The beauty, or some might say curse, of high school football in Maine is not everyone plays the same schedule in every conference. Some teams have had it tougher this fall than others.

Few teams have had it tougher than Oak Hill, whose opponents have a .643 winning percentage going into Saturday’s crucial season-finale with Maranacook. Only Skowhegan (.660) and Brewer (.679) of the Pine Tree Conference have played tougher league schedules in the state.

The reason for the Raiders’ schedule difficulty is simple — their crossover games were against the two top teams in the Campbell Conference South division, unbeaten Yarmouth and 6-1 Lisbon. They were shut out by Lisbon, 28-0, on opening day. The next week, they gave Yarmouth one of its biggest scares before falling, 20-15. Since then, they’ve won three of their last five, including a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Livermore Falls last week.

“All of Western C has been really good this year,” Oak Hill coach Dave Wing said. “I think the teams are pretty evenly-matched. Other than the game that we just didn’t play well against Lisbon, all of our games have been pretty close. I think the competition, like with Jay beating Winthrop, it just shows who knows what’s going to happen when you play.”

A schedule with so many land mines can be a mixed blessing. It has the Raiders one game under .500. Yet despite their 3-4 record, they are currently ranked sixth in the Campbell Conference Crabtree standings and in the driver’s seat for one of the final three playoff spots heading into Saturday’s season-finale with 4-3 Maranacook.

“I think it’s helped us in that regard,” Oak Hill coach Dave Wing said. “Hey, you play who they tell you to play. That’s the way I look at it.”

“I think it means you’ve got to practice hard every week and you’ve got to stay focused,” he added. “When you get to this time of year when teams start to get a little mentally worn down as well as physically, I think it helps you stay focused.”

The Crabtree system rewards teams with tough schedules since it combines a team’s winning percentage with its opponents’ winning percentage. That means, with a win Saturday, the Raiders are in. They can lose and still get in, too, but they will need some help.

Wing said he hasn’t put his calculator to work to figure out all of the scenarios.

“I’ve got to be honest with you. I play them one at a time,” he said. “When it’s over, they’ll tell us whether we’re in. Otherwise, you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what will happen.”

Battle of the Bridge

The 167th Battle of the Bridge between Edward Little and Lewiston kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday, but there will be a few pre-game festivities beforehand.

Edward Little parents and fans will be meeting in the high school parking lot at 10 a.m. to decorate their vehicles for the parade across the bridge. Players will gather to touch the Edward Little statue and sing the school song before everyone departs at noon for Lewiston.

Lewiston’s pre-game ceremonies begin at 12:35 p.m. with the introduction of senior players and cheerleaders.

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