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With the weather cooling down here in Macon as October wanes, you can feel it in the air — it’s almost time for high school football playoffs.

Macon has plenty of teams in the hunt, too, making this part of the season all the more interesting. With only a few games left to go — there are some GIAA schools in Macon which have already completed their regular season schedules — here’s a refresher of how the postseason is set up for both the GHSA and GIAA.

For Macon’s public schools, a new power rankings system was put in place this season. The GHSA now uses Post Season Rankings (PSR) determined with a formula to select its 32 playoff teams in each classification, doing away with the old “top four teams in the region” system.

Teams do still get an automatic playoff home game if they win the region championship. But the second place spots and other region standings don’t impact seed in this new system, as the rest of the playoff field is arranged solely on PSR rankings.

Northeast is the only GHSA team in Macon with a region championship in its sights. The Raiders remained perfect in region play with a 40-0 win over southwest last week to improve to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in Region 2-3A.

It’s possible for Northeast to claim the region championship this week. The Raiders must defeat Pike County (5-3, 4-1) at home and have Callaway (5-3, 4-1) lose to Central at home to take home the trophy. Should Callaway win its game against the Chargers, which is set for Thursday, then a Northeast win over Pike County would set up a de facto region championship showdown in Macon on Nov. 6.

A second consecutive region title would benefit the Raiders, but they would likely have a home playoff game regardless, as they are currently ranked No. 12 in the GHSA’s Class 3A power rankings. Two private schools are ranked ahead of Northeast, which would put the Raiders at No. 10 in the true rankings.

While there are no other Macon public schools in the region title hunt, many others are still searching for playoff berths.

The Howard Huskies are the next-highest ranked team, currently sitting at No. 21 in the Class 4A PSR standings. Howard is 4-4 this season in one of the more difficult 4A regions, and the Huskies notched an upset over Baldwin earlier this year to help their playoff chances. But after sneaking into the top 15 with a winning streak earlier this year, back-to-back losses to Mary Persons and top contender Peach County have moved the Huskies outside the top 20.

Howard’s final two region games will be against Troup County, the No. 1 team in Class 4A, and longtime local rival Westside. Winning both games, particularly the showdown with the top-ranked Tigers, would boost the Huskies’ chances of a playoff home game.

Westside is ranked No. 36 despite a 2-6 record, thanks in large part to a difficult schedule in the same region as Howard. The Seminoles have a more favorable game against a struggling Upson-Lee squad this week before a critical rivalry game against Howard. With only one private school ahead of them in the standings, winning both games would greatly help the ‘Noles as they try to jump up three spots in the PSR and snag a playoff spot.

The ACE Gryphons are part of the GHSA as a charter school, and while the Gryphons are currently ranked No. 33 in the Class 2A PSR standings, they stand to get a major boost once the season ends.

There are a whopping 12 private schools ahead of ACE in the rankings, meaning they could jump from No. 33 to No. 21 once the playoff bracket is released. While the Gryphons are on a four-game skid after losing to Swainsboro last week, they are off this week with a chance to regroup before their final game, a Nov. 6 home tilt against Dodge County.

GIAA postseason features formidable Macon squads

The GIAA’s postseason seeds are determined entirely by MaxPreps rankings in each classification, and there are two Macon teams who sit atop their respective classes as the end of the regular season approaches.

Despite a loss to powerhouse John Milledge at home Friday, the Stratford Eagles remain atop the GIAA Class 4A playoff rankings with a 7-2 record. Stratford has regularly dominated its in class opponents and, after its final game against Tattnall this week, will look to repeat as the state champion again this season.

Bulloch Academy out of Statesboro seem the most likely to challenge the Eagles for the title, as they sport a 9-1 record and currently have the No. 2 seed.

The FPD Vikings are the next team up, ranked No. 5 in the 4A table. The Vikings completed their regular season last week with a shutout win over local rival Mount de Sales, finishing 6-4. While FPD was a bit unsteady this season, it showed its potential in a fairly competitive 20-12 loss to Stratford and could make a playoff run.

The Tattnall Trojans are No. 8 in the standings with one game against Stratford remaining. The Trojans are 4-5 so far this year, with their most impressive wins being a 47-7 thumping of Gatewood and a 27-6 defeat of Mount de Sales.

Unlike in past seasons that featured a 12-team playoff, the GIAA Class 4A bracket will only feature eight teams, making Tattnall the last team in as of Monday. The Mount de Sales Cavaliers are ranked No. 12 after finishing 5-5, coming up short of a playoff spot.

At the Class A level, no one is hotter than Macon’s own Windsor Knights. The school down in South Bibb is a ripping hot 8-1, with all eight of those victories coming consecutively after a loss to Stratford in the season opener.

Windsor, which is currently ranked No. 1 in Class A, should handily retain that top seed going into the playoffs. Class A consists of only four teams — Windsor, Thomas Jefferson Academy, Robert Toombs Academy and Flint River Academy — which will all earn a playoff berth by default.