Football season ended Friday night in Troup County, about a week before anyone was hoping it would. The majority of schools around the state saw their seasons end weeks ago and have been focusing on basketball, a reminder of just how few teams get to play to the end of November.

Both Callaway High School and Troup High School should be extremely proud of their seasons. Callaway came just a few yards from reaching the state championship game in a 28-22 loss to Rockmart. Troup raced back from a big deficit against Blessed Trinity, pulling within 10 after being down 34-6 early. However, the Tigers could not get any closer and saw their season end.

There’s a lot that goes into a football season, even for teams that aren’t very good.

There are summer workouts, weight lifting, early mornings and practices in the hot summer weather and in the cool of the fall. There’s a lot of other ways players and coaches could be spending their afternoon, instead of working hard after a long day at school. The same goes for the cheerleaders and members of the band at each school. It’s hard to pinpoint what separates a winning team from a losing team, at least in a simplified way. Some argue it’s that winning teams work harder or want it more.

Others would say they don’t turn the ball over or have great coaching. It’s probably a combination of all of those factors — and many others — plus having talented players.

There’s no doubt that both teams have a lot to be proud of this year and worked hard to get to the point they did. Although it didn’t end in a state championship, we’re sure this will be a year none of them will forget.

And who knows? Maybe 12 months from now, both teams will be back in position to compete for a state championship again.