YORKVILLE — Buckeye Local had first-and-goal on its first two possessions Friday night against Edison, but the snake-bitten Panthers came away empty-handed on both occasions.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, overcame a sluggish start before exploding for a trio of touchdowns in a three-minute span in the second quarter and were never threatened in a 42-0 rout on senior night at World War II Memorial Stadium.

The Panthers took the opening kick and marched 51 yards on 16 plays, using nearly seven minutes of the clock to get to the Edison 7. However, two incomplete passes and a quarterback sack on fourth down halted that drive.

Buckeye Local got the ball right back, and Seth Richardson completed a 30-yard pass to Shayne Christian, who made a nice leaping grab over a Wildcat defender at the Edison 10. The next two plays lost four yards, and two incomplete passes thwarted that scoring drive.

“I think we showed sparks of what we can do. We came out with a different gameplan and drove the ball right down the field,” second-year Buckeye Local head coach Roger Herbert said. “We dropped a touchdown in the end zone. That hurt us, but we got the ball right back and drove it down the field until a couple of mishaps hampered us.

“We’re showing huge improvements. We’re doing some good things, but then we shoot ourselves in the foot with a penalty or missed assignment. This team has come a long way and I’m okay with it.”

On Edison’s second series of downs, a halfback pass from Noah Woods to Ryan Higgs picked up 71 yards and set the Panthers up with a first-and-goal from the Panthers’ 1. Freshman Tyler Griffith scored to make it 6-0 as the two-point run failed with 11:11 on the second quarter clock.

Following a three-and-out by Buckeye Local, Edison’s Kaleb Waggoner galloped 70 yards down the middle of the field untouched, as the margin grew to 12-0 with 9:58 showing. Once again, the two-point conversion failed.

After Christian was sacked in punt formation deep in his own territory, it only took the Wildcats two plays to cover the distance. Quarterback Anthony Sinicropi found Bryce McAfoose for 29 yards to the 1 where Waggoner danced in to make it 18-0 with 8:43 remaining before the half.

“We started the game off real sloppy. We just had to get focused and get back on track,” Edison head coach Shane O’Brien said. “Once we fell into our groove, we started to execute a lot better. We just need to be able to start off cleaner.

“A couple of plays got us the momentum and the trick play got us started. We were able to ride some of that, but we need to start faster and be more consistent. After we got that consistency, we were able to execute a lot better.”

After gaining 51 yards on its opening drive, Buckeye Local was held in check for the most part, as it totaled just 55 yards rushing on the night. The Panthers also passed for 155.

“We made a few adjustments,” O’Brien said of Buckeye Local’s ability to run the ball on that lengthy opening drive. “I think it was more about being focused and prepared mentally than anything.”

Waggoner, who finished with 146 yards on 15 carries, found the end zone for a third time on the first drive of the second half. The speedy junior went 15 yards and then caught a two-point pass from Sinicropi for a 26-0 reading.

Sinicropi, who passed for 113 yards and a TD on 6 of 10, found Andrew Kinney all alone down the right sidelines for a 51-yard pass-and-catch. Griffith’s two-point run made it 34-0.

Edison concluded the scoring when Tyler Shrieve and Jacob Cusick connected from 41 yards out with a running clock. Shrieve then hit a diving Derek Rohall with the two-pointer.

With the victory, Edison (4-5) kept its slim Division V, Region 19 playoff hopes alive, while Buckeye Local (0-9) lost for the 41st straight time dating back to Week 8 of the 2014 campaign.

“It’s still a possibility,” O’Brien said of the postseason. “We’re taking it one game at a time, and we’re going to start getting ready for Indian Creek. That’s our focus right now. It’s the next step in the process.”

For Herbert and his Panthers, they end the season at Harrison Central next Friday.

“It got a little out of hand there at the end, but Edison is a real good football team,” he said. “We’ve got to keep going and keep playing. We’ve got a game next week and then we hit our off-season running. We’re going to get there.

“It could’ve very easily have been 18-12 or 18-14 at the half, but it was 18-0. Then, we always talk about the first drive of the second half being crucial, and they drove right down the field and scored. That was the backbreaker and took the wind out of us.”

Edison 42, Buckeye Local 0

Edison 0 18 16 8 — 42

Buckeye Local 0 0 0 0 — 0

E: Griffith 1 run (run failed)

E: K. Waggoner 70 run (pass failed)

E: K. Waggoner 1 run (run failed)

E: K. Waggoner 15 run (K. Waggoner run)

E: Kinney 51 pass from Sinicropi (Griffith run)

E: Cusick 41 pass from Shreve (Rohall pass from Shreve)

RUSHING: 27-173-4 (K. Waggoner 15-146-3, Griffith 4-11-1, Clifton 6-10, Gump 2-6). Buckeye Local 28-55 (Richardson 10-21, Palmer 5-17, Smith 8-17, Barber 1-12, Reese 2-(-1), Christian 1-(-11).

PASSING: Edison 11-15-275-2-0 (Sinicropi 6-10-133-1-0, Shreve 3-3-64-1-0, N. Woods 1-71, K. Waggoner 1-7). Buckeye Local 15-32-155-0-2 (Richardson 14-30-149-0-1, Barber 1-2-6-0-1).

RECEIVING: Edison 11-275-2 (McAfoose 3-59, Higgs 2-80, Kinney 2-65-1, Gump 2-23, Cusick 1-41-1, Shreve 1-7). Buckeye Local 15-155 (Christian 6-73, Palmer 4-48, Reese 3-28, Westfall 1-4, Zanes 1-2).

FIRST DOWNS: Edison 16. Buckeye Local 13

FUMBLES: Edison 0-0. Buckeye Local 3-1

PENALTIES: Edison 5-35. Buckeye Local 10-115