Three months ago, 79 football teams across the state began two-a-days in the mid-August heat with state championship ambitions. As mid-November nears, 20 of those teams are still playing.

Two Gold Ball dreams will come true this weekend when eight-man state champions are crowned. Elsewhere, eight 11-man teams will punch their tickets to next week’s state finals. Here are five things to watch for in the season’s penultimate week:

Eight-man Large to crown first-time state champ

Last week, the Spruce Mountain Phoenix and Camden Hills Windjammers made history with their first-ever regional titles. On Saturday, one of those squads will claim a state championship at Edward Little High School in Auburn.

After back-to-back Large North title game defeats in 2023 and 2024, Camden Hills (9-1) finally broke through last week with a 35-0 win over Mount Desert Island. The Windjammers are led by a talented quarterback in Hollis Schwalm, recently named Campbell Conference Eight-Man North Player of the Year.

Spruce Mountain (8-1) emerged from a grueling South division by taking down Mt. Ararat, 20-14. Quarterback/defensive back Dylan Jewett and running back/linebacker Austin Armandi are two of eight-man football’s best players on both sides of the ball.

Eight-man Small rematch

While the eight-man Large title game will be a new experience for both schools, that certainly won’t be the case for the teams competing in the Small School final. Old Orchard Beach and Stearns squared off last year, when OOB won — and that was far from the first time the two had been on the championship stage.

OOB is making its fourth consecutive appearance in the Small School final and its 10th state title game appearance overall. Stearns, meanwhile, is playing in its 13th state championship game. The Minutemen are seeking their first state crown since claiming the Class C title in 1998.

It’s the second meeting this season between South champion OOB (9-0) and North champ Stearns (8-2). The teams played Sept. 19, when the Seagulls made the 440-mile round trip to Millinocket and claimed a 34-20 victory.

Will Portland, Thornton meet again in Class A?

Portland and Thornton Academy faced off for the Class A state title in 2023 and 2024. Both are No. 1 seeds this year, and they would meet again for a Gold Ball if both win regional title games this weekend.

Portland (8-2), which defeated Thornton for last year’s state championship, takes on third seeded Bangor (6-4) in the North final Friday at Fitzpatrick Stadium. Thornton (9-1), which beat Portland two years ago, hosts second-seeded Bonny Eagle (9-1) on Saturday in the South final, a showdown of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Varsity Maine poll.

A Bulldogs-Golden Trojans state final would also be a rematch of a regular-season game played Oct. 3 in Portland. Thornton standout Connor Ayoob rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns in that contest as the Trojans rolled to a 36-0 victory.

What about an all-central Maine Class D final?

The 21st century has seen only three all-central Maine state title games: Winthrop’s 22-0 Class C win over Maine Central Institute in 2000, and Oak Hill’s Class D victories over MCI in 2014 and 2015.

Winthrop and Winslow have the chance to make it four.

Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (9-0), the top seed in Class D South, could win its first regional title since 2008 by defeating upstart Morse (5-5), the No. 6 seed, at home Friday. Winslow (8-1), the No. 2 seed in the North, seeks to avenge its lone loss of the season when it faces No. 1 John Bapst (9-0) on Saturday at Cameron Stadium.

A Gold Ball for Winslow would be the first since its legendary 2014 and 2015 teams posted back-to-back undefeated seasons in Class C. Winthrop, meanwhile, hopes a 25-year wait is one of destiny — the Ramblers’ last state title before their 2000 conquest came in 1975.

Class C rematches to determine state finalists

In a statewide division, the 13 teams in Class C did not play several of their league competitors during the regular season. But this weekend’s semifinals — Greely vs. Wells and Leavitt vs. Hermon — are rematches of games played earlier this year.

Second-seeded Leavitt (7-2) faces No. 3 Hermon (8-1) on Saturday at Don Roux Field in Lewiston. The meeting comes three weeks after a regular-season finale in which Leavitt triumphed, 12-7, to leapfrog Hermon and claim the No. 2 seed.

No. 5 Wells (6-3) and top-seeded Greely (9-0) will meet Friday in Cumberland. That game is a rematch of an Oct. 10 battle in which the Rangers, after trailing 14-7 late in the first half, scored four unanswered touchdowns to prevail 35-14.