RAINSVILLE, Ala.- Playoffs have pretty much become a routine for Plainview High School. They’ve made it to the postseason 27 of the last 28 years. But in 2017, just getting there isn’t good enough. After falling in the first round the last two seasons, the Bears are hoping to change the narrative.

“I definitely see it as motivation,” says senior linebacker Jacob Wooten. “We’ve always failed in the first round and we have so much more potential than that.”

The sting of loss still burns for the Bears but it has also sparked a fire. With eight returning starters on both sides of the ball, the Bears are battle-tested and experienced.

“We’re much farther along than we were this time last year or even the year before that,” says third year head coach Dustin Goodwin. “We’ve been able to start on base stuff and build on that. We’re not having to explain quite as much and the tempo is better.”

In all five losses last season, the Bears struggled offensively averaging just 6.8 points in each of those games. So this season, they’re putting an emphasis on points.

“Sometimes, it’s hard to create 13, 14, 15 play drives and close them out with a score and we have to do that a lot,” Goodwin admits. “So we have to be good at our assignments, obviously intensity has to be there and we have to execute everything we have in front of us. And if we can do that we’ll be a lot more productive on offense.”

Three-year starting quarterback Bailey Dukes isn’t short on confidence.

“This will be my fifth year on varsity and I think we have potential to be the best of any of the five years I’ve been here.”

Plainview kicks off the season at home against Sardis on August 25th.