2024 football preview: New Philadelphia is 'hungry to prove themselves'

The start of the 2024 Ohio high school football season is right around the corner.

Most teams open Week 1 on Friday, Aug. 23, with a handful playing their season opener on Thursday, Aug. 22.

Here is one in a series of previews for area football teams:

USA Today Network Top 25 : Meet the preseason All-Ohio football team

2024 football preview: Tuscarawas County football coaches talk more than X's and O's

Mark your calendar: Team-by-team schedules for the Tuscarawas County area

New Philadelphia Quakers

The Quakers, who have made the D-III playoffs the past three seasons, should be a strong playoff contender again. New Philadelphia has been moved out of rugged Division III Region 2 and will compete in Division III Region 11 which features some schools from the Columbus area as well as some schools from southeastern Ohio.

The Quakers should be strong on both sides of the football. New Philadelphia finished 5-2 in the challenging Ohio Cardinal Conference last fall, losing only to league champion Mansfield Senior as well as a one-point (9-8) decision to West Holmes. The Quakers should be one of the top league contenders again this season.

New Philadelphia, which yielded just 16.1 points-per-game in the regular season on defense last autumn, should be even stronger on that side of the ball this fall. On offense, they return one of the top quarterbacks in the county in Keaton Fausel and a bevy of talented receivers.

The Quakers have one new team on the schedule. They will play an independent game in Week 6 in Wheeling, West Virginia, against the Linsly Cadets. Linsly takes the place of Mount Vernon on New Philadelphia’s schedule. Mount Vernon departed the Ohio Cardinal Conference following last season. New Philadelphia opens the season Friday, Aug. 23 at Louisville, a team the Quakers defeated 42-21 last year.

Coach : Mike Johnson (fourth season)

2023 record: 6-5, including playoffs

Classification: Division III, Region 11

Playoff appearances under current coach: 2021, 2022, 2023

Key returners: Keaton Fausel, Sr., QB, Boston Crowell, Sr., LT/DL, Carson Long, Sr., WR/S, Vincent Migoni, Jr., HB, Pete DiDonato, Sr., WR/CB, Brodie Lindsey, Jr., C, Myles Tyson, Jr., OLB, Brody Gilland, Sr., OLB, Carter Watson, Jr., CB, Aiden Matthews, Sr., S, Jackson Korns, Sr., DL.

Key newcomers: Jackson Norris, Jr., TE/LB, Hawk Wakolee, Sr., OL, Myles Tyson, Jr., RB, Cohen Winters, Jr., DL, Vincent Migoni, Jr., LB, Koleston Fox, S.

Coach Johnson’s take: “ I am really excited to see the progression of the team. We have key returners and a lot of guys with experience. The team is hungry to prove themselves and compete. We’ll have a balanced attack on offense with the top Z wide receiver (Long) returning, a third-year starter and dual threat at quarterback (Fausel) and a powerful running back (Migoni). On defense, we’ll have athletes on the field, swarming to the ball. We return eight starters on defense.”

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: 2024 football preview: New Philadelphia is 'hungry to prove themselves'