MACON, Ga. — It’s now the point in the football season where it's win or go home and a lot of Central Georgia teams aren't quite ready for basketball yet.
Two Bibb County public schools in the playoffs are the Central Chargers and Westside Seminoles. They know from here on out, there may not be a tomorrow.
For the Chargers, playing into mid-November is not something they're used to. The team hasn't been in the postseason since 2014.
"You know we want to make this an exciting experience for our kids. It's been a long time since Central made the playoffs so we want to make this experience as enjoyable as possible," head coach Joaquin Sample said.
The team made some mid-season adjustments, bringing junior Jalik Thomas from defensive back to quarterback. Thomas says the goal is to be a dark horse in the playoffs.
"We started off a little rough, but we came around. We improved. We're ready to start this playoff run, a Cinderella team," Thomas said.
Just a short trip down Mercer University Drive, Westside High says this is exactly where they expected to be. They've only missed the playoffs 3 times in their 22-year history.
"The players are very upbeat, the first thing they told me was 'Coach, we've got your back. We're still your alpha dogs in Macon in football,' so we're happy to be playing," Coach Sheddrick Risper said.
For the senior class, the playoffs aren't enough. School reception yards leader, Jaylon Barden says it's about going beyond where they've been before.
"We been to the second round, every year -- 10th grade, 11th grade -- so we just want to get past that," Barden said.
Central's senior class got to see playoff success just before they came to high school, when the 2014 team was in the playoffs. Now they want to repeat the success and surpass that success.
"They've been through a lot of transition," Sample said. "I'm their third head coach so they've been through a lot of transition, they've stuck through it; stuck with the program; stuck with me. I've known them since they were eighth-graders so I'm proud of them."
From now, on every game counts just a bit more, and Risper wants his players to play every snap like it's the final one.
"It's win or go home. If you lose, there's no more tomorrow. Just play every game like it's the end of your career," Risper said.
Westside will be on the road against Appling County. Central will face Pierce County on the road as well. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.
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