There's plenty of excitement left this season for Pine Tree Conference Class B football fans. But if two-year cycles hold true to form, the PTC will be even better next year.

Here is how I voted in this week's top 10. The entire poll can be found in today's paper:

1. Deering
2. Lawrence
3. Bonny Eagle
4. Thornton Academy
5. Skowhegan
6. Mountain Valley
7. Edward Little
8. Lewiston
9. Windham
10. Winthrop

Travis Lazarczyk and Bill Stewart return with another edition of Gridiron Gurus. This week, they preview the opening round of the playoffs.

It was crazy that the game took three days to complete, but you'd have to say it was worth the wait. The finish of the Nokomis-Winslow Eastern B final showcased superb players and great field hockey.

Gardiner Area High School football coach Jim Palmer said starting fullback/linebacker Pete Caradonna will miss the remainder of the season with a broken right leg.

Those old enough to remember Donnie Beckwith the player shouldn't be surprised with Donnie Beckwith the coach.

While the wind wasn't as bad as he expected, Winslow girls soccer coach didn't think anyone would score with the wind in their face.

When Winslow did, it was a huge boost.

Leaving it all on the field is an overused cliché, perhaps, but it's an apt description of the game senior sweeper Ashley Marcellino turned in for the Winthrop girls soccer team Tuesday.

It's hard to imagine anyone wanting to play the undefeated Waterville girls soccer team, but there was Mt. Blue coach Dave Ronald on Tuesday welcoming the daunting challenge.

Messalonskee field hockey coach Brenda Beckwith has been waiting for freshman Katie Bernatchez to a big impact on a game for the Eagles.

Bernatchez came through big time Saturday afternoon.

One of the toughest things to do in high school sports is to build tradition where none has ever existed. That's the case with boys soccer at Oak Hill.

The playoffs are set in the Pine Tree Conference, in both the A and B divisions.

In Class A the quarterfinal matchups are as follows:

#8 Mt. Blue (2-6) at #1 Lawrence (8-0)
#7 Messalonskee (3-5) at #2 Edward Little (7-1)
#6 Bangor (3-5) at #3 Lewiston (7-1)
#5 Brunswick (5-3) at #4 Skowhegan (7-1)

In Class B, the quarterfinal games are:
#8 Oak Hill (2-6) at #1 Leavitt (7-1)
#7 Waterville (3-4) at #2 Mt. Desert Island (6-1)
#6 Hampden (4-3) at #3 Gardiner (5-2)
#5 Morse (5-2) at #4 Winslow (6-2)

Last fall, Cony High School's Greg O'Neill rushed for over 200 yards in a win over Oxford Hills.

The senior hasn't seen much time at tailback this fall, filling in at fullback for the injured T.J. Vallee, but returned to that position in his final game in a Cony uniform Friday night.

Senior Night in any sport is always emotional, but that was especially the case in Skowhegan Friday night, as the Indians dedicated the game to a friend who wasn't there.

Schools around central Maine are helping make Ricky Gibson's dream of lights and bleachers at Maranacook a reality.

Gibson, a Maranacook sophomore, was diagnosed with Pontine Glioma, an aggressive tumor in the brain stem, in September. When Make-A-Wish asked Gibson if he wanted anything, he requested lights and bleachers at the Black Bears' field.

With a total cost estimated at around $200,000, Make-A-Wish helped kick start a fundraiser with a $6,000 donation last week.

Here is how I voted in this week's top 10:

1. Deering
2. Lawrence
3. Bonny Eagle
4. Thornton Academy
5. Skowhegan
6. Mountain Valley
7. Lewiston
8. Cape Elizabeth
9. Mt. Desert Island
10. Winthrop

I went with MDI at #9 because since a week 1 loss to Winslow, the Trojans are undefeated and playing the most consistent football in the PTC B. Top to bottom, the PTC B is the toughest league in the state, and playing well in it has to count for something.

Travis Lazarczyk and Bill Stewart return with the latest installment of Gridiron Gurus. This week, they focus on Pine Tree Conference Class B matchups between Leavitt and Gardiner, as well as Waterville and Winslow.

Even casual field hockey fans could have guessed before the season began the final four participants in this weekend's Eastern Maine Class A semifinal round. Skowhegan, Gardiner, Messalonskee and Cony, or "the group" as Bangor coach Lisa McPhee calls them, are there once again.

The Winslow High School girls soccer team used a sharp short-passing game to win the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B championship with a 3-2 win over Medomak Valley on Thursday.

The Raiders showed terrific chemistry, setting each other up for a number of quality chances.

The key, according to coach Scott Wood, is practice.

Junior Sabrina Vaillancourt has had a knack for scoring ever since she joined the varsity field hockey team at Nokomis. This season, Vaillancourt has 25 goals and is closing in on the school's career goal-scoring record.

