Swank on Sports

New Philadelphia High School Athletics

New Philadelphia Has to Limit Turnovers

Click here to listen to an interview with coach Zach Ross

          New Philadelphia, the co-champion of the Ohio Cardinal Conference, faces Marrietta in a division III district final on Wednesday night at Ohio University.

          The winner punches a ticket to the regional tournament next week.

          They smothered Zanesville (42-28) in a district semifinal last Saturday night at home.

          Coach Zach Ross says they took advantage of their strengths and executed pretty well in that game.  “They were playing really good basketball.  In their sectional final game versus Tri-Valley is the best I've seen them play.  I thought they were really connected and put a lot of pressure on the rim.  Our guys, to their credit, really executed the game plan.  Defensively, I thought we were really good.  Battled some early foul trouble.  Had some guys step up for us, but all in all, I thought it really came down to our ability to execute a game plan and then actually put it into action.  The way we rebounded the ball, 28-13 we had the advantage right there, so did a great job that way,” said Ross.

          Marrietta (20-4) advanced with a (55-52) win over Washington Court House Miami Trace on Saturday.

          New Philadelphia (17-6) beat Marrietta (52-46) in a game played on February 3.

          However, Ross says there will be some different looks from a personnel standpoint in the game on Wednesday.  “There is a little bit of familiarity.  We played them in early February.  Now, they were missing probably their best player and then their sixth man during that game.  So, they're a little bit different with those two guys on the floor.  With us missing one of our starters, TR Harriman, it's just going to be a battle.  We have just got to get tighter knit, represent our culture the best we can, and everybody's just got to be the best version of themselves.  It's tournament basketball, that's why everybody loves it so much anything could happen,” said Ross/

          Ross says tempo is going to be big here.  He says they have to be able to slow down the Tigers.  “I think we got to make it a half court game.  That's who we are.  We don't want to run with them.  We have got to keep them in the half court.  They're very good in transition.  They put a lot of different pressures at you, a lot of different defenses that vary against you,” he told Swankonsports.com,  “We have got to be able to handle that and make sure we're eliminating our live all turnovers, which helps it stay in the half court game.  Then once we're in the half court, we have got to trust who we are.  Find paint touches, find the inside out shots for us and make sure we're finishing at the rim and win the free throw battle as well.”

Published 3/04/26

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday

10 PM to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week

10 AM to 1 PM

“Your First Choice for All Things Sports”

New Philadelphia to Play Athletic Zanesville

Click here to listen to an interview with coach Zach Ross

          New Philadelphia will entertain Zanesville in a division III tournament game in the East District on Saturday night.

          The Quakers (16-6) shared the Ohio Cardinal Conference title with Dover, Mansfield Senior and Ashland.

          Cach Zach Ross says their schedule this year has prepared them well for the postseason.  “I think our league and our non-league really sets us up to play a lot of different styles and teams. I think Zanesville is definitely a team you would face in our league night in and night out.  Dynamic guard play, a lot of good foot speed that they have on the offensive and defensive end.  There is a reason you schedule those non-league games.  We're in this league and you have got to make the most of it.  Hopefully, your non-league can kind of help prep you for the tournament,” said Ross.

          Zanesville (13-10) beat Dresden Tri-Valley (55-47) in their tournament opener on Tuesday night.

          Ross says the Blue Devils are going to bring a lot of athletic talent to the floor on Saturday night.  “Tuesday night probably played their best game this season, which is any coach’s dream that you’re at your best at tournament time.  I thought they played really well.  They have got two guards averaging 18 plus.  They have got a lot of different guys that can shoot it around them.  They have size and their bigs can shoot it as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They really challenge you with their space.  Very good offensive rebounding team.  Defensively, they really like to get into you and create as much chaos as possible in trapping you in full court and half court.  Whatever that may be and just using their quickness to their advantage.  They really jumped on Tri-Valley and took a good lead.  So, we're going to really have to handle pressure.  I maintain it's a game of runs.  They have built some confidence already with a tournament win.

          New Philadelphia beat Zanesville (59-46) in a regular season game on December 30.

          With the way the tournament is set up in their part of the state, Ross says you have to hit the ground running.  “It's unique with this new seven divisions.  You win 16 games regular season you usually you get to play a lower seed, but the way it's set up in Division III only five teams right off the get go you have got to be ready to play because you’re playing somebody good,” he said.

Published 2/27/26

© Swankonsports.com

Tune in for a special edition of

“Out of Bounds”

Saturday night at 10 PM

“Your First Source for All Things Sports”

New Philadelphia Has to Play its Game

          New Philadelphia can get a piece of the Ohio Cardinal Conference title with a win Friday night at home against archrival Dover in conference play.

          They also must have Ashland lose at Lexington.

          Coach Zach Ross says the only thing they can control is beating Dover on Friday.  “We can only control what we can control and that's kind of the cliche that all coaches use, but it's definitely true (Friday) night.  A huge matchup for us.  It’s a league game, but this game always means a little bit more between these two communities.  Looking forward to it,” said Ross.

          New Philadelphia (15-5,9-4) is at home for Dover (13-8,10-3) om Friday night.  This rivalry dates back to the very early days of basketball in Ohio.

          Ross says the Tornadoes are solid in everything they do.  “There's a lot of things to like about them.  They're well coached, they have got good guard play, they're role players do a great job of excelling in their role and stepping up when needed.  They run excellent stuff on offense and defensively they're really physical and sound,” he said.

          In their first meeting on December 23, Dover won (37-34) at their place.

