The difference between September and October football is more than just being able to wear shorts to games during one month and longjohns during the other.

Sure, we’re more likely to freeze our butts off in October, but we also get to witness teams fighting for their playoff lives.

We get to put off raking leaves in order to take in the atmosphere at more homecomings and watch history unfold as more rivalries are renewed. Heck, October isn’t just the best month for football, it may be the best month of scholastic athletics for the entire year.

Just when it looked like the month of September would do its part to separate the pretenders from the contenders, a number of upsets (Skowhegan over Bangor, Oak Hill over Leavitt) and key contests (Mt. Blue over Messalonskee, Livermore Falls over Boothbay) just made it more likely that the late October games will stay meaningful for more teams.

Pack a sweater, just in case, and consider taking in one of the following games this weekend:

•Undefeated Jay journeys down Route 133 to face the surprising Winthrop Ramblers, who have rebounded nicely from last year’s 1-8 campaign with a 3-1 start to this season. Both teams are coming off games where they feasted on opposing defenses with their passing games. Jay’s Justin Wells threw for two scores, including an 85-yard strike to Ryan DiPompo, in the Tigers’ 27-0 win over Old Orchard Beach. The Ramblers’ Travis Frautten threw for three touchdowns in the second quarter in their 45-6 pasting of Traip.

•Lisbon (3-1) hosts Boothbay (2-2) in a rematch of last year’s Western C championship game. Both teams’ rosters have changed significantly since then (Lisbon lost all but four starters, Boothbay all but five), but the rivalry carries on as strong as ever. Running back D.J. Holcomb, one of the Seahawks’ few holdovers, always plays the Greyhounds tough. The Seahawks have similar trouble with Lisbon QB/LB Chris Kates, who had three interceptions in one game against them last year and three TDs in another.

•Winslow meets Leavitt in a vital Pine Tree Conference matchup. The PTC standings are jumbled beyond Brewer, which is undefeated and sit alone at the top. Belfast and Winslow are both 3-1, while Leavitt (2-2) pulled into a tie for third with Oak Hill last week with their loss to the Raiders.

•Other important matchups this week include Brewer colliding with Belfast, York facing Gorham and Bonny Eagle battling Deering in a matchup of SMAA unbeatens.