Countdown to kickoff — a 2024 HS football primer

High School football is back!

After some big-time coaching changes and graduation losses, the Friday Night Lights will turn on for the season openers on Aug. 23.

Despite the turnover, there are still lots of returning All-Ohioans and all-league players back, but plenty of newcomers will also get the chance to make names for themselves.

To help area fans get ready, here are the top storylines to follow in the 2024 season.

Like a fast-paced two-minute offense, here we go:

WHAT’S NEW? – There are three new head coaches at schools in the Wayne-Holmes coverage area.

The biggest offseason news by far was that the area’s top two teams from the past several years had coaching changes.

—Keaton Leppla took over at his alma mater West Holmes after Zach Gardner resigned with a 58-25 record over seven seasons, including an 11-5 postseason mark and the school’s first Final Four trip in 2021. Leppla had been an assistant coach at Wooster.

—Ray Leek is the new head coach at Dalton after Broc Dial resigned following seven years at the helm and a 68-18 record, highlighted by a Div. VII state runner-up finish in 2023. Leek moved North from Cambridge after compiling a 19-23 mark over four seasons, while Dial has taken the reins at Tuslaw.

—Jesse Kanter is the new head coach at Waynedale, taking over for Zach Golec. Kanter was promoted from his role as an assistant coach after Golec accepted the athletic director job at Indian Valley.

—The OCC is down one team in 2024, after Mount Vernon left. CVCA will play its final season after 23 years in the PAC before moving to the North Coast Conference.

2023 REWIND – Dalton (13-2) and West Holmes (10-3) made the area’s deepest postseason runs, with Dalton reaching the first state title game in program history before falling to Marion Local, 38-0. The Dawgs won a 34-29 thriller at Norwayne to claim a third straight WCAL title.

The Knights had their three-year Ohio Cardinal Conference title streak ended by Mansfield Senior, but won two playoff games before being downed 38-21 by Sandusky Perkins.

Canton South ran away with the PAC title before eventually falling to Cleveland Glenville in the Div. IV state semifinals.

Here’s how the final overall records wound up (*denotes league champion):

—OCC – Mansfield Senior (10-3, 7-0 *), West Holmes (10-3, 6-1), New Philadelphia (6-5, 4-3), Lexington (5-6, 4-3), Ashland (5-6, 3-4), Wooster (3-7, 1-6), Mount Vernon (2-8, 1-6), Madison (1-9, 1-6).

—WCAL – Dalton (13-2, 7-0 *), Norwayne (10-2, 6-1), Hillsdale (8-3, 5-2), Rittman (6-5, 3-4), Smithville (5-5, 3-4), Waynedale (3-7, 3-4), Northwestern (1-9, 1-6), Chippewa (1-9, 0-7).

—PAC – Canton South (14-1, 7-0 *), CVCA (8-3, 6-1), Northwest (5-6, 4-3), Triway (5-6, 4-3), Orrville (4-6, 3-4), Fairless (4-7, 3-4), Manchester (1-9, 1-6), Tuslaw (2-8, 0-7).

WHO’S WHERE? – Wooster is in Div. II, Region 7, while West Holmes is in Div. IV, Region 15. Orrville has moved up to Div. IV, Region 14.

Waynedale and Garaway are in Div. V, Region 17, while Norwayne, Northwestern and Triway are in Div. V, Region 18.

Chippewa, Dalton, Rittman, Smithville and Tuslaw are in Div. VI, Region 21.Hillsdale is in Div. VII, Region 25.

Sixteen teams in each region will qualify for the playoffs, which will begin Nov. 1.

To win a state title, a team will have to go 6-0 in the playoffs. The state finals will be held Dec. 5-7 in Canton.

WHO’S GONNA BE GOOD? – Once the calendar flips to August, local football fans start quizzing each other and asking, “Who will be the best teams?”

—OCC – West Holmes and Mansfield Senior dominated the last two years, but the OCC race appears to be a lot more wide open in 2024. The defending champion Tygers and New Philadelphia are loaded with returnees, while West Holmes, Lexington and Ashland all have key returnees from playoff teams that finished right around .500.

Mansfield Senior will need a newcomer to step up at quarterback, while West Holmes, Ashland and Lexington have big-time playmakers at QB.

The Tygers have won 13 straight OCC games and will be led by All-Ohio LB M.J. Bradley, who logged a school-record 144 tackles and 13.5 sacks last fall. WR Nate Dismuke will be one of the league’s top playmakers.

Lexington, coached by Smithville alum Andrew Saris, is led by senior TE Brayden Fogle and junior QB Joe Caudill. Fogle has 11 Div. I college offers, including Georgia, and Caudill has an offer from Miami (Ohio).

Knights senior QB Morgan Smith had a monster junior year in which racked up more than 5,000 combined passing and rushing yards and 62 total TDs. He has a strong corps of receivers and linemen once again.

