For those counting, this is the 14th week of the Maine high school football season, including preseason. Two eight-man squads earned state championships in Week 13 — congrats first-time winner Camden Hills and Small School champion Stearns.

Now there are eight teams left harboring Gold Ball hopes in the 11-man ranks. Here’s a look at an intriguing aspect in each championship game, and one quick storyline proven by the playoffs.

REGULAR SEASON REVEALED STRENGTH

The best teams in the regular season proved their seeding was legitimate in the playoffs.

Each of the four regional top seeds in Class A and B advanced to championship games to be held Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium. Thornton Academy and Portland will meet for the third straight year in Class A at 11 a.m., to be followed by the Class B game at 2:30 p.m. between Westbrook and Cony.

In Class C, the 11 a.m. championship game at Lewiston High has No. 1 Greely against No. 2 Leavitt. Only in Class D North was their anything akin to an upset in the lead up to the state finals, as No. 2 Winslow avenged its regular-season loss to No. 1 John Bapst. The Black Raiders will face Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale, the No. 1 seed in the South, at 2:30 p.m. in Lewison.

CLASS A: WHAT’S CHANGED SINCE WEEK 5?

Thornton (10-1) visited Fitzpatrick Stadium on Oct. 3 and hung a 36-0 loss on Portland (9-2).

That result seems more aberration than predictive.

Portland was playing with heavy hearts. Ryan Jordan, the father of Portland players Bailey and Quinn Jordan and a well known youth coach in Portland programs, died unexpectedly the day before. Cordell Jones, the Bulldogs’ dual-threat quarterback and 2024 Maine Gatorade Player of the Year, had missed practice time because of sickness. Portland was sloppy from the start and trailed 21-0 less than 10 minutes into the game.

One thing that hasn’t changed since Week 5 is Thornton running back Connor Ayoob continues to rack up yardage and touchdowns at a high rate. Ayoob gained 190 yards on 24 carries at Portland. He’s averaged 199.8 yards per game and has scored 17 rushing touchdowns since. In the South final, Ayoob rushed for 265 yards against Bonny Eagle — the other team to beat Portland.

CLASS B: DOMINANT VS. CHALLENGED

What’s better when it comes to a championship game? To be the team that has games wrapped up by halftime, or one that has repeatedly shown it can win in the final minutes?

If you like dominance, then you have to love Cony (10-0). The Rams’ only win decided by less than 32 points was 39-34 at Class A Oxford Hills. Against its B North peers, Cony, led by quarterback Parker Morin (35 TDs, only 2 interceptions), has won by an average of 45 points. In the playoffs, the Rams beat Messalonskee and Fryeburg Academy by a combined margin on 99-7.

If you’re a fan of playmakers who just get it done when a game is on the line, then look no further than Westbrook (9-1). The Blue Blazes, who were 2-6 in 2024 and didn’t make the playoffs, have won four straight one-score games. They needed a last-minute touchdown run by quarterback Gio Staples to beat Marshwood, 15-12, in the regional semifinals, then held off two-time regional champ Kennebunk, 34-27, to win their first regional title.

CLASS C: OLD GUARD VS. NEW

Under coach Mike Hathaway, Leavitt has been one of Maine’s premier programs. That was cemented in 2023 when the Hornets won their third Class C title in four years, going 11-0 with wins against three Class A teams, including eventual champ Thornton. Playing another demanding schedule, Leavitt took a step back in 2024, going 4-6, but still reached the C South final.

When the 2025 classification chart came out and Class C became a statewide division, with 2024 state champion Fryeburg moving up to Class B, Leavitt (8-2) was rightly pegged as a top contender.

Greely (10-0) is in its first season of 11-man football since 2018. Questions about whether the Rangers were ready for the transition from eight-man football were answered when they beat Leavitt, 28-26, in Week 2 and 2024 Class B champ Falmouth the next week. Coach Caleb King’s group also beat 2024 Class D champion Wells — like Leavitt, a longstanding small-school power — by 21 points in the regular season and by 26 in the semifinals last weekend.

CLASS D: TWO STORIED PROGRAMS

Winslow vs. Winthrop. These two central Maine programs have championship pedigrees and recent histories of being stopped short by the eventual top team. One of them will break through and add another Gold Ball to the trophy case.

Winthrop (10-0) has six state championships, its last coming in 2000.

The Ramblers have lost to the eventual state champion the past six seasons. That includes a 19-16 championship-game loss to Foxcroft Academy in 2021 and defeats in the South final against Wells in 2023 and 2024.

Foxcroft and Wells both moved to the statewide Class C this season.

The Black Raiders of Winslow have 11 state titles, the most recent in 2015 in Class C. Winslow moved to D North in 2023, but lost to Foxcroft in the regional playoffs the last two seasons. In 2021, Winslow lost the Class C title game to Cape Elizabeth, 53-8.