It’s Week 6, the time in a high school football season that some teams can legitimately start thinking about undefeated seasons. Then there are some trying to win just one game. Others are searching for a quick bounce back so they can finish strong.

Here are five storylines we think are worth exploring this week:

Will Bonny Eagle’s defense keep Portland stalled?

Bonny Eagle (5-0) is the only undefeated team left in Class A.

Portland is definitely in need of a bounce-back after losing 36-0 at home to Thornton Academy. Bonny Eagle and Portland meet Friday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

The Scots have allowed 20 points in five games — the fewest allowed in Maine, regardless of class. Their defense has given up even less because Sanford scored its touchdown when it recovered a high punt snap in the end zone. The Scots are 3-0 on the road, including last week’s 34-8 victory at Oxford Hills.

Bonny Eagle is ranked second in the Varsity Maine poll behind Thornton. Portland (4-1) is No. 4.

Senior quarterback Colin Moran, a talented group of receivers, and running backs Colby McCormack and Lucas Klehn are giving Bonny Eagle plenty of offense. The Scots have scored 169 points, which ranks second in Class A to Thornton Academy (170). They’re averaging 22.2 points in the first half.

The Bulldogs will need to get their inside running game untracked. Against Thornton, Portland’s first four drives netted 37 yards and one first down, resulting in great field position for the Trojans. Portland was in a 29-0 hole two minutes into the second quarter.

Emerging Fitzpatrick Trophy candidates

Portland quarterback Cordell Jones entered the season as the clear front-runner for the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy, given to the top senior player in the state as voted by head coaches and media. The University of Maine commit won the Gatorade Maine Football Player of the Year award as a junior. This season he has rushed for 561 yards and 11 touchdowns while setting school records for career touchdowns and points. He is 31 of 58 passing for another 320 yards.

Cony’s Parker Morin is making a strong case that the Fitzy race is not a foregone conclusion. The Rams are 5-0. Morin threw four touchdown passes in the first half last Friday in a 53-7 drubbing of previously undefeated Fryeburg Academy, and has completed 59 of 90 passes for 1,258 yards and 18 TDs.

Also on this voter’s current short list of Fitzy finalists are Thornton running back Conner Ayoob and Kennebunk two-way standout Austin West. Ayoob’s 190-yard, two-TD effort against Portland raised his season totals to 667 yards rushing and 10 TDs. West, a running back/linebacker and occasional wildcat QB, has rushed for 455 yards and six touchdowns the past two weeks.

I’ll also be watching how veteran southern Maine quarterbacks Moran of Bonny Eagle and Gio Staples of Westbrook perform in the coming weeks. With Fitzy voting coming after the playoffs, team success and postseason performances matter.

Westbrook with a big game, bigger test

Last season, Westbrook coach Sam Johnson said he was telling his players they were the best 0-5 team in Maine. This year the message is different. The Blue Blazes are ranked second in Class B South with a 4-1 record and host unbeaten Kennebunk (5-0) on Saturday.

Johnson said he knows Crabtree points will likely tell a different story, but “What I’m telling our guys is, hey, this is 1-versus-2, and if we come out of this game and we’re both 5-1, we have the tiebreaker.”

Westbrook has been led by the passing combination of Staples (46 of 79, 828 yards, 13 TDs) to 6-foot-3 Dmitri Lubin (22 catches, 455 yards, 6 TDs). They were both standouts two years ago as sophomores when Westbrook nearly upset eventual state champion Kennebunk in the regional semifinals. The Rams won 23-22, kicking a field goal with 13 seconds to play.

A year ago, the Blue Blazes had graduated several key contributors from 2023 and Lubin missed the season because of an injury. This year, Westbrook “has gotten old,” and is getting key contributions from players like running back Cole Tanner and TE/DE Owen Taylor.

Which teams remain unbeaten?

Joining Bonny Eagle, Cony and Kennebunk as unbeaten teams are the Class C trio of Gardiner, Greely and Hermon; John Bapst and Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale in Class D; Camden Hills in eight-man Large School; and Old Orchard Beach in eight-man Small School.

Several of those teams are facing opponents capable of pulling off an upset. As mentioned, Bonny Eagle and Kennebunk are on the road against 4-1 teams. Gardiner is at Leavitt (3-2) on Saturday night. Greely, riding a 14-game winning streak, hosts Wells (3-2) on Friday in the southern Maine football game of the week. Winthrop is on the road against Poland (3-2) and its explosive quarterback, Damon Martin. Old Orchard Beach puts its state-best 16-game winning streak on the line against Lake Region, which is 3-2 in Large School South.

Which teams will win for the first time?

There will be at least two first-time winners this weekend (barring cancellations).

Lisbon hosts fellow 0-5 team Mountain Valley in Class D. Winless eight-man Small School clubs St. John Valley and Mt. View play in Thorndike.

Brunswick could also get its first win. The Class B Dragons play Class A Edward Little, which has lost four straight since a 7-6 Week 1 win against Mt. Blue. The other winless teams are Lewiston, Oceanside, Hampden Academy, Belfast and Waterville.