The Ohio high school football season kicks off this week.
In the Stark County area, four games open the season Thursday — including one on the West Coast featuring reigning state champ Massillon — 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 pursuit of league titles and state playoff berths, and all the excitement and drama they share along the way.
To get ready for the 2024 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, as well as who the projected top players will be this season.
Ranking the top Stark County-area high school football players to watch in 2024
USA Today Network Preseason All-Ohio Football Team
Ohio high school football will feature some of the nation's elite players this fall. Assorted Ohio State recruits, as well as a numbers of players being recruiting by other elite national programs made the cut.
▶ Click here to see who made the 25-player team .
USA Today Network Preseason Ohio High School Football Super 25
Our statewide USA Today Network sports writers voted on the state's top teams, regardless of division, ahead of Week 1.
▶ Click here to see the Ohio Super 25 .
Watch Ohio High School Football Live on the NFHS Network all season
Federal League football previews
- Canton McKinley - Head coach Antonio Hall's Bulldogs enter the season with lots of talent and high expectations. Read more here .
- GlenOak - Scott Garcia's fourth year back has the Golden Eagles looking to build on last year's first playoff win in a decade. Read more here .
- Green - With 22 seniors back after a run to the regional finals, Green has lots of reasons to feel good about 2024. Read more here .
- Jackson - Talented junior QB Lucas Ecrement is among 20 returning lettermen for Polar Bears, who look to bounce back from their first losing record in more than a decade. Read more here .
- Lake - With 21 wins over the last two years, the Blue Streaks look to continue their successful run with 21 returning lettermen and another strong defense. Read more here .
- Hoover - Deep at the skill positions and with 27 returning lettermen, the Vikings look to extend their streak of four straight years with a playoff win by making a deeper postseason run. Read more here .
- Perry - The Panthers welcome back a familiar face on the coaching staff and look to improve within the Federal League in head coach Zach Slates' fourth season. Read more here .
Stark County parochials/independents football previews
- Central Catholic - A series of road games to open the season will challenge the Crusaders, who have reached the second round of the Division VI playoffs the last two years but are moving to Division V in 2024. Read more here .
- Louisville - The Leopards are poised to make strides under Chris Kappas in his second year as head coach. Read more here .
- Massillon - The defending state champion Tigers are focused on looking ahead and not back as they defend their Division II title with another talented roster. Read more here .
- St. Thomas Aquinas - Kevin Henderson begins his second season as coach of the Knights knowing they are not where they need to be, but are heading in the right direction as they look to end a 25-game losing streak. Read more here .
PAC-7 football previews
- Canton South - Matt Dennison's fourth year coaching the Wildcats will be his first without Stark County career passing leader Poochie Snyder. Still, Dennison and the 'Cats enter the season with expectations of another enjoyable season. Read more here .
- Fairless - The Falcons have a strong nucleus, as they look to improve on a 4-7 record (four losses by a TD or less) and extend the program's unprecedented run of four straight playoff seasons under AJ Sarbaugh. Read more here .
- Manchester - The Panthers lost four close games a year ago during a one-win season and begin their second season under Kevin Stacy looking to turn things around by pulling out those types of games this fall. Read more here .
- Northwest - After graduating just five seniors and returning 23 lettermen from a playoff team, Northwest should be in the mix in the PAC-7 title chase and to extend its postseason streak to five straight years. Read more here .
- Tuslaw - Mustangs fans hope first-year head coach Broc Dial can turn their program around the same way he did a neighboring program (Dalton). Read more here .
Eastern Buckeye Conference football previews
- Alliance - Replacing Brendan Zurbrugg at QB won’t be easy, but there is still plenty of size and athleticism on this roster for the Aviators to be in the mix for a playoff spot if they are able to stay healthy. Read more here .
- Carrollton - Storm Hill takes over as head coach after a competitive run under Jim Tsilimos, who guided Carrollton to a 28-16 record across the past four seasons. Read more here .
- Marlington - Senior quarterback Bryson McCord, a thee-year starter, leads the way for the Dukes. Read more here .
- Minerva - The Lions had their best offseason in the weight room since Tim Speakman took over as head coach in 2022 and they are hoping that translates into wins as they seek to snap a 29-game losing streak. Read more here .
- West Branch - Winners of four straight outright Eastern Buckeye Conference titles, West Branch is a heavy favorite to win a fifth and make a deep playoff run with 20 returning starters from an 11-2 team. Read more here .
Inter-Valley Conference football previews
- East Canton - The Hornets returns 17 starters on a roster that has grown to 30 (up from 24) as they look to get back into the upper tier of IVC teams. Read more here .
- Malvern - The Hornets appear to have the horses to stay on a roll after going 34-9 across the previous four seasons. Read more here .
- Sandy Valley - Cardinals coach Brian Gamble is excited about the number of playmakers on both sides of the ball as they program looks to build on last year's 7-5 season. Read more here .
- Tusky Valley - Coming off a 4-7 playoff season, the Trojans plan to win games at the line of scrimmage behind a big, aggressive line that first-year coach Jeremy Taylor has been very impressed with in the preseason. Read more here .
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.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark County High School Football rankings, schedules, more | The essential guide for 2024
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