Mountain Valley’s impressive football history transcends class and conference boundaries.

Four state titles and five regional crowns in seven seasons earns a football program respect around the state, and fear from those who encounter it. It’s particularly tough to escape the specter of Mountain Valley when you are just 30 miles away and are trying to get two football programs to mesh into one.

Mark Bonnevie has been watching Mountain Valley from not so afar for years. Until this year, as head coach at Jay, he never had to worry about encountering the Falcons in the playoffs. As head coach of first-year Spruce Mountain, though, he knew a confrontation would be virtually unavoidable if the Phoenix had plans for Fitzpatrick Stadium in three weeks.

“I’ve been a football fan long enough to know that any run in the Class B playoffs is going to go through there. Whether you get it the first week, the second week or the third week, you have to go through them,” Bonnevie said. “The kids know what they’re up against and they’re excited.”

The Class B quarterfinals open Friday with, coincidentally, three rematches from Week 3 of the regular season. Defending state champion Mountain Valley hosts Spruce Mountain. Two-time defending Eastern B champion Leavitt hosts Morse, and Class B newcomer Mt. Blue welcomes Mount Desert Island.

Here is a look at each of the first round matchups:

No. 7 SPRUCE MOUNTAIN (4-4) at NO. 2 MOUTNAIN VALLEY (7-1)

Spruce Mountain was still searching for its identity when it was blanked by Mountain Valley, 42-0, at Griffin Field on Sep. 16. Despite a number of injuries, the Phoenix have been able to jell, and Mountain Valley coach Jim Aylward sees a different team than the one he saw five weeks ago.

“Definitely, they’re better,” Aylward said. “They’ve played together a whole year now and I think they’ve had a chance to get settled in.”

The Phoenix relied heavily on speedy senior running back Bill Calden early in the season, but a shoulder injury suffered against the Falcons forced the offense to find other contributors.

The passing game has improved, with QB Zach Bonnevie throwing four touchdowns in the last four games. The running game has unearthed more weapons such as Alwayne Uter and  Brent Buote to take pressure off of Calden. With a more well-rounded offense, improved defense and better health, the Phoenix have won three of their last four.

Mountain Valley hasn’t been quite so fortunate on the injury front recently.

“We’re licking our wounds from Cape Elizabeth (last week),” Aylward said. “Hopefully, we’ll be ready to go Friday night.

Fullback Matt Hosie has been hobbled since suffering a leg injury two weeks ago against Greely. He played through it last week against Cape Elizabeth, but tailback Kyle Duguay was the Falcons’ top rusher with 198 yards.

Both Hosie and Duguay topped the 100-yard mark rushing the last time they faced the Phoenix. Hosie had a 96-yard touchdown run that broke the Phoenix back early.

“Those two backs are physical. Not only are they physical runners, but they also, especially Hosie, have some great speed,” Bonnevie said. “Once they’re in the open field… the key is to not let them get it into the open field. Plus their offensive line is outstanding.”

No. 8 MORSE (4-4) at No. 1 LEAVITT (8-0)

In Eastern B, Leavitt hasn’t fallen to a Pine Tree Conference opponent since fifth-seeded Morse knocked the top-seeded Hornets out in the 2008 semifinals, a string of 30 straight wins. The Shipbuilders  are hoping to make it bookend upsets, although this time it would be one of those all-time shockers if they could pull it off.

The teams met in Week 3 in Bath, with the Hornets posting a 50-24 win. Leavitt led 43-6 to start the fourth quarter and pulled its starters. Morse kept its starters in and posted two quick scores, leading coach Mike Hathaway to send his first-string offense back on the field to put the game away.

Led by junior running back D’Vaughn Myers, the Shipbuilders have averaged 32.6 points per game. Even though they needed to wait for Leavitt’s backups to take the field to have their usual offensive explosion, Hathaway said the Hornets still must be wary.

“Every game they’ve played against the top half of the league, they’ve scored points against the other teams’ varsity defense,” Hathaway said. “Myers is a big-play guy. If you make a mistake, he can take it to the house. I think their quarterback, (Kevin) McKellar, is an improved player. He runs the option well. He throws pretty well, and the last couple of games they’ve had a receiver come on pretty strong, too, Dylan Harrington.”

Morse presents a challenge for any defense, but Leavitt’s should be up for it. While the offense usually gets the headlines, the defense has become a co-conspirator in the second half of the season, yielding a little over 10 points per game. The Hornets are loaded with playmakers at all three levels — Jack Griffin and Danny Sleeper on the line, Jake Ouellette at linebacker and Ian Durgin and Jordan Hersom in the secondary.

The Hornets’ offense, meanwhile, continued to roll last week in a 41-6 rout of Gardiner, racking up 516 total yards. Ouellette, Durgin and Hersom combined for 319 of those on the ground. Hersom complemented that with yet another efficient outing in the passing game, completing five of eight for 116 yards.

The numbers and the naked eye suggest the Hornets are clicking on all cylinders, but Hathaway said there is still room for improvement.

“We’ve still got some things we’d like to do a little bit better,” he said. “I like the way the offensive line is playing right now. Because they played so well, we probably didn’t have to do some things against Gardiner. But there are going to be times when people load up and try to stop the run and we’re going to have to come up with some plays in the passing game and we’re going to have to be able to get the ball to the edge. We’re just trying to spread the ball around and try to attack people in some different ways.”

No. 7 Mount Desert Island (5-3) at No. 2 Mt. Blue (7-1)

Scan up and down this week’s schedule and you won’t find a matchup with two more contrasting offensive styles. Mt. Blue runs the famed “Cougar Gun,” a high-powered attack that spreads the ball around to an enviable number of weapons via the ground and air.

Senior quarterback Jordan Whitney directs the offense with the help of Izaiha Tracy, a dangerous running and catching threat out of the backfield. Tracy, Cam Sennick, Nick Hilton, Zak Kendall and Chris Malone give Whitney a wide array of targets to to choose from whenever he drops back to pass.

MDI quarterback Donny Hanson drops back to pass about as often in a game as Whitney does in a quarter, or even a single drive. The Trojans use a straight ‘T’ formation that brings new meaning to the term “ground and pound.”

“It’s the same philosophy as the double-wing,” Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin said. “If one running back or a certain play is working, they will stay with that play until you stop it.”

Running backs Jayson Burke and Elias Burne grind out most of the yardage for the Trojans, who have won four in a row. Of course, the smashmouth approach could serve dual purposes Friday night — put points on the board, which MDI has done at a respectable 24 points per game clip, and keep the Cougar Gun off the field.

When the Cougars do have the ball, Parlin expects more resistance from the Trojans than in Mt. Blue’s 50-26 victory in Week 3. Hanson and Burne lead a defense which surrendered a total of 23 points the last two weeks against Hampden Academy and Old Town.

“They are so much better defensively than when we played them,” Parlin said. “They had a couple of guys out hurt that night. I think their offense is about the same. It’s a lot like playing Waterville. You’ve got to force them into throwing situations. But their defense held a very good Hampden team to seven points.”