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SARAHSVILLE -- If Buckeye Local hopes to get back on track Friday in a MOVL showdown in Sarahsville, then the Panthers will need a much better start to this game than during last Friday's loss to Monroe Central.
Coming off their first win of the season, the Panthers' first two offensive possessions resulted in a fumble and a blocked punt. Not ideal scenarios for a team still searching for a consistent offensive identity.
Head coach Jim Hoover noted that his team needs to be able to overcome adversity when it happens and not to hang their heads. Those two initial drives certainly qualify as on-field adversity.
Playing against a team like Shenandoah, led by dynamic sophomore quarterback Braxton Barnett, critical mistakes by Buckeye will no doubt be turned into points by Shenandoah.
Shenandoah has its share of playmakers, but make no mistakes, this offense runs through Barnett.
He's rushed for 360 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per tote. Through the air, the sophomore has 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns for an average of 227 yards per game.
He does have eight picks against those 10 scoring strikes, however, and his completion percentage hovers around 60 percent. Barnett has a trio of capable receivers at his disposal in Hunter Yates, Brenden Portman, and Weston Miley.
Yates leads in receptions (34), yards (393) and touchdowns (4), while Portman makes the most of each catch, checking in at 16.3 per reception.
If Buckeye hopes to slow down the Zeps, then its offense will need to put together some lengthy drives to keep Shenandoah's dangerous offense on the sideline.
Alex McDiffitt leads the Panthers in both rushing yards (240, and three touchdowns) and passing (66 yards, one TD). Noah Kourim actually has seven more yards than McDiffitt on only 39 carries but has yet to taste the end zone via the run.
Offense has been a struggle but since winning the Brownsville game, the Panthers are starting to show signs of life. Still, to prevent teams from overloading the box in an all-out effort to stop the run, Buckeye's passing attack will need to pick up the pace a bit.
Between McDiffitt and the injured Skyler Ebright, Buckeye quarterbacks have only 18 completions and 91 yards through five games -- one TD to eight interceptions.
The Zeps are coming off their third loss of the year, a 33-26 narrow setback at the hands of undefeated Rootstown (5-0). The other two losses are to Union Local (20-8) to start the season and Waterford, 24-22, two weeks later. Even in defeat, Shenandoah has been in every game and easily could be unbeaten at the midway point.
With difficult games against unbeatens Barnesville and Caldwell to round out their regular season, the Zeps will be looking to snag as many wins as possible between now and a (hopeful) Week 11.