Wooster has a wealth of experience in its skilled-position players led by Julian Franklin, Hayden Meese, AJ Likowski and Charlie Williams, but its young linemen will have to step up in a hurry to challenge for one of the top spots.

“We have some great skill kids coming back with a lot of experience,” Wooster coach Austin Holter said. “A lot of these kids have been playing for us since they've been sophomores.

“As seniors, they’re showing great leadership through their work ethic. The focus is in the trenches where, quite honestly, we have less varsity experience.”

Ashland has a Div. I prospect in QB Nathan Bernhard, but like Wooster will need to develop line play to lead the way. Bernhard has offers from five schools, including Penn State and Michigan State.

—WCAL – The Wayne County Athletic League title race could once again come down to Dalton vs. Norwayne, but Rittman and Hillsdale have the talent to also make some noise.

—PAC - The Principals Athletic Conference has had lots of power shifts over recent seasons and it should be a wide-open battle in 2024.

Last fall belonged to Canton South and Mr. Football Finalist Poochie Snyder, but with his graduation it’s tough to pick a 2024 preseason favorite. CVCA is coming off an eight-win season, but no other team won more than five games.

TOP PLAYERS – Not surprisingly, a list of the area’s top returning players is made up primarily of leaders from the preseason’s top-ranked teams.

West Holmes’ Morgan Smith (QB), Lynn Cline (WR-LB), Morgan Eastep (OL-DL) and Logan Zollars (WR-DB) lead a senior class determined to leave their own winning legacy.

Wooster’s RB-LB Franklin, WR-DB Meese, QB-DB Likowski and H-Back/LB Williams Williams lead the offense. The big key will be in the trenches, where no seniors are on the O-line and juniors Ronan White, Brody Boreman and Hutson Copenhaver will be asked to lead the way.

“Julian Franklin (topped 1,000 yards rushing) was our marquee running back last year and we're excited about his senior campaign,” Holter said. “Charlie Williams had a great summer. Hayden Meese has ran 4.3 40s at multiple camps … we have to find ways to get him the football. AJ Likowski has played a lot of football for us and he's doing a great job. We also have a junior quarterback, Calin Baxstrom, who had a great summer and is playing well.”

—In the WCAL, Norwayne’s Dylan Smith (sr. QB-DB) moves from WR to take over at QB. Defensively he had 11 interceptions last year. Mason Moyer also returns after scoring 15 TDs for the ’Cats.

Dalton’s seniors Sammy Tomlinson RB-OLB and Brady Hignight WR-S will lead the Bulldogs. Sophomore Carter Hignight will be the new QB.

Other top WCAL gridders include Rittman’s Artie Sonego (RB, topped 2,000 yards rushing in 2023) and Dack Mutters (WR-DB), Hillsdale’s Owen Sloan (RB) and Grayson Allis (OL), Northwestern’s Isaac Beun (QB), Smithville’s Mason Haines (RB)

—Orrville’s fourth-year starter Shane Troyer (OL-DL), Talon Beichler (OL) and strong-legged Kaleb Wayt (K), along with Triway’s Alex Shearer (WR-LB) are key players to watch in the PAC. Junior QB Kam Kraft is the Riders’ new signalcaller.

—Triway's top returnees include seniors Alex Shearer (WR-LB), Gavin Hatfield (OL-LB), Brody Snyder (WR-DB), Austin Patterson (WR-LB) and Ron Bricker (OL-DL), along with juniors Olley Krupp (WR-DB), Grayson Smith (WR-LB) and Luke Starr (QB-DB).

"We played a lot of sophomores and juniors last year," coach Cody Kelly said. "We hope to rely on that experience to pull out some of those closer losses."

FOR OPENERS – The regular season will kick off on August 23 and the schedule has three marquee matchups:

—Orrville at Wooster is a rivalry that dates back to 1903. The streaky series has seen Wooster win three straight.

—West Holmes at Triway once again matches up backyard rivals and the Knights will once again be a big favorite

—Dalton at Kirtland is as tough an opening matchup as one will find among schools. The Bulldogs lost just two games in 2024, falling to state champs Kirtland and Marion Local. The Hornets have seven state titles and five runner-up finishes in the last 13 years.

BIGGEST GAMES – In addition to the aforementioned openers, here are the biggest matchups that stand out:

New Philadelphia at Wooster (Week 3) – The Generals have their first three games at home and will visit OCC bottom-dweller Madison in Week 4. A win over the Quakers would make a big early statement for the Generals.

Mansfield Senior at West Holmes (Week 4) – One of these teams will establish themselves as the OCC’s early team to beat.

CVCA at Triway (Week 6) – Titans fans won’t miss the long drive to CVCA after the Royals leave the league in 2025. Triway would love to pick up a big win in their last league meeting, which could go a long way toward a strong PAC finish and playoff points.