Photo/CODY TOMER Barnesville quarterback Ayden Hannahs avoids the pressure being applied by Buckeye Local’s Isaac Chandler during Thursday’s game in Yorkville.

YORKVILLE — It didn’t matter if it was a 70-minute weather delay or the Buckeye Local Panthers, the Barnesville Shamrocks took on both impressively Thursday night.

Behind a brilliant passing game, impressive special teams and a stifling defensive performance that yielded 22 net yards, the Shamrocks opened the season with an impressive 35-0 drubbing of the Panthers at World War II Memorial Stadium.

“I am really proud of the guys,” Barnesville head coach Blake Allen said. “This kind of night just seems fitting of the entire (season). From starting to stopping and wondering if we’re going to play or not, our kids never waivered. We have great senior leadership and they’re just so excited to get the chance to play, and I think you saw that tonight.”

The Shamrocks owned a 14-0 lead at halftime on the strength of Ayden Hannahs and the passing game and a 42-yard punt return for a touchdown by Spencer Bliss. Hannahs was brilliant throughout, completing 12-of-18 passes for 243 yards and 3 touchdowns. He landed his first nine of the contest, including a 79-yard score to Chase Conner to begin the scoring.

Still, however, the Shamrocks went into their make-shift dressing area a little bit unhappy. They had two touchdowns called back and missed two field goal tries.

“Some of that is first game, which is going to happen, but I was happy with how we came out in the second half and just took care of business,” Allen said.

Getting to the business portion of the second half didn’t come easily. With a thunderstorm slowing creeping over the stadium as the first half ended, the officials spotted lightning and delayed the second-half kick. The players then re-emerged to the field and the limited fans were welcomed back into the seating area only to be delayed again.

However, at approximately 9:50 p.m., the game resumed and Barnesville picked up where it left off. Jacob Boulet, who was a factor on both sides of the ball, pounced on a Buckeye Local fumble in the middle of the third. Three plays later, the Cousins Hannahs — Ayden and Gage — hooked up on a 34-yard touchdown. The pass for two was good and it was 22-0.

Special teams came back to bite the Panthers once again. Another three-and-out led to a punt, which Gage Hannahs fielded at his 45 and dashed the remaining 55 yards seemingly untouched for the touchdown.

Chase Conner and Ayden Hannahs hooked up again on a 15-yard strike to cap the scoring with 7:31 to play in the game, which sent the game into the OHSAA mercy-rule. That score was set up by an interception by Isaac Thompson.

Along with the aforementioned yardage the Shamrocks defense allowed, they also forced two turnovers and recorded no fewer than six sacks of debuting Buckeye quarterback Trey Hoover.

“Leaving those points on the board is something we need to improve on, we had six or seven big plays called back due to penalties, so that’s another area we need to clean up,” Allen said. “I loved our effort. I loved how we handled our business, and I thought we played a complete game.”

The Panthers, who venture to Union Local one week from today, rushed for negative 4 yards. Hoover took the first offensive snap of the game 32 yards on the ground. However, he finished with just 9 yards on 17 rushes because of the Shamrocks’ pass rush, which was fueled by Justin Jackson and Gavin Carpenter.

Barnesville makes its home debut next Friday when Beaver Local comes calling.