The Pekin Panther football team is 48 minutes away from their first trip to the UNI Dome in over a decade.The no 4 rated Panthers welcome in the no 3 rated Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels to Tom Stone Field for a Class A quarterfinal matchup this evening.

The Panthers come into the contest 11-0 on the season, and have been playing lights out since the postseason began. The Panthers outscored their first two playoff opponents 109-19 in victories over North Linn and Lisbon. Pekin forced six turnovers in the 47-6 second round win against Lisbon Monday evening. Sophomore Trevor Northup led the Panthers offense with 202 total yards and a passing touchdown. Defensively, senior Cole Reighard had two interceptions returned for touchdowns in the victory. With a victory tonight over the Rebels, Pekin will advance to play at the UNI Dome for the first time since 2002.

Since their Week 1 loss to Union Community Schools 25-7, Gladbrook-Reinbeck has won 10 straight games, including a 56-14 second round matchup with BMG on Monday evening. The Rebels are led offensively by their junior running back Eric Stoakes. Stoakes has 1859 rushing yards, 31 touchdowns, and is average just over 10 yards per carry. Four Rebels have two interceptions on the season. Those players include seniors Phillip Zimmerman and Austin Lott, and juniors Jake Schuman and Colton Dinsdale.

Tonight’s quarterfinal playoff game between the Pekin Panthers and the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels kicks off at 7 p.m. at Tom Stone Field in Packwood.