. Then film, right after that. You’ve got to learn your matchups,” Benoit said.

Portland Coach Sean Green said big plays begin with the big guys up front.

“Both teams are talented at the line of scrimmage. That’s where it starts, for explosive plays,” Green said.

If the offensive line can physically and mentally handle different techniques and tactics, Green said, then the coaches have more leeway to pinpoint opponent-specific schemes to create space and time for big plays to develop.

OLD ORCHARD BEACH, another big-play team, was without injured four-year quarterback Brady Plante in Friday’s game at Sacopee Valley. The Seagulls (6-0) still won, 52-14, and had two players complete long touchdown passes – to each other.

Plante was held out as a precaution, said his dad and head coach Dean Plante, but is expected to play this weekend against Waterville.

Brady Plante’s absence meant Trot Moody, a junior who normally plays wide receiver, was at quarterback for most of the 14 offensive snaps taken by the first team. Moody completed touchdowns of 70 yards to Wes Gallant and 60 to Riley Provencher.

Gallant threw a 52-yard score to Moody, a play that was another example of how preparation and knowledge create big-play opportunities.

Gallant is OOB’s top running back and often takes direct snaps. On this play, Gallant did his pre-snap scan of the field, saw Moody was completely uncovered, and, Dean Plante said, “Wes just checked to a quick fade. It was going to be a run play to the other side.”

“We prepare a lot. We watch multiple films. We tag every play. We know opponents’ tendencies and personnel,” Dean Plante said. “Commitment to preparing, both as a staff and players, is key to being at the next level.”

LAST YEAR, PORTLAND had a weak schedule that was made even less daunting by an unwanted forfeit victory over Falmouth and an unneeded bye.

There’s nothing weak about the Bulldogs’ next three opponents. After facing Thornton on Saturday, the Bulldogs host Exeter (New Hampshire) on Friday, Oct. 25, and finish at South Portland (4-2) on Nov. 1.

Exeter, 6-0 in New Hampshire’s Division I, has outscored opponents 226-38. Portland (5-1) has a nearly identical point spread of 228-38. Portland’s loss was against Bonny Eagle, 14-8. The Scots (4-2) are the only one of Portland’s first six opponents currently with a winning record.

CAPE ELIZABETH’S 21-14 win against Leavitt leveled its record at 3-3. With two winnable games, at Brunswick (2-4) and home against Class B Westbrook (0-6), left on the regular-season schedule, the Capers have the inside track to stay in second place second behind Fryeburg Academy (5-1) in Class C South.

Cape has 26 players on its roster but has been using 16 or 17 players all season. The Capers matched their season-high with 21 points against Leavitt and beat a Class C team for the first time this season. Its other wins were against Class D teams Poland and Freeport.

“Most of our games, we’ve gone down and scored on our opening drive and then run out of steam,” said second-year coach Peter Cekutis. “Really, the only way to get in shape and know how to play for 48 minutes without a break is just to do it.”

Cekutis said both coaches and players have gotten better at the task. Senior captains Luke Gagne, a three-year starter at center, tailback/linebacker Danny Gray, and quarterback Brady Inman have been key contributors on and off the field. First-year seniors Eli Smith and Eli Halter, who played the sport when they were younger, have become important two-way players. Smith came out for football after not making Cape’s golf team. Halter, who committed to football over the summer, plays a variety of positions and scored Cape’s first touchdown against Leavitt on a 54-yard run.

All five Class C South teams make the playoffs. The top three advance directly to the regional semifinals. Cape is now ahead of York (2-3, idle last weekend), Leavitt (2-4) and Brunswick for the No. 2 seed.

MEDOMAK VALLEY COACH Ryan Snell said the Panthers’ 38-14 win Friday at Class B Cony, “is probably one of the biggest regular-season wins we’ve had. When you get your schedule and you see Cony on it, it’s, ‘Wow, that’s going to be a tough matchup.’ We put four quarters together for the first time this year.”

The win put a spotlight on Medomak freshman Jaydlin Ruiz, a 5-foot-9, roughly 160-pound tailback who has played both middle linebacker and cornerback on defense. Against Cony, Ruiz rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns and, playing cornerback, had two interceptions. Snell said Ruiz’s vision is superior and his film study exemplary.

“He’s off to a pretty impressive start for a 14-year-old kid,” Snell said. “He’s as good a freshman as we’ve ever had.”

In six games (five starts), Ruiz has 892 rushing yards. He’s likely to become the third 1,000-yard rusher (following Hayden Staples in 2022 and Aaron Reed last year) to benefit from the blocking of Medomak senior fullback Porter Gahagan.

In Class C North, Oceanside, Hermon and third-place Medomak are 4-2 and separated by just five points in the Crabtree standings.