Joey Serrano is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Peoria High School for AZPreps365.com

The Peoria Panthers are gearing up for another run at a conference 4A championship, kicking off the season October 2 in a non-conference away game against Desert Mountain. 

Entering the season ranked 56 in the state and 4,254 in the country, the Panthers went 9-3 last year after getting bounced from the playoffs in the second round against Cactus.

But this season figures to be different in several ways.  Key seniors have moved on, forcing the Panthers to rely on new and unproven players. The team, like the rest of the world, also has to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and the challenges it brings. 

The Panthers lost 22 seniors from last year’s team, including starting quarterback Kyle Samford, running back Micho Cordero (who led the team in rushing attempts), receiver Jovon Scott (who led the team in receiving yards) and leading tackler Alaa Barakat. The team will look for new players to fill all of these voids.

Coach Will Babb is entering his ninth season as the man in charge and has a 62-28 career record at Peoria, but even with all that experience this season provides challenges that even he hasn’t seen or faced before.

The coronavirus has caused Americans to stay at home and social distance throughout the summer, putting teams behind the eight ball in terms of preparation for the upcoming season.

“We are behind where we would normally be without summer (practices),” Babb said. 

Even after the team was finally able to get together and practice, there were still obstacles the Panthers had to face that didn’t exist before COVID-19.

“We have to socially distance, no locker rooms, sterilized equipment and the meeting space (is restricted),” Babb said. 

With all of these challenges Babb said he still expects tremendous leadership amongst his players to help guide the team through these tough and unusual times.

“A key for us will be leadership from the returning starters. They need to lead the newcomers in the standard of practice and play,” Babb said. 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic there are a lot of rules and regulations that have been put into place to keep all parties safe and have a full season. One of these regulations is to have limited fans in attendance, groups that will consist mostly of family members of players. The coaching staff hopes this will provide some sort of game atmosphere that the players are used to.

“Fans are an important part of the experience. Parents being able to attend will still give the athletes needed support,” Babb said.

With all of this uncertainty and obstacles that this season will provide, Babb is hopefully his team can get through a healthy season.

“We’d like to remain healthy and give the athletes an opportunity to play the 2020 season,'" he said.

This season provides a lot of uncertainty but also excitement for the Panthers as they get the opportunity to play the game that they love and enjoy.