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Stark County High School Football: What you need to know for the 2023 season

canton repository
·7 min read

High School football returns this week in Ohio.

In the Stark County area, two games kick off the season Thursday before the rest of the area's teams get rolling Friday night. For all of the teams in the area, and from all around Ohio, their ultimate goal is to be in Canton for the OHSAA state championship games this December.

Our CantonRep.com sports writers will be there over the next four months, sharing the stories of the teams in our communities in their quests to capture league titles, win rivalry games and reach the state playoffs.

To get ready for the 2023 season, we've spent the last month talking to area coaches and players and sharing stories not found anywhere else.

Each team's schedule can be found here. Read on to find breakdowns of all of our area's teams.

Federal League football previews

Canton McKinley Bulldogs - Led by explosive skill players such as Dante McClellan and Nino Hill, Canton McKinley has high hopes in head coach Antonio Hall's third season. Read more here.

GlenOak Golden Eagles - After showing flashes the last two years and with a big, experienced senior class, GlenOak football expects success in Scott Garcia's third year back. Read more here.

Green Bulldogs - With Antonio Martin back healthy and an older, stronger roster, the Green Bulldogs hope the growing pains from last season are history. Read more here.

Jackson Polar Bears - Entering his second season as Polar Bears head coach, Jay Rohr is excited about Jackson's speed and skill, including sophomore QB Lucas Ecrement. Read more here.

Lake Blue Streaks - Expectations are high in Hartville as Lake football returns a glut of talent from last year's resurgent team that advanced to an OHSAA regional final. Read more here.

North Canton Hoover Vikings - With speed and skill in abundance, Hoover football looks to build on surprising 2022 that included eight wins, including one in the OHSAA playoffs. Read more here.

Perry Panthers - The wing-T Panthers, who plan to pass more in 2023, hope young lines anchored by Mike Millin grow up quickly in head coach Zach Slates' third season. Read more here.

Stark County parochials/independents football previews

Central Catholic Crusaders - Despite losing a three-year starter at QB, Central Catholic football hopes the return of talented skill players keeps the Crusaders on track in 2023. Read more here.

Louisville Leopards - Chris Kappas enters his first season as Louisville's head coach in Chris Kappas looking to restore confidence and get the Leopards to play with aggression while also changing the mindset around the community. Read more here.

Massillon Tigers - The good news is the Tigers have a good amount of players returning, including some sophomores and juniors who played last season. The bad news is no jobs are safe, and almost every position is up for grabs. Read more here.

St. Thomas Aquinas Knights - St. Thomas Aquinas hopes first-year head coach Kevin Henderson can turn around a program that has fallen on hard times. Read more here.

PAC-7 football previews

Canton South Wildcats - Coach Matt Dennison is in his third year. QB Poochie Snyder is in his fourth. That and other math adds up to football fireworks for Canton South. Read more here.

CVCA Royals - As the youngest team in the PAC-7, CVCA won a share of the title in 2022. The Royals want more with greater experience this fall. Read more here.

Fairless Falcons - The Fairless High School football team hopes to win an unprecedented third straight league championship in 2023. Read more here.

Manchester Panthers - The Panthers begin their first season under Kevin Stacy and are loaded with veteran leadership and a determination to succeed. Read more here.

Northwest - Connor Satterfield and Chase Badger lead the way for the Northwest High School football team as it prepares for the 2023 season. Read more here.

Orrville Red Riders - The Red Riders overcame a slow start to grab a share of the league title in 2022. With just a few players graduated from last year's team, Orrville heads into this season ready to have success from the start. Read more here.

Triway Titans - The Titans have some major pieces to replace but they have some talent, and with better luck, should be able to compete in a wide-open PAC-7 this year. Read more here.

Tuslaw Mustangs - Seventy-five percent of the players on Tuslaw's football team are freshmen and sophomores. Coach Matt Gulling looks to rebuild and find new talent. Read more here.

Eastern Buckeye Conference football previews

Alliance Aviators - A preview of the 2023 Alliance High School football season. The Aviators are led by senior quarterback Brendan Zurbrugg, an Oklahoma recruit. Read more here.

