At the start of the season, their chances of making the playoffs were 50-50, at least on paper. They’ve spent the last seven weeks separating themselves from half of the competition in their class. They will spend the next two weeks trying to separate themselves from everyone else.

Maine’s high school tournament fields have been set in Eastern Class A and Western B and C. Bangor, the only unbeaten team in the state, is the No. 1 seed in Eastern A. Cape Elizabeth holds the top spot in Western B and, for the first time since 2006, Dirigo enters the Western C playoffs atop the final Heal Points standings.

“Being the No. 1 seed is a great feeling of accomplishment for the players,” Dirigo coach Dave Lafleur said. “They have worked so hard throughout the spring to get to the top. Although you can’t look past any team throughout the playoffs, the No. 1 seed is usually the easiest route to the Western finals, and having home-field advantage for the quarterfinals and the semis is important.”

The Cougars (14-2) earned home-field advantage by virtue of defeating No. 2 seed St. Dom’s on Monday and by picking up a regular-season split with No. 3 Livermore Falls. They will begin the quest for their first Western C title next Thursday, when they host the winner of Tuesday’s prelim between No. 8 Old Orchard Beach and No. 9 Waynflete.

Tuesday’s other prelim will pit No. 10 Traip against No. 7 Mt Abram. The winner of that game travels to Auburn to face St. Dom’s, the defending state champion and winner of five of the last six Western C crowns.

Livermore Falls, which broke St. Dom’s regional streak in 2008, will take on No. 6 Telstar in the quarterfinals. The Andies swept the season series with the Rebels, 3-2 and 9-3.

In Western B, Lisbon is the only Western Maine Conference representative in a field dominated by Western Maine Conference and Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference teams. The fourth-seeded Greyhounds (13-3) draw No. 5 Greely, the defending Class B state champions.

“One of the kids’ goal was to get a home playoff game. The seniors wanted at least one home game,” said Lisbon coach Randy Ridley, whose roster boasts seven seniors. “They deserve it. This team has played above and beyond anything I expected of them. They’re great team players. It’s a blue-collar group that has worked hard to get where it is.”

KVAC rivals Maranacook and Oak Hill will clash in the lone Western B prelim. The Raiders secured the home field by winning both regular-season meetings with the Black Bears’, including Wednesday’s 9-8 nail-biter in Readfield. The winner of that game will advance to face Cape Elizabeth in the quarterfinals.

After starting the season 0-6, Gray-New Gloucester won nine of its last 10 games to finish in the No. 7 spot. The Patriots will hit the road to face rival No. 2 Yarmouth, which won the only regular-season meeting between the two teams, 9-3, on May 5.

The entire Eastern A field will start in the quarterfinals. With no prelims, all of the participants will have had at least a week off before taking the field next Thursday. Many of the teams will be squaring off for the third time this season.

No. 3 Oxford Hills will host No. 6 Brunswick, and the Vikings won both previous contests, 4-1 and 11-1. Of course, beating a team three times in one season is always a concern for high school coaches.

“Certainly from our viewpoint, they always say it’s tough to beat a team three times. I don’t think it’s a terrible draw because we have confidence that we can beat them,” Oxford Hills coach Shane Slicer said. “What’s concerning is they do have Steven Carter, who pitches pretty well, and Brunswick, if they keep it close, they play small ball really well and can execute in the late innings. If we can avoid that, I think we’re all set.”

No. 7 Edward Little will try to keep No. 2 Cony from defending its regional title in a rematch of last year’s semifinal. The Rams swept the regular season, 4-3 and 9-4. The only matchup featuring teams that didn’t face each other pits No. 4 Brewer against No. 5 Lewiston.

Richmond and Rangeley have shared the last four Western D titles, and both are part of this year’s four-team bracket headed to the June 12 semifinals. The Bobcats will begin defense of their regional crown as the top seed and will draw Forest Hills. The Lakers, the No. 3 seed, will travel to No. 2 Greenville. The two teams split a doubleheader on May 22 in Rangeley.