We were hoping for a showdown weekend. Instead, we got a separation weekend.

Last Friday night was advertised as the night that would make those sweltering, sunburned, September Saturday afternoons worthwhile. It was supposed to debit those 74-6 and 75-0 shellackings from the memory bank.

It was an evening where you could flip a coin, jump in the car and not go wrong. Or least bellyache about how many crappy games you’ve suffered through, bribe the boss two weeks in advance and not go wrong.

Just kiddin’, Randy.

Anyway, so much for truth in advertising. All Dirigo-Livermore Falls and Leavitt-Morse did was leave both your friendly, neighborhood football columnists scratching our multiple chins and wondering just how entertained we’re going to be this side of Nov. 21 at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

Dirigo and Leavitt stayed undefeated by 30 and 35 points, respectively. And don’t blame the rain, the revenge factor, the pre-game distractions or anything else for the disparity. The better and more balanced team — at least for now — prevailed in each case.

What else did we learn last weekend?

1. Schedule matters. Dirigo ran the gauntlet of Jay, Old Orchard Beach and Oak Hill to prepare for Livermore Falls. The Cougars got a tad weary of hearing about the numbers the Andies rolled up against Boothbay, Madison and Traip. And while Leavitt endured three weeks of drudgery against the dregs of Eastern Class B, Waterville and Hampden more than prepared the Hornets for a rain-soaked trip to Bath.

2. It’s all about defense. I was officially sold on Dirigo after the Cougars shut out Oak Hill. They get six or seven bodies to the ball on every play. They force turnovers at bad times in bad places. As for Leavitt, forget the 35-0 final score. The only numbers you need are 4 (Morse turnovers forced) and 3 (first downs allowed to the Shipbuilders).

3. You win with seniors. Dirigo and Leavitt gradually have been building for this autumn with a fistful of players who are now three- and four-year starters. Last year’s narrow losses to Winthrop and Lisbon stoked the Cougars’ fire. That agonizing two-game sweep by Morse wasn’t as much a motivating factor on the field for the Hornets as it was for the 11 months off the field that preceded it.

4. Find the balance. On any other team, Dirigo’s Nic Crutchfield or Leavitt’s Eric Theiss would have 1,000 passing yards by now. But why sling leather when you can carve up defenses more directly? The Cougars can beat you into submission with Tyler Chiasson and Crutchfield or go for the one-punch knockout with speedsters Spencer Ross and Bryan Blackman. It’s the same look for Gang Green, which put four different runners — Theiss, Josh Strickland, Jordan Hersom and Jon Letourneau — into the end zone against Morse.

5. Don’t go down. Leavitt’s Josh Strickland has supplanted Justin Staires as the toughest player to tackle in the tri-county region. End of discussion.

6. Fuhgeddaboutit. The worst thing any of the four teams involved can do at this point is read too much into the results. I got to watch the tape of Dirigo-Livermore Falls (thank you, Channel 7), and Chandler White gave the Cougars more than 200 things to work on between now and the second Saturday in November. And the Cougars don’t have to dig too hard for the memory of a Lisbon team that repaid a regular-season loss in convincing fashion. Also, this was about the time last year that Morse evolved from a .500 team into the most impenetrable defense since the 1985 Bears.

Yes, both Dirigo and Leavitt belted a home run last Friday night. But now is no time to stand back and admire the shot.

Or you can pretty much guarantee that the sequel will outshine the original. Which is, admittedly, what the rest of us without a rooting interest are hoping for.

Kalle Oakes is a staff columnist who loves football in the rain but hates having to watch it from the press box. His email is [email protected].