On occasion, the Sun Journal sports staff will pick high school football topics to discuss — sometimes the discussions will turn into spirited debates.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know via Twitter (@WilTalkSports and @FunkFlashyRob) or email (wkramlich@sunjournal.com and arobinson@sunjournal.com).

WIL KRAMLICH: Welcome to another season of Maine high school football. We’ve already got one week in the books, which means we’ve already learned a little. Mostly, we’ve learned that what we thought we knew might not be full reality.

So here’s a couple quick questions: What was the most surprising outcome in Week 1? What was the most deceiving outcome?

ADAM ROBINSON: I was curious as to how the Lewiston Blue Devils and Edward Little Red Eddies would fare in their first week under new head coaches.

Lewiston struggled in a loss to Sanford, but Edward Little won a big-time game against Messalonskee at home to break a 20-game losing streak. The emotion seen on the faces of players, coaches and fans will stick with me for a while.

I am interested to see how Oxford Hills’ 42-6 win will help them ready up for a Week 2 matchup with Thornton Academy. I don’t think it was a deceptive season-opening victory for the Vikings — Cony is a strong, well-coached program — but Thornton is another animal.

What stuck out to you?

KRAMLICH: I can’t get past the score of Mountain Valley’s win over Telstar. All preconceived notions would say 74-20 in favor of Mountain Valley wouldn’t happen, mostly because Telstar had such a strong season last year, plus Mountain Valley went through a late coaching change to Pat Mooney who, while familiar with the program, hadn’t coached 8-man football before. But what a statement by the Falcons. Now I’m interested to see how the Rebels rebound.

As far as a deceiving score, I don’t know that Mt. Blue is going to win all of its games 50-8. The Cougars have a lot of quality players and a veteran coach in Matt Friedman now at the helm, but Brunswick is a former top program trying to rebuild from the bottom. I’ll be curious to see how the Cougars fare against some of the expected top contenders in Class B North this season.

Is there a matchup this week that you think could surprise some people?

ROBINSON: Speaking of Pat Mooney, Mooney comes from Mt. Blue, where he was an assistant under Scott Franzose, as was Matt Friedman, Mt. Blue’s new head coach. Talk about a coaching tree starting strong.

I am interested in Leavitt traveling to Portland on Friday night. Portland is expected to again be one of the top teams Class B and the Class C Hornets are very strong again this year behind quarterback Noah Carpenter. It’s always fun to see teams play outside of their classes. I also am excited to see Lisbon play under lights at home for the first time Friday when the Greyhounds host Fryeburg. People have connected Lisbon with Saturday afternoon games and have a feeling of nostalgia attached, but I think it will be a fun time.

Any other teams surprise you this week? No cheering in the press box, but Gray-New Gloucester is 1-0.

KRAMLICH: Yes, my alma mater, Gray-New Gloucester, did get off on the right foot with a win over Greely, which was making its 8-man debut. Now the Patriots have to turn their attention to Morse, which just beat a Mt. Ararat team that was among the best over the first two season of Maine 8-man football. Could be a tough matchup for Gray-New Gloucester.

I’ve got my eyes on two games that could surprise people. I think Mt. Blue could go down to face a Falmouth team that opened with a win over Cheverus and give the Navigators a great game. I also think Poland can stack up to Oak Hill, with neither of those teams wanting to start off 0-2.

Now let the games begin and see if our crystal balls are working.

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