The Cooper Cougars are back in the playoffs for the fifth year in a row.

They are looking to get past the first round for the first time in those five trips.

Getting into the playoffs a great accomplishment for any team in the state, but the first round losses are hard to take.

The 2023 Cougars are hoping to break the streak and get over the hump.

Jordan Willis said, “I feel like we’ve handle it better than I expected honestly because we went through so much like the Winter break and all that. We went through all that and came back from it and I don’t know we’re just a strong team and we just have the effort and we give it all we have. “

“You know high school kids they’re a roller coaster right. Most of the time we’ve been up this year more than down which is good,” said head coach Bryan Conover. He added, “It’s just part of the game you know you come out and be able to survive that kind of a roller coaster ride on Tuesday night. They’ll have some ups and downs in the game, hopefully we’ll be able to ride it out and pull out a victory.”

Cooper plays Amarillo Palo Duro for the third time in the last five years in the first round.

The Dons and the Cougars play on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in Lamesa.