Horton: As you know, this is the fourth week of my first season experiencing Maine high school football. My one-word summary: fun. All four games that I’ve covered have been fun. Maybe this is the new guy speaking, but none of the four games has failed to entertain.

Leavitt’s 27-21 loss to Westbrook was a wobbly start for both teams, but it was evenly contested down to the final play and had some standout individual performances and big plays.

Oak Hill’s season-opening win over Maranacook wasn’t great on the surface — it was full of “correctable mistakes,” according to Raiders coach Stacen Doucette — but there was enough of a lingering three-time state champion buzz combined with question marks about said champions that it was exciting.

Even the one that seemed like a clunker, Oxford Hills/Buckfield’s 19-0 win over Lewiston, was fun because it was 7-0 at half and the only score in the first half came on a pick-six by a defensive lineman.

Then there was last week’s game, which was football at its best. Edward Little beat Oxford Hills/Buckfield on a last-second pass from Grant Hartley to CJ Jipson. The finish was exciting, but what made the game so great was how close the rest of the game was. Both teams made enough big plays throughout the game that every time a quarterback waited for a snap, it seemed like there was potential for a touchdown to be scored. The Red Eddies and Vikings also orchestrated enough scoring drives that every stop seemed huge.

So, football guru who tells it like he sees it: In one word, how would you describe this season so far? Then use a bunch of other words to explain.

Kramlich: I would have to sum up what I’ve seen through three games as, “uneven.” I’ve seen a blowout win for a local team, a blowout loss for a local team, and a game which started trending toward blowout, got tied back up, then ended up close but not close.

My season-opener (which came in week two) saw Lisbon run all over Maranacook 36-0. The score could have been larger if not for the Greyhounds putting in their second string at halftime. They were just plain better than the Black Bears in every facet, and Lisbon made far less mistakes.

I saw Oak Hill get pushed by Old Orchard Beach, which was something Doucette said afterward did not surprise him. The Raiders jumped out 14-0, but the Seagulls tied it up by halftime, and got the ball to start the second half. But the defending champs re-took a two-touchdown lead, then held off an OOB comeback that didn’t show in the final score. Still, both teams were less than flawless.

And then last weekend I got to cover what I called our “Game of the Week” between Spruce Mountain and Cape Elizabeth. It may say more about my decision-making than anything else, but it ended up being the biggest loss by any of our local teams. The Phoenix were missing a key piece and made too many mistakes to contend against a Capers team that could play deep into the postseason.

Looking across the board at results through three weeks, there have been a lot of lopsided scores. Although it seems like week three was the best so far in terms of competitive contests. The play should get better as the season treks on, with teams progressing every week, but there will no doubt be one-sided games every week. Let’s just hope they dwindle.

Any chance you can share some of that excitement you’ve seen so far with me?

Horton: Maybe you just need to improve your attitude.

We’ve almost reached the halfway point of the regular season — I know: Already? We can discuss our thoughts about the first half of the season next week, but this being the last week before “halftime,” which team, or teams, most needs to have a good showing this week, also known as the two-minute drill of the high school football season?

Kramlich: Either my attitude will improve or my expectations will come back down to earth.

I think this is a big week for a lot of our local teams. We have four of them (Lewiston, Mt. Blue, Gray-New Gloucester, Poland) that are 0-3, so every game for them is a big one. Leavitt and Marshwood face off in the desperation bowl, and Spruce Mountain could use a win against Gray-NG to pick themselves back up after the loss to Cape Elizabeth. I think of the winless teams, Lewiston and Poland have the best chances of getting their first win, which would come against another winless team. Those are the games you have to win.

I’ll be excited to hear from you next week when we talk about the halfway point (!?!) of the season.

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