The Leavitt and Greely football teams began their seasons with strong wins last week.

For Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway and Greely coach Caleb King, those victories were merely a step toward meeting the high bar each has for his program.

“We’re just trying to coach up our guys a lot and just try to bring them along as quickly as we can,” said Hathaway, who carries a roster of 72 players, of which 53 are either freshmen or sophomores. “We’re just hoping by the mid to late season, we are going in the direction we want to.”

Leavitt opened with a 50-8 win over Hampden Academy, while the Rangers made their return to 11-man football with a 42-0 victory over York. The teams meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Glenn A. Hutchins Field in Cumberland in what has been chosen as the Varsity Maine football game of the week.

Both squads recognize it as a big test in Class C South.

“It’s a good opportunity in Class C to show what we’re all about,” said King, whose team was the eight-man Large School state champion last season.

Leavitt will win if …

• It keeps improving on the basics on both sides of the ball. Hathaway said the Hornets have simplified their offense as a means for the group to excel at core concepts. In last week’s win, it appeared Leavitt was heading in the right direction, but there’s still more work to do in that area.

• It establishes the run early. Leavitt got off to a great start against Hampden because it had success on the ground during the first few series.

• Stop Luke Piper. Greely’s quarterback was nearly perfect last week against York, completing 7 for 8 passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 78 yards on four carries, with a touchdown.

Greely will win if…

• It lets the ground game keep rolling. The story of last week’s game was Piper’s 228 yards of total offense, all in the first half, but Noah Allen (nine carries, 56 yards, TD) and Sean Justice (eight carries, 23 yards, TD) were nice complementary pieces. A similar performance would help produce another win.

• Let Piper cook. If the junior quarterback can get in a rhythm in the passing game, especially to the level he did last week, it might be hard for Leavitt to keep up. It helps that Piper has a strong target in 6-foot-2 senior wide receiver Ben Kyles, who has received strong interest from multiple college programs over the past two seasons.

Leavitt difference makers

• Mason Henderson (Sr., SB/DB); Reid Langlois (Sr., G/DT); Nick Mellen (Sr., TE/DE).

Greely difference makers

• Luke Piper (Jr., QB); Sean Justice (Sr., TE/DB); Noah Allen (Jr., RB/MLB); Ben Kyles (Sr., WR/DB); Jackson Justice (Jr., RB).

Coach’s comments

• “They’ve got a lot of guys who have won a lot of games over the last few years. They might not have a lot of 11-man experience, but they have a lot of winning and championship experience. They’ve won a lot of games over the last two years. They have a lot of athletes in the skill spots all over the field. (Piper) is a real nice player, he’s got some guys he can throw to. They have tough runners in the backfield. It’s a nice, well-rounded group of skill guys. And they move real well on defense. They’re fast, they run to the ball well. They look like a pretty good team.” — Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway

• “The first thing that stands out about them is their physicality. They play very disciplined football. Everybody knows their job and they try to do it very well. We just have to be ready. We’re also a very physical, tough team. It’s going to be a great test for us. We have to make plays and Leavitt has to make plays. At the end of the day, we just have to make more than they do.” — Greely coach Caleb King