NOTEPAD: GHSA changes playoff rules; ACE softball wins region

The GHSA officially voted to use a playoff power ranking system across all classifications next season, among other changes made Monday at its latest meeting in Thomaston.

The new system will get rid of Georgia’s current A-Division I and A-Division II classifications in favor of a more typical A-7A system, according to the GHSA’s official minutes from the meeting.

The key change comes in the form of playoff seeding, which will now be determined by the GHSA’s power ranking system, called Post Season Ranking formula, for all classifications.

Crucially, the top four finishers in every region will no longer be guaranteed a playoff spot. Now only region championships get an auto-bid to the playoffs, while all remaining teams in each classification will be ranked by PSR. The highest teams will fill the other postseason spots.

This means a team can finish second in its region but still miss the playoffs if its PSR score is lower than many other teams in its classification, incentivizing tougher schedules to make that score higher.

The power ranking system is also intended to prevent two talented teams from meeting in the early rounds of the playoffs. Under the current system, if certain regions are stacked with several good teams, a fourth-place region finisher could be a Top 10 team in the state and hypothetically meet a fellow highly-ranked team in the first round.

Under the current system, which only applies to schools in 3A, 2A and A-Division I, the top four teams still make the playoffs.

Schools will be reclassified and join new regions to fit the structure after the 2025-26 athletic year ends.

GHSA softball playoffs still uncertain

The GHSA’s state softball tournaments begin Oct. 13, according to its website, but there are still a handful of games left before the brackets are officially set.

The ACE Gryphons will be at least the No. 8 seed in the Class A-Division I state tournament after officially winning the Region 2 championship on Oct. 2 with a victory over Southwest.

That championship nets the Gryphons priority seeding. The eight region winners — should all of them be public schools, private schools in GHSA play in their own playoff bracket — will be ordered by their Post Season Ranking score, a formula calculated using winning percentage and other stats. 

The second place region teams are seeded next, followed by the third place, fourth place and at-large teams in one group.

Because of this structure, ACE still awaits its seed and opponent in the playoffs. As of Oct. 7, the other seven region champions in Class A-Division I are all ahead of the Gryphons in the power rankings. Should those region standings hold, ACE would be awarded the No. 7 seed since Wesleyan, one of those other likely region champs, is a private school.

Central’s playoff hopes hang by a thread. The Chargers finished the season 11-12, good for the No. 42 spot in PSR as of Oct. 7. They will need to move up a few spots to try and squeeze into the postseason, and even then would face a high seed on the road.

FPD and TSA in playoffs, Stratford on brink

Macon’s private schools are nearly set for the GIAA state softball tournament, which begins Oct. 16 in Columbus.

FPD and Tattnall, who competed for the Class 4A/3A District 6 championship for most of the season, both have solidified their places atop the MaxPreps standings used to seed playoff games.

The Vikings are the No. 3 team in the rankings as of Tuesday with only a handful of games left in the regular season. FPD does not have any regular season games left, as it won its finale 12-1 against Central Fellowship on Tuesday.

Tattnall lost its Tuesday game against the No. 1 team in the rankings, Calvary Christian. The top-ranked Knights are 21-2 this year and will almost certainly be the top seed in the Class 4A tournament.

Though the loss does not appear reflected in the rankings yet — the MaxPreps page was last updated Oct. 5 — the Trojans were ranked No. 4 as of Tuesday. Should those rankings hold, both Tattnall and FPD would get to be the home team in Columbus for the first round of the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Trojans have one last game Thursday, and it’s another against a quality opponent. Tattnall will face Loganville Christian on the road in its last regular season game.

Stratford is the only Macon team with its playoff status still in question, as the Eagles were ranked No. 8 on Tuesday, which would give them the final spot in the bracket.

Stratford has lost since the rankings last updated, however, as they moved from 11-11 to 11-12 with a loss to Terrell Academy on Monday to end the regular season with three consecutive losses.

The Eagles still went above and beyond with an extremely young roster this season, which would make a playoff appearance more impressive should they secure one.

Macon players earn TD Club honors

The Macon Touchdown Club named players from Rutland, Mount de Sales and FPD as players of the week at their meeting Monday.

FPD’s Brady McHugh won the Back of the Week award for his performance against Stratford. He tallied 100 yards rushing on 22 carries and tacked on 45 receiving yards and a touchdown. McHugh also excelled on defense, notching 11 tackles, a tackle for loss and two pass breakups.

Mount de Sales defender Caleb Linder earned Lineman of the Week honors for his efforts against Tattnall. He racked up 14 tackles, four tackles for loss and a QB sack in the Cavaliers’ 10-0 win over the Trojans.

Rutland quarterback Tyson White snagged the other Back of the Week award, throwing for 228 yards and a touchdown on 8 of 13 passing while rushing for 92 yards and two more scores on 11 carries.