The ultimate guide to Macon’s football playoffs

The Georgia high school football playoffs are only a few weeks away, and there’s a lot still up in the air for even the most talented teams.

There are state title contenders in Macon for both the GIAA and the GHSA, but the two athletic associations have different playoff formats, different ways to determine who makes the playoffs and different schedules.

It can be a lot to keep track of. Here is a crash course on the playoff details for both public and private schools, plus a glimpse at the postseason picture as it stands about two weeks before the regular season wraps up.

How is the playoff field selected?

While the GHSA recently voted to change its playoff format in the years to come, the 2025 postseason will still use the guidelines that were put in place last season. The current system is split across multiple classifications. 

Classes 4A to 6A and Class A-Division II use the standard system which has the top four teams from each of the eight regions make the playoffs. 

First-place teams from each region face fourth place teams from another region in the first round, while second- and third-place teams meet. The region pairings are predetermined — there’s no power rankings or “seeds,” other than your region placing — and home field advantage is determined by region finish until a coin flip is used for the later rounds where first-place teams often play one another. 

The only Macon school under this system is Howard, a 3A school.

For classes A-Division I to 3A, the format is a blend between a traditional “top four region teams make the playoffs” approach and the more modern use of power rankings, which the GHSA calls its Post Season Ranking formula, or PSR.

The first key note is that private schools in those classifications that still play in regions with public schools and finish in the top four are pulled out into their own bracket for the playoffs though. That leaves open spots in the public school bracket that are filled with non-top four teams.

First-place teams get seeded first, ordered by PSR. That means as many as eight teams — though it will likely be six or seven teams, since at least one private school will be a region winner — get priority seeing to guarantee home field advantage through two rounds. Second-place teams are seeded next, again in order of PSR score.

After those teams are placed, usually the top 12-16 seeds, things get chaotic. The third-place, fourth-place and any at-large teams which replace private schools are all grouped together and ordered by PSR.

This means that, while it’s unlikely, a team that finished in fifth place in one region — a team that would usually miss the playoffs — can not only make the bracket, but earn a higher seed than a third-place team from another region. 

The tournament games themselves play out normally from there, with the higher seed getting home field advantage. The GHSA playoffs are scheduled to begin Nov. 14 with the championships set for Dec. 15-17.

The GIAA’s playoff system, which applies to Macon’s private schools, is much simpler. Most of Bibb County’s private schools are in Class 4A, which uses a 12-team bracket. Teams are seeded in order of MaxPreps ranking, which is updated each week and found online. Region standings do not impact playoff seeding, though region champions are often higher in the rankings by happenstance.

Other classes have different sizes — Class 2A, which features Macon schools Central Fellowship and Windsor, has a 10-team playoff — but use the same MaxPreps ranking system. The GIAA’s 8-man football bracket consists of 10 teams as well.

Which Macon teams could make the GHSA playoffs?

On the GHSA side, not many Macon schools are in the playoff picture with three weeks until the season ends on Halloween. Of the seven Bibb County high schools in the GHSA, only two of them are above .500 and in the hunt for a postseason spot.

One of those teams is Northeast, which is in the midst of another stellar season after making it to the A-Division I state title game last year. The Raiders have again established themselves as the premier team in Macon with a 5-2 start and 5-1 region record, though a stumble against Bleckley County dealt a blow to their region championship hopes.

The most likely outcome is Northeast winning out but finishing second in the region behind Bleckley County, though winning the final three games is not a certainty. 

The Raiders have showdowns with Central, Dodge County and East Laurens left. The Chargers and Falcons should be less of a challenge for Northeast, but the Raiders have to travel to Eastman and beat the Indians on the road in a tough matchup to guarantee a second-place finish.

ACE is the only other GHSA school in Macon with playoff hopes, and they are slimmer than Northeast’s almost guaranteed status. The Gryphons are 4-3 overall and 3-3 in Region 2 play, including an unexpected loss to East Laurens that put a serious dent in their postseason hopes.

Regardless, ACE has enough offensive talent to compete with some talented programs. The run game is strong with tailback Bryson Vincent, and quarterback Ace Hatcher has also become more involved in the run game.

The Gryphons will need some help to make the top four of Region 2, though. East Laurens jumped them in the standings with its tiebreaker win, putting ACE in sixth. Stretch games against Southwest this week and Washington County in the season finale will be crucial, with a very difficult home tilt with Bleckley County sandwiched in between. Should ACE go an optimistic 2-1 in those games, it would finish 5-4 in region play and likely be the fifth team, necessitating an at-large playoff bid.

Luckily, PSR does help the Gryphons out a bit in that hypothetical. ACE is No. 30 in the PSR as of Monday, likely helped by its signature win over Dodge County earlier this year and the difficulty of its schedule. There should also be several private schools finishing in the top four, opening up spots for ACE to potentially enter the playoff picture.

Which Macon teams could make the GIAA playoffs?

The GIAA tournament should be friendlier to Macon teams.

The Class 4A state tournament is the main attraction with the top teams in GIAA, and two Macon squads are in line to make it and have home games in the opening round.

Stratford still holds the No. 1 ranking in 4A despite losing to John Milledge and FPD in back-to-back weeks, but the 6-2 Eagles have looked dominant at times this year. Running back Tyler Stephens leads the entire GIAA with 1,276 rushing yards. He ran all over multiple talented teams, including No. 3 Brookstone, though FPD managed to contain him.

Barring a true collapse to finish, the Eagles should be in shape to hold onto that No. 1 rank, or at least a spot in the top three. They have a less strenuous matchup with Mount de Sales on tap this week before a challenge with Calvary Christian to round out the season Oct. 24.

FPD is up next at No. 3 — only Brookstone separates the two rivals in the standings, even after the Vikings defeated Stratford — and look formidable with a 6-3 record despite some injury problems of late.

Starting quarterback Major Simmons, a force of nature for the Vikings and a critical piece on both sides of the ball, missed FPD’s most recent game against John Milledge in concussion protocol. 

The Vikings proved they still had talent to compete with the championship-caliber Trojans. Freshman signal caller Cash Walker played very well, though it was not enough to knock off JMA.

FPD is off this week before a matchup with a weak Tattnall team to finish the season Oct. 24, putting it in great position to stay in the top four and secure a home game to open the playoffs.

Mount de Sales (1-6) and Tattnall (0-7) are 12th and 13th in the rankings, just outside the 10-team playoff picture.

Central Fellowship is the Macon team with the next-best postseason outlook. The Lancers are now 4-4 and No. 5 in the Class 2A rankings, which would secure them a playoff spot and a road game in the first round if they hold there. CFCAa has surged of late, winning two in a row including an upset 27-13 win over Trinity Christian.

Windsor is 1-7 this season but could still sneak into the postseason, as the Knights are currently No. 8 in Class 2A. It has been a struggle for the school from south Bibb County — Windsor’s lone win came in its first game of the season and was followed by a seven-game losing streak.

With fewer teams in the classification, though, the Knights still have a shot at a playoff spot. Should they hold on to their No. 8 spot, they would be at home for a play-in game against the No. 9 seed. Windsor would benefit greatly from wins in either of its final two games, as another 1-7 team, Augusta Prep, sits right behind them at No. 9 and could take the spot.