Twelve teams. Eight playoff qualifiers. Four quarterfinal games. Two sides of the bracket.

Mathematics and common sense dictate that one of these years, Lewiston should be able to avoid Bangor in the first round of the Pine Tree Conference Class A football playoffs.

Just not this year. Or last season. Or the one before that. Or

“It’s unbelievable. I don’t know what we have to do to get matched up with somebody else,” said Lewiston coach Bill County. “Other than 2002 and getting beat by the Eddies at Walton Field in the championship game, I don’t remember getting knocked out of the playoffs by anybody other than Bangor.”

Well, if there’s a happy subplot to the story for the Blue Devils, it’s that their No. 3 seed gives them the privilege of hosting the No. 6 Rams in the Eastern Maine quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Speaking of that team on the other side of the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, No. 2 Edward Little is back in the PTC playoffs for the first time since that double-overtime victory over Lewiston in 2002. Hot off last week’s 19-12 victory over the Devils, the Red Eddies host No. 7 Messalonskee at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The two remaining first-round games kickoff at 7 p.m. tonight. No. 8 Mt. Blue will try to shock Maine’s little corner of the gridiron universe when it visits undefeated, two-time reigning PTC champ No. 1 Lawrence, while No. 5 Brunswick drops in on No. 4 Skowhegan.

Here’s a closer look at the three local contests:

#6-Bangor (3-5) at #3-Lewiston (7-1)

With few exceptions, the Rams have owned this series no matter how colorful the leaves or temperate the air when the game is played. Included in Bangor’s run were playoff wins in 2001 (13-6), 2003 (41-7), 2006 (14-7) and 2007 (56-35).

Lewiston hopes momentum turned for good after a 43-20 road win at Cameron Stadium on Oct. 10. It contributed to a rare sub-.500 regular season for Bangor and sealed at least one home playoff game for the Devils.

“I think it gives us confidence. On the other hand, we want to guard against feeling too good,” County said. “We played very well last time, and they’re a much better team than their record indicates. They had Lawrence on the ropes at halftime. They scored on the first drive against us.”

Wesley Myers carried the ball 43 times for 250 yards and three touchdowns that night for Lewiston. Myers, who finished second in the PTC with 1,269 yards, should be back at full strength after sustaining a deep thigh bruise against Oxford Hills two weeks ago.

Lewiston wouldn’t mind limiting Myers’ carries and striking a balance through the air, where junior Ronnie Turner (727 yards, 8 TDs) has emerged as a threat along with flankers Chuck Faletra and Tyler Lussier. Faletra has been limited in practice by a back injury suffered against EL, but is expected to play.

Defensively, Myers (84 tackles, three interceptions) and Jeff Keene (two defensive TDs) lead the playmakers bidding to slow down a potent Bangor rushing attack. Lonnie Hackett (1,073 yards, 12 TDs) and Adam Billings (576 yards, 6 TDs) are tough to bring down when they break into the secondary.

Last week’s loss helped sharpen the Devils’ attention to detail on the doorstep of the playoffs.

“I think we’re going to be excited to play again and get that bad taste of our mouth,” said County. “We watched the film. We tried to learn from what we watched and check our egos at the door.”

#7-Messalonskee (3-5) at #2-Edward Little (7-1)

There’s also a distinct history in this series, one that the Eddies hope plays into their skilled hands.

Messalonskee rallied from a 14-0 deficit to lead at the end of the third quarter before EL inched away for a 36-27 victory three weeks ago.

“We beat them my first year (2006) in overtime,” said EL coach Darren Hartley. “Last year we beat them in the fourth quarter. This year we beat them in the fourth quarter. I hope (that trend) holds up for one more game.”

Both teams had trouble stopping the other’s strength in the previous meeting. EL dominated the skies, with Cody Goddard (1,471 yards, 17 TDs) firing at will to Shane Ciriello, Sean Daigle, Dominique Bailey and Dylon Therrien. The Eagles pounded away out of their double wing on the shoulders of 225-pound fullback Desmond Nutter (826 yards, 10 TDs).

Beginning with the second half of that confrontation, Edward Little’s defense has been vastly improved down the stretch, surrendering only four touchdowns in the last 10 quarters. Therrien and nose guard Grady Burns have led the charge.

“I think we’re a more confident defense now,” Hartley said. “We’re learned some things about ourselves the last two or three weeks, where our strength is.”

Hartley said that his goal is to make the Eagles “not want to come out of the locker room for the third quarter,” but quickly admitted that he expects another battle. With the Eddies suffering their only loss to Bangor and edging Brunswick by a point, he’s relatively happy with the first-round assignment.

“You reach down into the bag and tell me who you want to draw,” said Hartley. “They’re all problematic.”

#8-Mt. Blue (2-6) at #1-Lawrence (8-0)

That bold print looks ominous for the Cougars, and coach Gary Parlin knows it. While his team might be a year away from a potentially prolific run in the PTC, the Bulldogs are at what league rivals hope is the end of a three-year chokehold.

Lawrence routed Mt. Blue 41-0 at Keyes Field on opening night of the regular season and tuned up for the playoffs by picking apart Messalonskee, 49-0.

“If a kid’s not excited about another whole week to play football, I might have to wonder about them,” said Parlin, quickly adding that the Cougars are charged up for their chance to play spoiler. “We decided this week we were going to put the shields away. Usually for a couple of days in practice at least we use the shields and run through things without a lot of contact. This time all week we’re going live and going hard and going outside no matter what, which the kids like, anyway.”

Junior Ryan Backus (832 passing yards) has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the PTC. Mt. Blue would love to shorten the game with Derek Rowe moving the ball on the ground and Ben Altmeier catching quick-outs.

“Skowhegan is a pretty good defensive team, and we put up over 360 yards and scored four touchdowns against them,” Parlin said of a 52-26 loss last week.

Mt. Blue earned its playoff spot with a near-shutout of Bangor two weeks ago. That defense will need a yeoman effort to slow Bulldogs’ backs Anthony Boudreau and Christian Powers, who have combined for more than 1,200 yards and 20 TDs.