Here are my top 10 boys and girls teams in the state

BOYS
1. Scarborough
2. Bangor
3. Falmouth
4. Brunswick
5. Mt. Ararat
6. Greely
7. Presque Isle
8. Portland
9. Lisbon
10. Richmond

GIRLS
1. Waterville
2. Gorham
3. Brunswick
4. Falmouth
5. Marshwood
6. York
7. Presque Isle
8. Winslow
9. Medomak Valley
10. Mt. Abram

Mike Hathaway doesn't pretend to be any type of Crabtree points expert (who is?), but the Leavitt Area High School football coach does teach physics.

The Richmond boys soccer team wrapped up its regular season with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory Monday over Waynflete.

As well as the state's high school golfers are treated at Natanis Golf Course, there are still a couple of changes that could improve the state individual tournament.

It's not always the team with the best runner that wins cross country meets. It's the team with the best pack of runners.

We often mistakenly believe the best coaching occurs at the highest levels. That's sometimes true, but good coaching extends all the way from T-ball to the National football League.

The regular season is over, and the Gardiner Tigers open the playoffs tonight against Morse.

OK, so it's a regular season game, but that's not how coach Jim Palmer sees it.

"These next two games are good for us," he said. "It really starts our playoffs right now."

After Morse, the Tigers host Leavitt (5-1) in the regular season finale.

The Shipbuilders have won three straight games after dropping their first two. Last week, they knocked off previously undefeated Leavitt 19-12.

"They have a good group, but it was just a matter of them putting it all together," Palmer said. "It looks like they've done that."

The final field hockey Heal points are out, and some intriguing matchups are on tap.

As usual, here is how I voted in this week's Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel/Portland Press Herald media poll.

The entire poll can be found in Friday's paper.

1. Deering
2. Lawrence
3. Bonny Eagle
4. Skowhegan
5. Thornton Academy
6. Mountain Valley
7. Lewiston
8. Gardiner
9. Cheverus
10. Winthrop

The final Heal points for field hockey are scheduled to be released Thursday morning. Here's a few thoughts as we head into the playoffs:

It's rare that two undefeated football teams meet in a late season game, as is the case this week when 6-0 Lawrence plays at 6-0 Skowhegan.

Here are some examples of other big late season games in central Maine from recent seasons.

2006: Winslow and Waterville met in the regular season finale. Both teams were 6-1, with a loss to Gardiner. Winslow won, defeated Waterville again in the conference semifinals, and went on to win the Pine Tree Conference Class B title.

Here are my top 10 boys and girls teams in the state

BOYS
1. Scarborough
2. Bangor
3. Falmouth
4. Greely
5. Mt. Ararat
6. Brunswick
7. Presque Isle
8. Portland
9. Edward Little
10. Richmond

GIRLS
1. Waterville
2. Gorham
3. Falmouth
4. Brunswick
5. York
6. Marshwood
7. Presque Isle
8. Winslow
9. Medomak Valley
10. Mt. Abram

Maine Central Institute lost to a better than it's record 2-4 Rockland football team on Friday 15-13. The Huskies had a chance to tie the game in the final minute, but quarterback Caleb Lasselle was stopped short on a two-point conversion attempt.

Messalonskee football coach Wes Littlefield is a tough guy. He played that way at Winslow and expects the same from his own players.

Bill Stewart and Travis Lazarczyk are back for another segment of Gridiron Gurus. This week, the focus of Gurus is on the Winslow-Gardiner game, a rematch of the last two Pine Tree Conference Class B championships games.

Are you ready for Gardiner-Winslow?

Here is the top 10 in the state, as I see it through five weeks:

1. Bonny Eagle
2. Lawrence
3. Deering
4. Skowhegan
5. Thornton
6. Mountain Valley
7. Lewiston
8. Gardiner
9. Leavitt
10. Winthrop

Gardiner Area High School field hockey coach Moe McNally was honored for her 30 years of coaching following her team's 5-1 win over rival Cony on Tuesday in Gardiner.

Here are my boys and girls top 10 high school soccer teams.

Skowhegan fans arriving at Clark Field for Friday night's Homecoming game against Bangor weren't greeted by the vandalism on the senior booth at the edge of the field.

The Skowhegan seniors made sure of that.

"A group of senior boys came down (Friday) afternoon and cleaned it all off," Skowhegan athletic director Terry Michaud said.

The booth had been painted over in Bangor maroon and white, with the words "Billy Clark, Indians" and "Bangor Rams." The vandals painted over the names of all the seniors, too.

Clark is a senior running back for Skowhegan. He gained 189 yards and scored four touchdowns in the 44-20 win over Bangor.

Cony High School showed Edward Little High School something offensively the Eddies were completely unprepared for.

Things are about to get a little tougher for the Winthrop football team.

Two games to watch in the Pine Tree Conference Class A this week. Undefeated Skowhegan hosts 2-2 Bangor. These are two of the better running teams in the league, so this game will be decided in the trenches. It could come down to a turnover.

Mt. Blue is at Messalonskee in a battle of 1-3 teams. The winner has a much easier path to the playoffs. The loser likely has to win out, and with tough games on both schedules, that could be difficult.

Not much movement in my top 10 this week. Edward Little slides out following last week's loss at Bangor, and Lewiston climbs in.