Carrollton Hornets - Veteran head coach Jim Tsilimos has led Carrollton to three straight winning seasons. The Warriors plow ahead without a record-setting running back. Read more here.

Marlington Dukes - Marlington is a program that historically has been lauded for its high-scoring offense, but this team might be known for its defense by the end of the season. Read more here.

Minerva Lions - Tim Speakman begins his second year as head coach after the Lions had a strong offseason. Expect Minerva to be improved this season. Read more here.

West Branch Warriors - West Branch returns 4,000 yards of offense from a team that scored 45.5 points per game last season and is primed for another run at a league title and playoff run in 2023. Read more here.

Inter-Valley Conference football previews

East Canton Hornets - East Canton didn't get a taste of the playoffs in 2022, and that should be a big incentive for coach John "Spider" Miller's team this season. Read more here.

Malvern Hornets - With returnees at quarterback, receiver, running back an O-line, the Malvern Hornets have designs on a big season. Read more here.

Sandy Valley Cardinals - With 16 returning starters, including seven that have started at leas three seasons, Sandy Valley will be one of the area's most experienced teams. Read more here.

Coaches Confidential

Miss the debut of our new weekly Coaches Confidential? Here's what topics we've asked coaches about the past two weeks:

Stark County football coaches talk: Coaches Confidential | Does the Ohio high school football season start too early

OHSAA football preseason focus: Coaches Confidential | What’s most important to achieve in preseason football practices?

Additional Stark County high school football preseason info

What 10 games do we expect to be the biggest ones this regular season? Who are the area's top teams heading into Week 1? Here's some of projections heading into the season.

2022 Stark County-area final regular season standings

Federal League Football Standings

  • McKinley ... 5-1 ... 6-6

  • Lake ........... 5-1 ... 12-2

  • Hoover ...... 4-2 ... 8-4

  • Jackson ..... 2-4 ... 6-6

  • Green ........ 2-4 ... 4-7

  • GlenOak .... 2-4 ... 4-7

  • Perry .......... 1-5 ... 4-7

Stark County independents/others standings

  • Massillon .................. 12-2

  • Central Catholic ....... 7-5

  • Louisville .................. 3-7

  • St. Thomas Aquinas ... 0-8

PAC-7 football standings

  • Fairless ............ 5-2 ... 9-3

  • Canton South ... 5-2 ... 9-4

  • CVCA ............... 5-2 ... 7-4

  • Northwest ........ 5-2 ... 8-4

  • Orrville ............. 5-2 ... 6-5

  • Triway .............. 2-5 ... 4-7

  • Tuslaw .............. 1-6 ... 3-7

  • Manchester ...... 0-7 ... 0-10

Eastern Buckeye Conference football standings

  • West Branch .... 5-0 ... 12-2

  • Alliance ............ 4-1 ... 8-3

  • Carrollton ........ 3-2 ... 7-4

  • Salem ............... 2-3 ... 6-5

  • Marlington ...... 1-4 ... 1-9

  • Minerva ........... 0-5 ... 0-9

Inter-Valley Conference football standings

North

  • Newcomerstown 5-0 ... 8-3

  • Malvern .............. 4-1 ... 8-3

  • Buckeye Trail ..... 3-2 ... 3-7

  • East Canton ....... 2-3 ... 4-6

  • Strasburg ............ 1-4 ... 1-9

  • Tusc. Cent. Cath. 0-5 ... 2-8

South

  • Garaway ................. 5-0 ... 12-1

  • Indian Valley ......... 4-1 ... 10-4

  • Ridgewood ............ 3-2 ... 8-4

  • Sandy Valley .......... 2-3 ... 4-6

  • Claymont ............... 1-4 ... 3-7

  • Tusky Valley .......... 0-5... 1-9

Want to look back at the 2022 season? Visit our week-by-week scores from last year, which also includes links to assorted coverage from '22.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark County High School Football Guide for the 2023 season