Preview: North Boone at Burlington Central

When: today at 7 p.m. at Rocket Hill

Last year: Burlington Central 46, North Boone 6

Last week: Oregon 20, Burlington Central 7; Genoa-Kingston 42, North Boone 9

Outlook: Burlington Central faces the improved Vikings, who have already matched their win total from a year ago. This could be the game when the Central offense breaks out. North Boone has allowed 114 points through 4 games, which could be good news for Central sophomore quarterback Tim Maroder. He rushed for 109 yards last week. The Rockets have given up 283 total yards per game and 101 points themselves, but the defense showed improvement last week against hard-nosed Oregon. The Rockets rushed for more yards, passed for more yards and dominated time of possession against the Hawks, but a missed tackle led to one big play and an onside kick returned for a touchdown with 17 seconds to play ended a comeback bid. The Rockets now have no room for error. They must sweep their 5 Big Northern-East games, beginning tonight, to reach the postseason. "The past is the past. Our record in conference is the same as everyone else's," Central coach Aaron Wichman said. "The biggest thing was just taking a lot of guys with inexperience and getting them experience and getting them used to playing together. And then getting used to the speed of varsity games and getting used to the effort it takes for four quarters to be competitive and successful. Everything from Week 1 until now was a learning process. But after 4 games we do have guys who have gotten a lot of reps in and guys who are used to playing with each other. Hopefully, that continues." The Rockets get stronger this week with the return of two starters from injuries. Sophomore outside linebacker Brandon Westergaard broke his arm in the Byron game two weeks ago but will play, wearing a soft cast. Safety Bobby Timm is back after missing three weeks with a knee injury. North Boone is led by sophomore twins Alex and Jon Albrecht. Alex, the quarterback, rushed for 149 yards last week in a lopsided loss to Genoa-Kingston, but was held to 6 completions in 13 attempts for 54 yards. Jon is his top receiving target. Last week's physical game against Oregon was a good tuneup for Central before the BNC-East opener. "Every game is going to be like that now in the Big Northern-East," Wichman said.