"Hopefully, it's not," Cooley said. "Hopefully, we can make it far into the playoffs. If it's the last game, we're going to play our heart out."
Van Buren qualified as the sixth and final seed from the 6A-West Conference, winning a rivalry game against neighboring Fort Smith Southside along with the win over Siloam Springs.
Since the 42-28 win over Southside, though, the Pointers have managed just four touchdowns in losses to Greenwood, Mountain Home and Shiloh Christian.
"We haven't done very well this season, honestly, but going into the playoffs it's a big celebration for us," Cooley said. "We're one of the six that made it so that right there is a huge motivation for us."
The Pointers (3-7, 2-5 6A-West) make the long trip completely across the state for the second year in a row to Marion (7-3, 5-2), the third seed from the 6A-East.
They made the similar trip last year to West Memphis also as the sixth seed and also against the third seeded team from the 6A-East. Van Buren rolled to a 55-32 win against West Memphis, racking up 563 yards of offense. Cooley had 11 catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Van Buren's win was one of four as the 6A-West swept the 6A-East in the first round last year.
"My thoughts, the West is better than the East," Cooley said. "It's going to take commitment from the team and not just shutting out if one bad thing happens. We've got to keep moving and have that next-play mentality."
Cooley missed last week's game against Shiloh Christian but is ready to g... Click here to read full article
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