Saturday's state football finals have a tough act to follow.

The 2008 season was one of the deepest in recent memory for teams in the tri-county region. Two teams made it through the regional playoffs undefeated. Three hosted championship games.

Heck, Edward Little and Lewiston played each other twice, and neither one earned a spot among our Top 10 games of the fall.

So which games did? Count 'em down with us:

The Red Eddies gave the first indication that they were for a real in '08, holding off a startlingly physical Brunswick bunch.

Cody Goddard completed seven passes to Shane Ciriello and kicked the eventual game-winning extra point. EL's defense stopped Brunswick on three plays inside the 15 in the final 90 seconds.

For three quarters, it looked as if Lisbon would cruise to its fifth straight win. Then Livermore Falls, playing without senior fullback Kyle Stebbins, roared back with three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Nate Michaud scored on a quarterback sneak to pull the Andies within four with 1:18 remaining. The Greyhounds were able to hang on, however, by recovering three onside kick attempts by the Andies and because kicker Nate Blackwell was four-for-four on point-after kicks, while the Andies failed on three two-point conversion attempts.

If you think the endless road trip to Boothbay Harbor is tough for the Tigers, consider their last two trips home. Jay lost to Boothbay on a Hail Mary two years ago. This time, the heartbreak came when the Seahawks stopped a potential game-tying two-point conversion after Miles Hutchinson rushed for a 4-yard TD in overtime. Hutchinson provided temporary heroics for Jay near the end of regulation, tying the game with a 47-yard score and a two-point rush.

Readfield has been a spooky place for the Hornets. Consider their 2-0 win over the Black Bears in 2006. Points were more plentiful in another wild contest that set the tone for both teams on opening day.

Unsung Maranacook established itself as a group that would give everyone problems at home, as Morse and Oak Hill later learned. Leavitt, meanwhile, unleashed the two-headed monster of Tyler Green and Josh Strickland on the Pine Tee Conference. Everyone knew about four-year starter Green, but it was Strickland's 200-yard afternoon that brought the Hornets back from a two-touchdown deficit in the third quarter.

The Blue Devils finally turned the tables on the Rams, eliminating their recent postseason nemesis from the Pine Tree Conference Class A playoffs. Ronnie Turner threw two TDs and ran for another to lead Lewiston. Wesley Myers (20 carries, 106 yards) rushed for a touchdown and returned a kickoff for a score. The big plays by both Blue Devils were crucial, as Bangor outgained Lewiston, 442-230, and held the ball for nearly 30 minutes. Lewiston's defense still had enough energy left to stop Bangor at the Blue Devil-7 yard-line with time winding down.

The Eddies' first Eastern Class A playoff game in six years packed a little bit of everything. EL returned two fumbles for touchdowns, one on a bizarre, un-timed down at the end of the first half after the officials determined that the Eagles requested a timeout before the clock dwindled to all zeroes.

Armed with a 28-7 lead late in the third quarter, the Eddies went into somewhat of a "prevent offense," relying almost exclusively on their running game for the rest of the afternoon. Back came Messalonskee, with QB Dylan Foster nearly leading one of the most dramatic comebacks in state playoff history. The Eagles' bid for a game-tying or winning touchdown in the final minute of regulation ended on downs at the 6-yard line.

Whether it was the fog or the execution of two outstanding defenses, the end zone seemed virtually unreachable in this Pine Tree Conference Class B semifinal. The Hornets seemed on the verge of snapping Morse's 15-quarter shutout streak when they set up shop at the Shipbuilders' 1 on third down, but Morse turned aside Josh Strickland and Tyler Green on back-to-back runs.

Leavitt looked like it might return the favor when Morse approached the end zone late in the third quarter, but J Cavanagh pounded it in from the 1 on fourth down to secure the game's only score. Ryan Chaney sealed the win by intercepting a deflected pass deep in his own territory.

The Cougars accomplished what nobody else could all season: Slow down Winthrop's explosive offense. Dirigo never could solve the Ramblers' defense, though, and it made all the difference in a game that settled home field advantage for the Western C playoffs.

Dirigo led 6-0 on the strength of a defensive TD until the fourth quarter, when Jake Steele's short touchdown run and Zach Farrington's extra point erased the rare Winthrop deficit. A potential game-winning touchdown for the Cougars later was nullified by offensive pass interference. Farrington returned an interception for a TD on the final play of the game to apply the exclamation point.

Having held Livermore Falls without a first down for the entire second half, Jay took possession with a 14-7 lead late in the fourth quarter and needed only two more first downs of its own for the privilege of knocking the rival Andies out of playoff contention.

The Tigers moved the chains once. But then Kyle Stebbins forced a fumble that one-hopped into the hands of Livermore's Nate Michaud. Jeff Ryder exploded for a touchdown on the Andies' next play, and Stebbins' extra-point knotted the game with two minutes left in regulation.

Chandler White christened overtime with a 10-yard TD rush. Shawn Whiting intercepted Austin Clark on Jay's first and only play of the extra session. The Andies lived to fight another week before falling 44-0 to Winthrop in the regional semifinals.

A first half where neither team could stop the other gave way to a second half featuring several big defensive stands, including one by Leavitt in the final seconds that clinched the No. 1 seed in Pine Tree Conference Class B.

Tyler Green rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns to lead Leavitt. Forest Chadwick played a spectacular all-around game for Gardiner, rushing for 161 yards and two TDs on 13 carries, catching eight passes for 118 yards and another score, and also completing a halfback option for 47 yards. But Leavitt junior Cam Griffin had the final say, batting down a fourth-down pass at his own 21 with 10 left to preserve the win.