Week 4 of the high school football season marks the first weekend of fall, when some teams start to build momentum for the postseason play still more than a month away, and others begin to feel a sense of urgency lest their playoff hopes begin to slip away.

Cony (0-3) vs. Bangor (2-1), 7 p.m. Friday, Cameron Stadium, Bangor: Bangor seeks its third straight victory against a Cony of Augusta team in search of its first win.

Bangor has found success the last two weeks establishing its running game behind junior tailback Alex Gallant, who has gained more than 400 yards and scored five touchdowns over that span.

He had 219 yards and two scores on 29 carries in last Friday’s 21-6 win at Brunswick.

“Alex was just determined that we weren’t going to lose that game,” said Bangor coach Mark Hackett.

Cony suffered from a rocky start in its most recent loss, a 42-7 decision to undefeated Mt. Blue of Farmington. The Augusta team turned the ball over on its first three possessions and finished with just 99 total yards.

But Cony played competitively in its first two games, narrow losses to Edward Little of Auburn and Brunswick.

“I think Cony’s a good football team,” said Hackett. “They can throw the ball, and they do a lot of things on offense.

“They also played Brunswick pretty tough [in a 14-7 loss], and that’s good enough for me.”

Mount Desert Island (2-1) vs. Brewer (2-1), 7 p.m. Friday, Doyle Field, Brewer: At the beginning of the season few would have predicted that MDI and Brewer would be tied in the Pine Tree Conference Class B standings through three weeks of play.

Brewer is coming off back-to-back road games at Waterville and Gardiner, two teams that were in Class A just a year ago. The Witches split two six-point decisions, falling at Waterville 26-20 before rallying from a 13-0 deficit to top Gardiner 22-16 last Friday night.

MDI is coming off its first loss, a 17-6 decision at Hampden Academy. The Trojans have just two offensive touchdowns in its three games, but a defense led by linebackers Jeremiah Cousins and Andrew Leiser has posted one shutout and allowed just three TDs.

Orono (2-1) vs. Boothbay (3-0), 1 p.m. Saturday at Boothbay: Two playoff contenders from different regions square off in a matchup of Orono’s Oklahoma split-T and Boothbay’s double wing.

“They’re very similar to us in philosophy,” said Orono coach Bob Sinclair.

Orono has bounced back from a season-opening loss to undefeated Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln to defeat Dexter and Rockland.

Orono’s defense limited Rockland to a season-low 229 yards in last week’s 56-14 Homecoming win, an effort led by middle linebacker Nyasha Millard and defensive ends Brad Russell and Travis Bryant.

“We were pleased with the way we defended the ball all over the field,” said Sinclair.

Boothbay edged Livermore Falls 34-32 in overtime last week, and will be playing its third home game in four weeks. The Seahawks haven’t played the toughest of schedules – Livermore Falls, Madison and Traip Academy of Kittery are a combined 1-8 – but the double wing run by coach Tim Rice’s club usually proves challenging to opposing defenses.

Foxcroft Acad. (2-1) vs. Maine Central Institute (2-1), 7 p.m. Friday at Pittsfield: Two of the four teams tied for second in the LTC square off, and both are coming off their best games of the year.

Foxcroft had 455 total yards in overwhelming Bucksport 49-16 last week, and over their last six quarters of play coach Paul Withee’s Ponies have outscored Livermore Falls and Bucksport by a combined 82-16. Foxcroft boasts several offensive weapons, including running backs Joey Caparrelli, James McPhee and Jerod Rideout, wideouts Jon Catell and Shayne Croan and quarterback Logan Forrest.

Like Foxcroft, MCI is coming off back-to-back wins, the most recent a 10-6 decision against John Bapst of Bangor. In that game, Rodney Jones rushed for 96 yards, most coming on a 64-yard first-quarter run that produced MCI’s lone touchdown. Overall the Huskies had 206 rushing yards against Bapst, and will seek to repeat that effort against a Foxcroft defense that held Bucksport to 2.5 yards per carry.

Hampden Acad. (2-1) vs. Winslow (3-0), 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Poulin Field, Winslow: Coming off two straight wins at home, Hampden Academy faces its biggest road test yet at Winslow, the reigning Eastern B champion.

Coach Harry McCluskey’s Broncos have allowed just one touchdown in each of the last two games, a defensive effort led by linebacker Som Ratsakongsky, who has averaged 10.5 tackles per game.

Ratsakongsky also has been one of the Broncos leading offensive threats at fullback, along with quarterback Chris Morris.

Winslow has overcome injuries to star tailback Justin Lindie for its undefeated start. Junior quarterback Stephen Siviski has provided leadership as well as an accurate passing arm, primarily to wideout Kevin McCabe. John Goulette and Jared Maroon have supplied the Black Raiders with a strong running game, with Maroon rushing for 100 yards on 13 carries in last week’s win at Old Town.