We're excited to get into the playoffs. The kids worked hard all year. It was do-or-die.

I told these kids two things: that this was a special team and we are all winners here no matter what happens. It was just a tremendous pleasure to coach them and be a part of this. To make it to the second round was truly special for us, obviously it was disappointing losing, but it was great. The pleasure was all mine. They were a tremendous team.

It's always tough to win at the end of the road. I'm just so proud of these kids and this team. They were the first team in school history to beat Cleveland. It's tough to deal with tonight, but Lufkin Hudson is a tough team. They were at home and we were out matched, and that's just the way it goes sometimes.

I think it speaks of the high quality of kids we have in the Valley. We have the talent here in the Valley, and to see a coach like Ricky Vaughn try to keep it here means a lot. I've never seen the numbers like he has now. And the thing is, nationally they're competitive. They can compete with the best of them.

Those guys have been leading us all year. We're sad to see these seniors go, but that's just part of the process.

When it came down to the last few games in district we had to win to make the playoffs and the kids stepped up and got it done. They stepped up again Tuesday night in a playoff atmosphere. Our seniors have dreamed about playing at the nice facility at Lee College. It's nice to see them accomplish that and play the way they did.