The Palo Duro Dons are heading into the Texas high school football playoffs with plenty of momentum, another district championship, and a nine-game winning streak.

Palo Duro wrapped up its regular season Thursday night at Dick Bivins Stadium with a convincing 49-13 victory over Lubbock-Cooper, completing a second straight undefeated run through District 2-5A Division II.

The Dons improved to 9-1 overall and 6-0 in district play, extending their district winning streak to 12 games. Their only loss came against Amarillo High in the season opener.

Now, the real fun begins.

Despite already securing the district's No. 1 playoff seed, Palo Duro had no intention of taking it easy against the Pirates.

Things didn't start smoothly, though.

After a scoreless first quarter, Lubbock-Cooper struck first when quarterback Jayden Ramirez connected with Noah Clark on a 26-yard touchdown pass, giving the Pirates a surprising 6-0 lead.

That apparently got Palo Duro's attention.

The Dons responded with 21 unanswered points in just over six minutes to take control before halftime.

Raymond Johnson got things rolling with a 9-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Julian Reese II followed with a 3-yard scoring run before connecting with Texas Longhorns commit Kyron Brown on a spectacular 34-yard touchdown pass.

Just like that, Palo Duro carried a 21-6 advantage into the locker room.

But Lubbock-Cooper wasn't finished.

The Pirates opened the second half with another Ramirez-to-Clark touchdown connection, this time cutting Palo Duro's lead to 21-13 midway through the third quarter.

For a brief moment, the Dons had themselves a football game.

Then Reese took over.

Following a pair of costly Cooper penalties, Reese bobbled a shotgun snap before recovering and turning a potential disaster into a dazzling 37-yard touchdown run.

That play completely changed the momentum.

Johnson added another touchdown on a 3-yard run, and Reese later found Brown for a 59-yard scoring strike that pushed Palo Duro's advantage to 42-13 early in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Caddyn Toombs-Jackson finished the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run.

The Dons scored the game's final 28 points, leaving little doubt about who controlled District 2-5A Division II.

Brown delivered another outstanding performance, hauling in five passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

Johnson powered the rushing attack with 98 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns, while Toombs-Jackson added 88 yards on 10 carries.

Palo Duro's defense also came through, holding the Pirates to just 209 total yards.

For head coach Eric Mims and his Dons, the regular season couldn't have ended much better.

But another district championship isn't the ultimate goal.

Palo Duro will return to Dick Bivins Stadium next Thursday night to host an El Paso-area opponent in the opening round of the playoffs.

With explosive playmakers, a punishing ground game, and a defense capable of shutting opponents down, the Dons have plenty of reasons to believe they can make a serious postseason run.

Nine straight wins. Back-to-back undefeated district championships. And now, playoff football.

The Dons are rolling, and Amarillo football fans have plenty to be excited about.