Ron Seibel: Turkey, playoff football do mix
For most high school football coaches, the calendar can serve as a measuring stick for success.
Keep practicing past the first weekend of November, then it's a playoff season.
Practice on Thanksgiving day, then it's a long playoff run.
Practice in December, and it's time to make plans to possibly play in the state finals.
Here we are, the day after Thanksgiving, and Middle Georgia has six GHSA programs still playing football in the 2015 season. That's six teams still looking to add some accomplishments to what has been for them a good, productive season.
Sure, there's that matter of having a nice, big dinner the day before the game. Some coaches will practice early Thursday, getting the hard work out of the way before turkey time. Others, as Westside head coach Spoon Risper reflected on during his presentation Monday night at the Macon Touchdown Club, go with an evening workout in order to keep as much of a normal routine going as possible -- and to give players an incentive to not overdo things at the dinner table, as well.
In any event, Friday's schedule represents some of the best high school football Middle Georgia has to offer.
Westside is playing after-Thanksgiving football for the first time in six years. Houston County is doing the post-Thanksgiving thing for the second straight year after some time away but has a stacked roster and an opponent this week that lost to Northside last year. And Stratford is looking to make some noise in its second season in the GHSA.
Also, Macon County is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2005, Fitzgerald is making what is pretty much an annual post-Thanksgiving appearance, and Johnson County is in the quarterfinals for the second time in three years.
A win on Thanksgiving weekend means a trip to the semifinals. And it also means a couple of days of practice in December -- words that would please pretty much any head coach in this state.
PICKS UPDATE
Two weeks ago, I predicted the championship games in each of the GHSA's seven football playoff brackets. And, by dumb luck or otherwise, those predictions are holding up.
All seven predicted champions are still in the running. Only one predicted runner-up -- Darlington in Class AA -- has exited, with Macon County hosting Friday the team that knocked Darlington out, Pace Academy.
The predictions: Colquitt County over Roswell in Class AAAAAA, Houston County over Stockbridge in Class AAAAA, Buford over St. Pius X in Class AAAA, Calhoun over Cedar Grove in Class AAA, Benedictine over (now eliminated) Darlington in Class AA, Marion County over ECI in Class A public and Prince Avenue Christian over Aquinas in Class A private.
Contact Ron Seibel at 744-4222 or rseibel@macon.com
This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Ron Seibel: Turkey, playoff football do mix ."