Bellaire’s Raekwon Pettigrew runs with the ball behind a blocker during a game last season. Pettigrew and the Big Reds will travel to face Buckeye Local on Thursday in a week-one rematch from last year, where Bellaire beat the Panthers in either teams’ season-opener.

YORKVILLE – It’s a week-one rematch on Thursday, as Buckeye Local hosts the Bellaire Big Reds inside World War II Memorial Stadium one year after visiting Bellaire for either team’s first outing of the year.

Bellaire defended their home field last year, and this time around, both teams are itching for the chance at a week one victory.

“We’re excited,” Buckeye Local head coach Chris Kiedaisch said. “This is what you put in a ton of work in the off season for, it’s all to lead up to 10 games and a chance to play a couple more together. We’re really excited to get this season started and this journey together, especially after losing 13 seniors. They were a big crutch that I relied on last year, and I’m excited to see how this new crew gets it going.”

“We’ll have guys starting for the first time, and we have a lot of returners,” Bellaire head coach Mark Bonar said. “When you have guys starting for the first time, it’s important they get confidence and they’re ready to grow. So, yeah, I think it’s a really big game.”

Bellaire has an explosive, athletic playmaker on their sideline in junior Raekwon Pettigrew, who is a threat anywhere the Big Reds line him up. He is priority No. 1 for Kiedaisch and his crew.

“We have film on both their scrimmages, and the first thing that stands out is that Pettigrew is a special athlete,” Kiedaisch said. “He’s the focal point of their offense. He’s probably the hardest hitter on their defense, and they’re very solid all-around on both sides of the ball. They do a great job of forcing you to play a complete game of football and not give you anything cheap.”

“Everybody knows Kwon,” Bonar said. “He’s going to be the best player on the field almost every time we play, teams will have to do stuff to take away from him. And we also have other great players that we think are really good and it’ll give them a chance to shine. I think Quan’s going to get a lot of attention. But we have other guys that are really looking forward to great senior years.

Our quarterback [junior Michael Dippel] is back. So we’re excited about that side of the ball.”

Meanwhile, Buckeye Local sees their experienced offensive line as a strength come Thursday night.

Senior Jeven Velez at center, junior Ryder Tibbs and senior Jorge Alvarez at guard, and senior tackles Cameron Rusnick and Grady Kingberg-Colabelli make for a five-man trench group which has plenty of games under their belts.

“Our offensive line is going to have four seniors on it,” Kiedaisch said. “That group of guys does everything that we asked of them. They play really, really hard, and a lot of them started for us last year. So I know all our skill guys last year were mainly seniors, and they got all the recognition. But guys like Jeven Velez and Cameron Rusnick, Ryder Tibbs, the junior, those guys have put in a ton of work, and we’re really excited to see that pay off on the field.”

Kiedaisch is heading into his second season at the helm for Buckeye Local. The former Linsly assistant and West Liberty player thinks one year has made quite a difference.

“Being a head coach is a very different experience. I was lucky enough to have a heck of a mentor in Coach Depew at Linsly, but doing it yourself is very different, especially at a new place with a new staff. I had not coached with anybody on our staff last year going into week one, so that’s obviously a big adjustment. We have made several additions to that staff, but having a core group of guys that I coach with and know very well is a big plus going into this season.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Ron Pobolish Field.