Ron Seibel: Breaking down the GHSA football brackets

It's playoff time, that point in the year when we take five sets of 32 teams -- as well as two sets of 16 teams -- and work our way toward seven champions.

Four weeks from now, championships will be celebrated at the Georgia Dome. The final games of the 2015 high school football season will be played.

Just for fun, let's take a stab at predicting this year's Georgia high school football champions. Some of these picks might flop dramatically. Hopefully at least one of these will be on the mark.

CLASS AAAAAA

Everyone wants to be on the Colquitt County bandwagon. Head coach Rush Propst, who rose to national fame when his Hoover, Alabama, team became the subject of an MTV series several years ago, just about has the title "coaching legend" wrapped up. He led Colquitt County to the Class AAAAAA championship last year, and the Packers have won 25 straight since losing 14-9 at Norcross in the 2013 semifinals.

A challenger for Colquitt County? The teams ranked second and third in the Georgia Sports Writers Association poll, Grayson and Roswell, are on the other side of the bracket and are also 10-0. I'll take Roswell in a coin flip to make the final, but Colquitt County is ready to repeat.

Pick: Colquitt County over Roswell.

CLASS AAAAA

There are four very good teams in Region 2-AAAAA that make this pick somewhat difficult. Houston County's stock rose dramatically last week when it took care of Northside, a team that routed Warner Robins in October. Then there's Jones County, a team that can't be discounted and a team that thrives on the road.

Working the brackets, however, there are bumps in the road. Coffee could be too much for Warner Robins. Stephenson is a dark-horse team that could clip Northside in the second round. Jones County might not be able to survive trips to Glynn Academy (Brunswick) and ­potentially Dalton in back-to-back-weeks. But if Houston County can get past last year's runner-up, Mays, in the second round, there's a pretty good path to the dome for the Bears.

Pick: Houston County over Stockbridge.

CLASS AAAA

Despite Mary Persons' 10-0 regular season, I'm not getting a good feel about movement past the second round for Middle Georgia teams.

Class AAAA is where private school dominance kicks in. Three of the top 10 teams in the Class AAAA poll are private schools, including top-ranked Woodward Academy, St. Pius X and Marist. Woodward is on the same side of the bracket with Buford, which has won a state title in seven of the past eight seasons. The question is, will Buford's experience prevail over Woodward's talent?

Pick: Buford over St. Pius X.

CLASS AAA

We might see some Thanksgiving football in this classification from teams in Middle Georgia and surrounding areas. Dodge County is unbeaten, Jackson (the Region 2-AAA champion from just outside Middle Georgia) has played some good football, and Washington County had a bad start but a favorable draw. But Peach County could run into defending champion and top-ranked Calhoun in the second round, and it will be a tall task to break into the final four for any Middle Georgia team in this classification.

A potential semifinal game worth watching is Calhoun against Blessed Trinity. Those teams are on the same side of the bracket, and they're ranked 1-2 in the Class AAA poll.

Pick: Calhoun over Cedar Grove.

CLASS AA

With six teams entered, the Class AA bracket has the most Middle Georgia teams involved. There's a good case to be made for at least two Middle Georgia teams to make it to the quarterfinals, with Fitzgerald and Macon County appearing to be the most likely candidates. But, once again, private schools dominate this classification, with the three top teams in the Class AA poll.

Second-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian could face third-ranked Darlington in the semifinals, with defending champion and top-ranked Benedictine lurking on the other side.

Pick: Benedictine over Darlington.

CLASS A PUBLIC

Five Middle Georgia teams made the Class A public playoffs, and they take up the final five seeds in the bracket. That works out well for Johnson County, which actually dropped a spot in order to accommodate Randolph-Clay, which won its region despite a double-digit power rating. Johnson County heads to Randolph-Clay for the first round, and it could be a slightly favorable matchup for Johnson County.

Although Johnson County might break up a "chalk" bracket, I expect two experienced programs to face off in the Georgia Dome.

Pick: Marion County over ECI.

CLASS A PRIVATE

In theory, FPD and Stratford could meet at the Georgia Dome with three straight wins by each. In practice, it's a longshot: 16th-seeded FPD opens at top seed Prince Avenue Christian next week, while No. 10 seed Stratford heads to No. 7 Calvary Day.

Prince Avenue Christian seems to be the team to beat following Mount Paran Christian's 28-21 loss to Pinecrest Academy to close the regular season. There might, however, be a team that is familiar to Middle Georgia fans coming through the other side of the bracket.

Pick: Prince Avenue Christian over Aquinas.

Contact Ron Seibel at 744-4222 or rseibel@macon.com

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 9:54 PM with the headline "Ron Seibel: Breaking down the GHSA football brackets ."