Coming into the 2008 season there’s always a lot of hype around a lot of teams.

And then once the season opens, there are always a few surprises.

Well, Buckeye Local is probably in both categories as we enter the second week of the season.

The Panthers have struggled over the last several years to put it mildly. They made some strides last season and finished 3-6 and have several key pieces back plus quarterback Joe Rine returned, giving head coach Ron Pobolish the opportunity to stretch the field more with the passing game.

Friday night at World War II Memorial Stadium, the Panthers didn’t throw it much, but they didn’t need to thanks to the work being done by running back Kevin Calhoun who tallied two touchdowns, including the one in the fourth quarter, which sealed the deal. He added another and more than 100 yards rushing. Brandon Bartrug also came up big, scoring the touchdown, which pulled the Panthers even.

Buckeye Local also displayed a lot of character on the defensive side of the ball. The Panthers’ defense was strong a year ago, but the two leaders of the unit, Isaac Omaits and Shane Bishop have graduated. However, Nathan Schaal came up big.

It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of momentum the Panthers can build and sustain from their 21-14 win over Martins Ferry. They remain in Buckeye 8 conference play the next two weekends with road trips to St. Clairsville and Bellaire, respectively.

CAN’T HIDE ANYMORE!

In talking several times with Harrison Central head coach Justin Kropka, he always talks about trying to keep his Huskies under the radar. He wants to sneak up on people.

Well, a lot of people knew the Huskies – coming into the 2008 campaign – had a lot of weapons coming back. But games aren’t won on paper. The Huskies went out and won a game on the field Friday, knocking off highly-regarded Claymont, 18-15.

The Huskies have a lot of weapons to utilize, which is something that’s going to make them awful tough to defend as the season progresses.

When you line up to defend the Huskies, you’ve got to respect Wes Skinner’s break-away speed, Ty Kenny’s ability to manage a game at quarterback and throw into the mix Tyler Banks who scored twice in the win over the Mustangs.

Harrison Central will welcome Sir Wilfred Laurier to Cadiz this weekend. The squad from London Ontario in Canada will make the trek down. It’s not the first time, that squad has been in the Ohio Valley. It’s met Bellaire twice and Martins Ferry once in the past. The Huskies should be able to get some younger kids some playing time early in the contest and begin to turn attention to Martins Ferry, which visits in Week 3.

UNION LOCAL BARRAGE

The Union Local Jets experienced a season no one will soon forget last year, reeling off nine wins and qualifying – for the first time ever – to the Division IV playoffs.

However, after Friday’s lop-sided victory over homestanding Meadowbrook, the folks in all of the communities that make up the Union Local school district are talking about 2008 already fully.

A big reason why is the play of senior quarterback Jordan Barbina. Let’s be honest, the Jets were hit hard by graduation, but one of the key cogs they did return was Barbina who does it all for head coach Mark Cisar and company.

Barbina had an amazing evening against the Colts. He threw for nearly 370 yards and five touchdowns and then added two more scores and close to 60 yards on the ground. Not a bad debut, eh?

With go-to-guy Kyle Blackman sitting out the game, Union Local found its got plenty of capable of receivers beyond Blackman. Junior speedster Brandon Nicholes caught six balls for 270 yards and scored twice. However, David Fisher, Joby Barr, Mark Thompson all proved they can handle the spotlight, and that’s probably what stood out most to Cisar.

The Jets welcome Shenandoah this week.

TOUGH WAYS TO LOSE

If there are tough ways to lose, Shadyside and Monroe Central both experienced it Friday in their season openers. Playing Ridgewood and Crestview, respectively, the Tigers and Seminoles dipped to 0-1 entering their annual Week Two clash this Friday in Belmont County.

Shadyside appeared to be dead in the water and about to get blown out, trailing by two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter. However, the Tigers engineered two scoring drives and converted a two-point conversion to eventually knot the game at 28. However, the unflappable Generals – displaying a great amount of poise with nary a timeout at their disposal – proceeded to drive the ball to the Tigers’ 18-yard line and trotted out Skylor McQuiston to attempt a 35-yard game-winning field goal. And as Pirates’ announcer Lanny Fratare would say, “There was no doubt about it.” The kick sailed perfectly through the center of the uprights and looked as if it would have been good from 50 yards.

Monroe Central, meanwhile, scratched and clawed with Crestview before falling, 20-19, in overtime.

