The Cleburne Yellow Jackets will open postseason play against No. 9 Midlothian in a Class 5A bidistrict showdown Tuesday in Mansfield. Last year, Cleburne made its first playoff appearance since the 2008-09 season, which was also the previous time the Jackets made the playoffs in consecutive seasons. After snapping that eight-year playoff drought a year ago, Cleburne Coach Kurt White said they’re proud to be back for a second straight appearance. “That’s what we work for,” White said. “A lot of hard work’s gone into this. Making the playoffs again means a lot. Hopefully we can pull out a win this time. It’s nice to see kids set a goal and reach it, and our goal was to reach the playoffs but also win a ball game. So we’ve achieved the first part of that, now can we do the second part? But it’s another milestone for these guys so it’s good.” The 2008-09 season also happened to be Cleburne’s last playoff win as the Jackets advanced to the regional quarterfinals that year under Coach Lyle Lackey before losing to Lancaster. For the Jackets to claim their first postseason win in nine years, they’ll need to put together one of their best efforts of the season against the Midlothian Panthers, who are ranked ninth in the TABC Class 5A poll. Midlothian (23-10) finished third in District 10-5A, arguably the toughest in Class 5A as the league boasts four teams ranked in the top 11. “They’re pretty good and they’re very well coached,” White said. “Defensively, they’re very, very good. They’ve got Kaden Archie, a 6-foot-6 guard type of player that is signed with TCU. They have another 6-foot-6 kid [Evan Marshall] who signed with Air Force. And they’ve got two really good shooting guards. They’ve got some other weapons to go along with their top talent.” Archie is one of the nation’s top-ranked recruits as he also holds offers from Kansas, LSU, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech and Wichita State, among others. While on paper the Jackets will be out-matched from a size standpoint, White said he doesn’t believe Midlothian has played a team similar to how Cleburne approaches things. “They’re just pretty good,” White said. “Like I said, they’re very well coached. Steve Middleton does a really good job of playing pressure man defense. That scares me a little bit. But on the other hand they haven’t played anyone like us either. That’s what we’re banking on is they haven’t played anyone like us who plays a pretty disciplined attack. They have to play us also, and sometimes people forget that. We’re excited about the opportunity.” White said he expects last year’s playoff experience — a hard-fought 58-49 loss to then-defending state champ Lancaster — to aide Cleburne (22-11) this time around. “We have a little bit better idea of what to expect this time,” White said. “We have several guys who experienced that atmosphere last year, and it is a different experience. So I feel we’re better equipped to handle the scene we’re going in to.” While Midlothian features two Division I signees and a couple more potential college players, the Jackets counter with senior Addison Wallace, a New Mexico State University signee. White said they need Wallace to do his usual thing while having others like Garrett Wilson and Chris Arthurs have solid outings as well. “We need Addison to just be Addison and not try to force things,” White said. “He just needs to let the game come to him, because it will. Then we need Garrett Wilson to do what he normally does of keeping the ball steady and playing good defense. We need Chris Arthurs to be that trash man and go get six or eight points off rebounds and second shots. Then there’s Kyler Jones who’s got to knock down a few 3’s along with Da’Quan Cius. They’ve all got to do their part and do it well. We can’t have one person on the floor have an off night.” With Midlothian’s pressure defense and size advantage, White said taking care of the ball and preserving possessions will be key against the Panthers, along with tempo. “Protecting the ball and not allowing them second-chance opportunities at easy baskets is what we’ve got to do,” White said. “We have to control the tempo of the game with our offense. We cannot get in a running game with them. That’s where our style of play helps us. In our really big games, we’ve held people down into the 50-point range to where we can compete with them. We’ve done that by controlling the tempo of the game offensively and then defending pretty well, too. We have to play the right way against these people. If we can do that, I like our chances.” Since ending the regular season with a 19-point comeback to beat Joshua on Feb. 13, White said he’s been pleased with what the Jackets have done in practice leading up to their playoff opener. “We’ve had good practices,” he said. “Our focus has been on perfect execution and speed, and I’ve been real pleased with what we’ve done in practice along with a few adjustments we’ve thrown at them. I’ve been real pleased with our work. I think we’re as ready as we can be.” Tipoff between the Jackets and Panthers is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Mansfield High School. The winner advances to the area playoffs against the Dallas Wilson-Dallas Conrad winner.