Christian Heritage and Trion compete in the same region, yet their paths to the postseason are quite different.
So are their postseasons, for that matter.
Welcome to Class A football in Georgia, where winning sometimes isn't the most important factor in earning a berth for the state playoffs.
Like it or not, the GHSA's power rating system in the state's smallest classification again will determine all but eight of this year's 32 playoff teams, which are split into 16-team fields, one for private and one for public schools. That means a team not winning its region must impress the computer with its regular-season body of work to get in.
For Trion, which missed the public playoffs with a 5-5 record and No. 18 final ranking last year, and Christian Heritage, which made the private school field with the same record, the non-league portions of their schedules - both are in the "A" sub-division of Region 6-A - are crucial. Teams are awarded bonus points for winning and even more for defeating teams in higher classifications. There also are bonus points for every win an opponent gets.
"They know we've got to come out and win," Trion coach Justin Brown said. "Some of those early ones may be more important than the late ones. We've got to get a fast start, the way these power rankings are set up. If you drop those first three, your backs are against the wall."
Even if a team wins those games, as the Bulldogs did last year, it may not reach the playoffs. Trion defeated Class AA's Gordon Lee, Class AAA's Armuchee and Class AAAA's LaFayette to start the 2014 season, but those teams combined for only six wins, limiting Trion's bonus potential.
The Bulldogs lost four of their last five games, all four against eventual playoff teams, including state champion Mount Paran Christian and quarterfinalist Mount Zion-Carroll. The most damaging loss was a 3-0 overtime defeat to Christian Heritage. It's not lost on Brown that four of the five losses last year were to private schools, teams the Bulldogs would not face in the playoffs.
"The Mount Parans, the Walkers and the Christian Heritages count toward our playoff qualification, but we won't see them in the playoffs," Brown said. "We've got to come out and get some points early and see if we can hold our own against some of the private schools.
"There are no easy ones in this region. Mount Zion three or four years ago is one game you could chalk up as a win, but they're a threat to win it all this year. Us, Mount Zion and Christian Heritage will be battling for second, third and fourth behind Mount Paran."
Christian Heritage coach Preston Poag hopes so. As the smallest football-playing school in the state, the Dalton program often plays schools with more than twice the students.
Like Brown, Poag tries not to worry about things he can't control, but in the power rating system, it's hard not to.
"Region 6-A will be interesting," Poag said. "For us, we've got to start off strong. Last year we struggled early and then came on, and this season I want to get off to a better start and not have to worry about it so much. It's a crazy system, but it's what we've got to work with."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296.