The Seminoles have never won an overtime game since the school’s consolidation, but as Coach Jay Circosta pointed out in his post-game comments, you’d think eventually that tide would turn in your favor.

The Seminoles figured out they have a go-to-receiver in Kyle Jorris who made six catches for 97 yards and quarterback Derek-London Dierkes is continuing to develop each time he steps on the field.

With neither team wanting to start the season 0-2 obviously, this week’s game at Fleming Field between the Tigers and Seminoles is huge for both squads.

KEEP ON KEEPIN ON

That’s got to be the motto of the Beallsville Blue Devils. Each year Coach Dave Caldwell’s team puts up a brilliant season. Each year they lose several key pieces to graduation, but when the following season begins the Blue Devils miss nary a beat.

That appears to be true once again in 2008.

Beallsville got off and rolling Friday night to a tune of a 56-0 victory over Hemlock Miller and used a variety of people and a variety of methods to score, but that’s been a trademark of the Devils over the course of the Caldwell era.

Senior Eric Lucas draws much of the attention from fans, media and opposing teams, but he was by no means alone in the pasting of Miller. He scored on his first touch of the season when he took a punt and raced 45 yards for the score. He later caught a pass from senior quarterback Justin Fisher who was making his first start after waiting his turn behind Kevin Stoney.

Fisher was sharp, accounting for more than 100 yards of offense and three scores. He ran for two scores to show his versatility.

And as has been the case in the last couple of Beallsville seasons, the Big Blue defense is tough to penetrate. It held Miller to just 95 yards and four first downs.

LOOK AHEAD

Several early-season key games are on tap this week around the Ohio Valley and along with the Ohio games, the West Virginia schools get into the act by opening their seasons.

First place in the Buckeye 8 is on the line Friday at the Belmont County Fairgrounds when St. Clairsville goes after its 12th straight regular season win against aforementioned Buckeye Local. The Red Devils were decisive road winners at Edison last Friday.

River – seeking a 2-0 start – will receive a test at Flannery Field when cross-river rival Magnolia treks across the bridge to meet the Pilots. It’s the Blue Eagles’ debut with sophomore quarterback Justin Fox leading the way. The Pilots were basically untested in a 35-0 victory over Fort Frye last weekend.

Wheeling Park will make its 2008 debut and it will be the final season opener for veteran head coach Mark Nardone who has announced this will be his last season at the helm of the Patriots. The Park opens at Wheeling Island against always formidable Morgantown.

Stick with The Times Leader for Wednesday’s Xs and Os section, which previews three of the area’s premier prep games.

MARCH ON RED

The Steubenville Big Red just continue to amaze. This writer had the chance to make the trip to jam-packed Harding Stadium in Steubenville last Thursday night to get a glimpse of the mighty Big Red.

And they are mighty once again let me assure you. The whole atmosphere at Harding any week is second to none in the Ohio Valley. From the horse breathing fire, to the constant galloping sound you hear after a good play or when the public address announcer says a player’s last name twice after a good play. There’s just something different about football at Big Red.

And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the game-part of it where you have a team with talent coming out of the wazoo and you couple that with a mental approach that tells the winners of now 51 regular season games in a row that they are going to win every time they set foot on the field is quite an advantage.

Indian Creek – which still has two years remaining on its contract with Big Red – proved to be no match again for their rivals down Sunset Boulevard. The Redskins will win their fair share of games, but they just can’t match up with Big Red.

Much like the 2007 game, Steubenville forced an early mistake, made Creek pay and from there it was over. This year, however, the Big Red had already gone up by a score, marching 91 yards in 9 plays for the touchdown. Then they forced a fumble and the ensuing play was a touchdown pass from Dwight Macon, who is getting better and better with each snap.

Lets make this statement: If someone doesn’t get Big Red this year, then when are they going to lose because they don’t play very many seniors? Just a little food for thought.

PICK PARADE RACE

Another season of the Pick Parade got under way last Tuesday and after the first weekend of action, Kim North leads the way, posting a strong 11-2 week. This writer – who by the way won his first Pick Parade title a season ago – started slowly with a 9-4 week.

If you noticed the Pick Parade last week, we debuted the advertiser of the week and it was Tom Clegg of Robinson Auto. Each week, throughout the season one of the advertisers will pick his or her selections and their results will be contained here in this spot weekly. Clegg finished 7-6.

Follow the picks weekly and play along yourself for a chance to win prizes all season in The Times Leader.

Staskey can be reached at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com