Two days away from the almost-annual Dog and Pony Show to settle the Class C football championship, it’s harder than ever to distinguish between the animals.

This year, the similarities between Lisbon High School and Foxcroft Academy far exceed their identical, impeccable 11-0 records.

Foxcroft fashioned another Little Ten Conference championship without a giant offensive line and minus two all-state performers who were the heart of the offense and soul of the defense last year. Also, they supposedly lack stars.

Sound familiar?

“We’re kind of a mirror image of each other,” said Foxcroft coach Paul Withee, who will match wits with Dick Mynahan of Lisbon for the fourth time since 1997 in Saturday’s state final at Portland’s Fitzpatrick Stadium.

In their previous forays to the third weekend of November, the Ponies perennially brought a Clydesdale or two for show.

Running backs Ben Preston (1997) and Bobby Gilbert (2003) left Lisbon stuffed with food for thought after film sessions, giving the Greyhounds a clear point of defensive emphasis. Last year, Foxcroft featured two fabulous inside linebackers, James McPhee and Josh Pelletier, both of whom also weighed heavily in the Ponies’ vaunted rushing attack.

This time around, Foxcroft lacks a 1,000-yard individual runner and amazingly didn’t have a tackler among the top 10 in its league.

Running back and safety Brad Bellemare probably had a shot at those distinctions before he was sidelined for two games in October with a slight shoulder separation.

Don’t be fooled. While there are no stars in the mix, with 18 seniors and as many as 20 players seeing legitimate playing time on both sides of the line of scrimmage, Foxcroft has the team concept covered.

“When the Bellemare kid went down, we were able to put Jared Rideout and David Frasz in there,” Withee said. “Those are the kind of kids who might be stars on another team. If Brad got the carries he should get at tailback, he’d be right up there. He understands the big picture and what we’re trying to accomplish.”

As is customary, Foxcroft’s strength is its running game. Bellemare, Frasz, Rideout and fullback Ian Imbert work behind an offensive line with four returning starters from last year’s 12-7 loss to Lisbon in the Class C final.

Right tackle Shaw Weeks is the biggest of the bunch at 245 pounds. Center Tim Nason checks in at 6-foot-3, 225, but the other three starters — left tackle Bill Macomber and guards Adam Dow and Adam LePrevost — all weigh 200 or less.

“They’re not big in size, but they’re athletic kids,” Withee said. “They have a lot of experience, which is why we’re able to trap and pull effectively and do what we do.”

Foxcroft enjoyed so much depth along the offensive line that David White, a starting guard in last year’s Eastern Maine championship run, moved to quarterback this season.

The comparisons with Lisbon continue at linebacker, which is again a strength for the Ponies. Weeks and Imbert moved back from the defensive line and have helped fill the void left by McPhee and Pelletier.

While the Ponies have permitted twice as many points as Lisbon’s paltry 39, that number is deceiving. Foxcroft’s first-team defense has allowed only seven touchdowns all season. The high-scoring offense (40 or more points in five games, with a high of 62 against Dexter) has provided plentiful garbage time.

Foxcroft has dedicated its season to Withee’s late wife. LeAnn Withee was diagnosed with cancer in April and died less than a week later. She was 43.

The Ponies also want to wipe away the memory of falling two yards short in last year’s title game, thanks to a Lisbon goal-line stand in the closing seconds.

“All the (Lisbon-Foxcroft) games have been decided by six points or less,” Withee said. “This should be another great one.”