Before the season, four teams jumped out as clear favorites in their leagues.

All four have met expectations, creating a pair of heavyweight matchups Friday night between 7-0 teams: Thornton Academy at Bonny Eagle in Class A South, and Cape Elizabeth at Wells in Class C South.

Both games have been moved up to 6 p.m. because of forecasts of heavy rain later in the evening.

No team will win any hardware Friday, but the top playoff seed is on the line.

“Basically the winner will have home field throughout,” said Thornton Coach Kevin Kezal. “It’s nice to know the next three weeks you’re home, the first week with a bye and the next two weeks playing on your home field.”

Opposing coaches who faced both teams were asked for their scouting reports and predictions. The consensus? Both games are too close to call and definitely are worth the price of admission.

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“I wish our game was on Saturday so I could go watch that game myself,” Freeport Coach Paul St. Pierre said of the Cape Elizabeth-Wells game.

THORNTON AT BONNY EAGLE

Physical. That’s the word both Scarborough Coach Lance Johnson and Windham Coach Matt Perkins kept coming back to when describing this game.

“Thornton might be a little bigger,” Johnson said. “Physicality-wise they play a similar game. They both have experienced players. I think they’re pretty evenly matched.”

Thornton has outscored opponents, 345-86. Bonny Eagle has a 320-79 scoring advantage.

“I think it’s going to be a great matchup,” Perkins said. “I think Thornton will do a real good job on the defensive line but I’m interested because I think Bonny Eagle has one of the best offensive lines we’ve seen.”

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Perkins’ Windham team pushed Thornton to the limit in a 17-13 loss in Saco, the only game Thornton or Bonny Eagle played decided by less than 14 points. Windham lost at home to Bonny Eagle, 38-10.

Like Johnson, Perkins pointed to Thornton quarterback Mike Laverriere as the X-factor.

“He just has a knack of finding a way to get first downs when they need it,” Perkins said.

Scarborough (5-2) played Bonny Eagle tough in a 21-7 defensive-oriented loss and later in the year struggled to contain Laverriere in a 34-19 loss. Laverriere accounted for 246 of Thornton’s 266 yards in that game.

“Bonny Eagle is a little more diverse in terms of the way they spread the ball around in big games,” Johnson said.

Over the past three seasons, the Scots and Golden Trojans have played six times and met in three straight regional finals. Thornton is 5-1 in that span. Bonny Eagle’s win came in the 2013 regional final at Standish.

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CAPE ELIZABETH AT WELLS

The Class C powers give up fewer points than anyone else in the state.

Cape has outscored opponents 326-33. Wells’ edge is 335-37.

Yarmouth Coach Jason Veilleux and Freeport’s St. Pierre both saw first-hand how dominant Wells and Cape can be.

“It’s hard for me to give a good report because both teams are so much stronger than my team,” St. Pierre joked.

Both pointed to one key matchup: Wells’ defense against Cape Elizabeth’s passing game led by quarterback Jeb Boeschenstein.

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“Ben Ekedahl is a very good receiver and they have a couple other receivers,” Veilleux said. “I think that will be where Cape has an edge. Of course, weather might change things and they are playing down at Wells.”

Veilleux notes the Warriors are a “prideful” bunch that executes its Wing-T offense with deadly efficiency. Plus, having lost the last two regional championship games on the road (at Leavitt in 2014 and Yarmouth in 2015), Wells will be seeking to secure home-field advantage.

“Wells and Cape are probably two of the most evenly matched teams I’ve seen in this conference in a long time,” Veilleux said.

Freeport at Yarmouth, known as the Battle of the Bay, is another interesting matchup. Both teams are in the Class C South playoffs. The winner avoids playing the Cape-Wells loser in the regional quarterfinal.

“The best part is this year we’re looking forward to Friday night,” St. Pierre said. “Last year Yarmouth was 7-0 and we were 0-7, and you knew what was going to happen. This year we’re both 3-4, we can go in and give everything we have and know it’s not our last game.”

Windham and Cheverus will be competing for a quarterfinal bye when they meet at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Cheverus. Both teams are 4-3, behind Class A North leader Portland at 6-1.

“Oh yeah, this is huge,” Windham’s Perkins said. “You definitely want to get that bye week. We’ve been fortunate enough to have it the last two years.”

Cheverus Athletic Director Gary Hoyt said Thursday he has a plan in case Saturday’s weather forecast is ominous, and would make a decision Friday afternoon on a new time and location.


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