Thornton Academy’s Connor Ayoob finds space to run against Noble. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Some dominated to get here; others faced major challenges. In any case, the cream rose to the top in Maine’s 11-man football playoffs.

All eight teams playing in state championship games Saturday are the No. 1 seeds in their respective regions. It’s the second year in a row that all four 11-man Gold Ball showdowns will pit two top seeds against one another.

“There were a lot of good teams in the playoffs, but at the end of the day, the 1 seeds came through,” said Portland Coach Sean Green.

The Bulldogs (9-2) blew out Bangor, 54-14, in Friday’s Class A North final to win their second consecutive regional title and third straight overall (Portland was in Class B North in 2022).

Just as Portland was widely expected to be in the Class A title game when the season began, so was A South champion Thornton Academy (9-2).

The Bulldogs and Trojans have had some battles over the past two years, with Portland winning 35-28 in Week 1 last season, Thornton taking the 2023 state final, 24-14, and the Bulldogs prevailing, 14-7, in Week 7 this year.

“I think it’s the matchup it should be; I think we’re the best two teams in the state,” Green said. “The South had some really good teams, but they made it through, and they’re definitely going to be a challenge.”

That game is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium. The Class B championship between Falmouth and Kennebunk will follow at 2:30 p.m. It’s a matchup of undefeated teams .The Navigators (10-0) have breezed through the North and the Rams (10-0) are back to defend their state title out of the South.

Falmouth and Kennebunk did not meet in the regular season, but they have seen each other this season.

“That was our controlled scrimmage way back in the first week of the preseason,” said Kennebunk Coach Keith Noel. “So, here we are, meeting again. It should be pretty fun.”

Top-seeded Hermon (8-2) was the favorite out of Class C North to enter the season, and it emerged from a balanced region to reach its first state title game. They are set to face C South champ Fryeburg Academy, seeking its first state title since 1965, Saturday at Lewiston High School.

Class D, on the other hand, features the fourth state title game matchup in seven seasons between Wells and Foxcroft. The Warriors (10-0) beat Oak Hill and Winthrop by a combined 90-21 in the Southern playoffs, while the Ponies (11-0) allowed just 13 points in the Northern Maine postseason.

SPEAKING OF WELLS, the Warriors received some added motivation ahead of their 35-7 win over Winthrop in Friday’s Class D South title game.

Before the game, the Warriors received a video from former New England Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light. The former left tackle, who protected Tom Brady from 2001-2011, is a friend of the family of twin brothers Bryce and Elias Curley, both seniors on the Wells roster.

Wells quarterback Cal Moody passes under pressure from Winthrop’s Connor Williams during the Class D South final. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

“My aunt (Cindy Mitchell) used to work with his foundation, the Matt Light Foundation, for a while,” said Bryce Curley, who starts on the offensive line for Wells. “My mom (Cat Curley) started nannying for his kids. … I think my mom reached out to him for the video. It was really awesome to see before the game; I think it really motivated us.”

Light provided not only well wishes to the Warriors but also a key piece of advice that was helpful to Wells Coach Tim Roche.

“I’ve got to give Matt Light a little credit. I hate the Patriots, but I’ll give him a little credit,” Roche said. “He said, ‘Stick to what you’ve done all year.’ We put in a bunch of stuff (for Winthrop), trying to do some stuff to them. It hit me (during the game): ‘Just do what you always do.’ ”

GREELY SENIOR LINEBACKER Ben McCarron was one of the players who pushed the school’s administration to restart its stand-alone football team for the 2022 season. Greely had shelved football after the 2018 season. About six to eight Greely players had joined forces with Falmouth in 2019 and 2021 in a co-operative arrangement.

Three seasons later, the Rangers were decisive 58-20 victors in Saturday’s eight-man Large School championship game against Mt. Ararat.

“Ending my senior year with a win, which not many people get to do, it’s really an honor, and we’re all so happy,” said McCarron, who did not play on the co-op team as a freshman. “We helped get that team back because we wanted to play for Greely. That first year, we went 0-7. We weren’t very good, but we still had a lot of fun, and we knew we had something.”

Greely players celebrate after the Rangers beat Mt. Ararat, 58-20, in the eight-man Large School state championship game on Saturday in Kennebunk. Carl D. Walsh/Portland Press Herald

McCarron said he weighs about 165 pounds and stands 5-foot-10. He entered the game averaging 12.4 tackles per game. Against Mt. Ararat, he repeatedly sliced down runners with form tackles – finishing with 16, including 12 solo tackles – except when he was dropping into coverage. That’s when he intercepted three passes, returning two for touchdowns.

“I’d make the argument that he’s the best linebacker in the state,” said Greely Coach Caleb King. “He’s so smart. … People might consider him a small linebacker. But it doesn’t matter. He’s always where the ball is, and he knows how to make a play.”

OLD ORCHARD BEACH Coach Dean Plante referred to it as “that stiff-arm heard around the world.”

Well, maybe not the world. But Riley Provencher planting a would-be Stearns tackler on his way to a game-defining 75-yard second-half kickoff return touchdown will be part of Old Orchard Beach football lore. It was also an example of what made Provencher and so many of his teammates special: the ability to make explosive plays.

The Seagulls won 60-14 to claim the eight-man Small School title.

After starting the 2022 season 1-2, Old Orchard has won 28 of 29 games, winning three South and two state championships. Over the past two seasons, OOB has averaged 61.2 points per game.

Old Orchard Beach receiver Riley Provencher, chased by Stearns defensive back Beckett Brown, runs toward the end zone. Carl D. Walsh/Portland Press Herald

Against Stearns, Provencher also caught touchdown passes of 6, 56 and 88 yards. Senior quarterback Brady Plante threw for four touchdowns and 415 yards.

“Champions make plays and those guys have done it for four years. And they get better at it every year,” Dean Plante said.

LEAVITT’S TWO-YEAR RUN atop Class C ended with a 38-0 loss to Fryeburg Academy in Friday’s Southern Maine championship game.

While their quest for a three-peat ended, Coach Mike Hathaway said the Hornets’ current run, which includes three state championships (2019, ’22 and ’23) and reaching the regional final every season since 2018, isn’t quite over. 

“I don’t think any run’s sort of over or anything like that,” Hathaway said. “I’m really proud of the way that they played. Because, like I said before, everybody counted us out, and everybody was kind of talking bad about us. We could have, you know, gone the other way. Instead, we stuck together.”

The Hornets have a handful of playmakers eligible to return next year, including slot receivers Mason Henderson and Ian Garcia, running back Randan Hutchinson and tight end Nick Mellen. Henderson and Hutchinson missed significant time with injuries.

Press Herald staff writer Steve Craig and Sun Journal staff writer Nathan Fournier contributed to this story.