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Kickoff for Week 1 games is still more than five months away, but the Maine high school football world isn’t dormant.

Although the movement between divisions isn’t as drastic this year, there are still new developments across the landscape. Here are a few of the biggest changes, first reported Wednesday by Maine High School Football.

Camden Hills goes to 11-man football

The last time Camden Hills was on the gridiron, it was hoisting the eight-man Large School Gold Ball. Now, the Windjammers are making the jump to the 11-man ranks.

Camden Hills, which had 32 players (including 26 underclassmen) on the roster in 2025, will compete in Class B North next season. The Windjammers join Brunswick, Cony, Fryeburg Academy, Lawrence, Messalonskee, Mt. Blue and Skowhegan in that region.

Camden Hills will have a new coach after Chris Christie stepped down. The Windjammers are the second straight Large School state title winner to move to 11-man. Greely did the same after winning the 2024 championship. The Rangers won the Class C championship in 2025.

Maranacook, Old Town head to eight-man

While Camden Hills is moving up, the eight-man ranks are hardly shrinking. Maranacook is joining from Class D North and Old Town is moving from Class C.

Maranacook was in eight-man football from 2019-23 before moving to 11-man in 2024. The program finished last season with just 24 players, and with 26-27 expected in 2026 and low numbers in the middle school program, coach Josiah Kearns and his staff determined a return to eight-man was warranted.

“When I was Skip (Bessey)’s assistant (in 2023 and 2024), we had 35-plus kids both years, so we felt the need to go to 11-man, but as you know, it’s fluid all the time with numbers,” Kearns said. “We graduated five two-way starters, and we’re only getting three or four freshmen and have some small classes behind them.”

Marancook has had prior success in eight-man, playing in three regional title games and winning the 2021 Small School South title. The Black Bears return to that region, joining Boothbay, Mount View, Old Orchard Beach, Sacopee Valley, Telstar and Traip Academy.

Old Town will replace Camden Hills in Large School North. The Coyotes join Ellsworth, Houlton, Mount Desert Island and Waterville, similar-sized schools that Old Town plays regularly in other sports.

Oak Hill balances out Class D

Maranacook’s departure from Class D initially left six teams in D North and eight in D South. Instead, the class will have two seven-team regions this fall, with Oak Hill swapping from the South to the North.

That was a proposition Oak Hill coach Chad Stowell made to John Bapst coach Dan O’Connell, Class D’s scheduling liaison. Stowell had some concerns about having two unbalanced regions, and to alleviate those concerns, he offered to have his team switch to the North.

“One of my concerns was going to one region, and if we followed Class C, that would mean an eight-team playoff instead of two six-team playoffs,” Stowell said. “The other option I heard was that Class D would have one four-team playoff (North) and one six-team playoff (South), and I didn’t think it was fair we would lose playoff teams.”

Stowell said the move makes logistical sense. Oak Hill has played crossover games against many D North teams in the past, and the school’s proximity to teams in its new region — with the exceptions of Mattanawcook Academy and John Bapst — hasn’t really changed.

“You look at the schedule we have drafted, we still play Winthrop and Lisbon from the South, and then we play five teams from D North and a crossover against York,” Stowell said. “We’re excited about it, and it’s not really that big of a difference.”

Class C moves to nine-game regular season

Old Town’s move out of Class C leaves 12 teams for 2026. As a result, the statewide class is moving to a nine-game regular-season schedule.

With 13 teams last year, a nine-game schedule would have been a major logistical hurdle, as one team would have needed either a bye or an out-of-state opponent in Week 9, when Class B and Class D begin their playoffs.

At 12 teams, that barrier is no longer in place. Class C will finish the regular season with six league games in Week 9, after which eight qualifiers (down from 10) will commence postseason play.

“When we met as Class C coaches last year, the vast majority of us all wanted the nine-game schedule to begin with,” said Gardiner coach Pat Munzing. “It gives us one more week to see some of those close matchups that we didn’t have last year.”