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YORKVILLE -- After not getting to play last season due to COVID, Buckeye Local is set to welcome Monroe Central to World War II Memorial Stadium Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
The match up starts what is scheduled to be back-to-back home games with four of the next five for the Panthers set to be on their home grass in Yorkville.
"It'll be nice to be at home the next couple of weeks," Buckeye Locla head coach Jim Hoover said. "We'd rather play at home than anywhere else, obviously."
The Panthers enter the game 1-3 after battling hard with unbeaten Toronto last week. Buckeye Local led early and were within striking distance before the Red Knights got some momentum and were able to pull away a little bit in the second half.
"Last week it was momentum that hurt us," Hoover said. "We should have been up 19-18 at the half and there was a pass interference call, they went in and scored off it and that kind of swung the momentum in their favor.
"We just have to keep improving. I'm not real worried about last week, we've got to focus on getting better at blocking, tackling and the fundamentals."
Though the Seminoles are a different squad than the one the Panthers last saw in 2020 with the graduation of an All-State quarterback, they're still going to provide a challenge.
"They're definitely not the same as they were a couple years ago without Malachi Rose-Burton, but they're a good team and they've got a young quarterback that is solid," Hoover said. "He throws a nice ball, has good feet, and is a good scrambler.
"They've got a couple young wide outs, so it's going to be a challenge for us. Every week is a challenge for us."
The Seminoles come in 0-4, but have lost to three unbeaten teams (Edison, River and Caldwell) and 3-1 Bridgeport.
Both teams will have some youth on the field Friday, though the Panthers hold a slight experience edge.
"We're in the same boat, we've got freshmen and sophomores starting the same as they do," Hoover said. "We've got some experience on our side compared to them."