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BARNESVILLE -- It is no secret that Barnesville has turned into quite the successful program of late -- something Buckeye Local knows first-hand having met the Shamrocks in each of the last four season openers.
The Panthers will be looking to do something nobody did last season, beat the Rocks in the regular season, when the teams meet in the hometown of the Pumpkin Festival Friday night for a fifth-consecutive opening night clash.
"They're always a tough opener and this year is no different," Buckeye Local head coach Jim Hoover, who is beginning his third season guiding the Panthers, said. "We've had a couple weeks of good practices and good scrimmages, so we'll be ready to go."
Barnesville went 10-0 in the regular season in 2022 and finished with an 11-1 mark, falling in the second round of the Division V playoffs, and are a combined 21-3 in the past two seasons.
That team, though, lost some key seniors -- including All-Ohio quarterback C.J. Hannahs.
However, even though a few of the names and faces on the other side may be a bit different, Hoover knows the Shamrocks, who return around 20 players that started at some point a season ago, will still be a big challenge for his Panthers, who missed the Division IV postseason last fall after making the Division V field in 2021.
"They lost a few seniors, a couple linemen and their quarterback, Hannahs, which is a really big loss for them, but they just seem to reload out there," Hoover said. "They're well-coached, I have a lot of respect for (Barnesville head coach Blake Allen). We're going to have to be ready.
"They don't do anything fancy, but what they do, they do very well. They're hard-nosed kids out there."
The last time Buckeye Local made the trip to Barnesville, it was the closest they had been to knocking off the Rocks as the hosts hung on for a 17-14 victory in a thriller that came down to the final seconds.
That is the type of slugfest Hoover thinks can take place again.
"I do expect that kind of game," he said. "We're working to sharpen some things up on defense, offensively we have been looking pretty good in practice and the scrimmages. We need to square some things up on defense and we'll be ready to go."
Different from the past meetings, the teams will play on Friday after opening on Thursday in the previous openers -- a welcome change for Hoover and company.
"It's definitely good to have a full week of practice going into the first one," Hoover said. "I'm not a fan of the Thursday games, I like having the full week of practice to be prepared."
The opening kick is set for 7 p.m.