          Ross says they just have to execute what they do to the best of their ability.  “In the first one, we got out to a really slow start.  We kind of made it close at the end.  They kind of handled us lot of different areas that in that game.  We just have got to make sure that we trust in ourselves to play our game to the best of our abilities,” he told Swankonspots.com on Thursday night, “Represent our culture, which we've done a good job as of late.  Not let the emotions of the game get to us.  The reality is nobody has ever played a perfect basketball game.  I think the team that handles the adverse moments and understands the best, moves on quickly will have the best chance to win the game in end.”

          There is always going to be emotion in games, but Ross says they can’t let that override their execution.  “It's fun, it's a lot of times it's like a roller coaster.  The build up is the worst part for the kids.  Once you finally get to it and get to play you have just got to cut it loose and trust your habits.  Make sure that everything that you've done in practice in preparation all season really to this point you get to showcase it.  Then it's at home, which makes you feel way better.  Just going to trust in your abilities stay true to who you are,” said Ross.

Published 2/013/26

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard for

Constant updates on Friday nights

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Your first source for all things sports

Another Must Win for Quakers

          New Philadelphia, two games back in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, will play at home against Lexington in a conference game on Friday night.

          They are in a position that they can’t afford anymore losses in the conference, according to coach Zach Ross.  “We put ourselves in the position we're in and it's nobody's fault but our own.  So, all we can do right now is just taking it day by day and all the cliches that all coaches say but that's really what we're trying to do is to get better each day and hopefully play Quaker basketball whenever the lights come on,” he said.

          They kept themselves alive in the “OCC” with a (60-44) win over Ashland last Friday.  They added a (52-46) win over Marietta on Tuesday night in non-conference action.

          Ross says they came out and played petty well after a tough (55-51) loss to Wooster on Tuesday night.  “I thought that was good response after the way we played last Tuesday.  Against Ashland, I thought we executed defensively really well.  We had a lot of different guys step up.  We shared the ball.  Our assist to turnover rate was really good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Marietta was a huge test for us at home.  They were 15-2 coming into the game and a really physical game.  We kind of blew a lead and let them back in it.  We found a way to win.  So, it was good for us to find a way in an adverse situation and come out on top.”

          New Philadelphia (13-5,7-4) entertains Lexington (6-11,3-7) on Friday night.  After a emotional struggle off the court over the last month, the Minutemen had won their last two, including (64-47) over West Holmes last Friday night.

          The Quakers won the first matchup (52-47) on January 9.

          Ross says they have to be ready for just about anything on Friday against the Minutemen.  “A lot of young kids have been playing and the more varsity experience they get the more comfortable and poised they're going to be as they get these situations.  They had a good, close win against Bellevue.  They came back and had a big shot at the end and then they beat West Holmes.  So, they're probably playing with a little bit more confidence.  They present a lot of different challenges with different defenses and their intensity.  We have got to make sure that we're prepped for anything that they throw us and ultimately just be us and be confident that that's going to be enough,” said Ross.

Published 2/05/26

© Swankonsports.com

Your first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Defense a Key for New Philadelphia

          New Philadelphia is now two games back in the Ohio Cardinal Conference and they are going to need some help to get a piece of the conference title.

          They play at Ashland, one of the co-leaders on Friday, and they host archrival Dover, the other leader, in the last conference game of the season.  However, they need someone else to beat both of those leaders.

          They got in that position when Wooster beat them for the second time this season (55-51) on Tuesday.

          Coach Zach Ross says the Generals were just better than them.  “Just overall just got kind of out competed, out played in a lot of different areas, out coached.  They were more ready for the fight than we were,” he said.

          New Philly (11-5,6-4) is at Ashland (10-6,9-2) on Friday night.  The Arrows are coming off a thrilling (97-94) win over Mansfield Senior in an “OCC” game on Tuesday night.

          Ross says they pass the ball well and they shoot it very well.  “They're very good and you can tell that they have got senior guards that have played quite a lot of varsity basketball.  They don't panic, they have multiple guys that can beat you from deep and they share the basketball really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They're playing with a lot of confidence right now.  They're playing great basketball.”

          Ashland has three players on its roster that have made 33 three pointers or more this season.  Paxon Ediger scored 38 points in that win over Mansfield Senior.

          Ross says they have to guard the three point line.  “Definitely something that they live by.  They're very good at spacing you out, stretching you, and challenging your gap integrity whenever you’re running one on one defense.  You can't take a play off because they'll make you pay for it,” said Ross.

          New Philadelphia played maybe its best game of the season in beating Ashland (63-37) at their place January 2. 

          Ross says they have to control the tempo again.  “Basically, what their perfect score is, is way different than what we want it to be on our end for us to be competitive.  So, it's going to be a huge challenge who can dictate the pace and who’s going to control the paint,” he said.

Published 1/30/26

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard for

Constant updates on Friday nights

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Your first source for all things sports

New Philadelphia to Play Improved Madison

          New Philadelphia, a game back in the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings, plays at home against Madison in a conference game on Friday night.

          They overwhelmed West Holmes (70-25) in an “OCC” game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says they were able to consistently find the open man.  “I thought our guys came out with the right intensity and focus for the game.  I thought we played a really complete game.  I thought we did a great job of sharing the basketball.  I think in first half we had 16 assists on 19 made field goals, so we really trusted each other and trusted the game plan.  Obviously, it helps the ball goes in.  Defensively I thought we were really tough and together,” said Ross.

          The Quakers have only given up more than 50 points twice this year, part of that is their preferred tempo, but Ross says they have great buy in on defense.  “I think our guys are just really building the habits in practice so whenever it live action happens you fall back on those habits.  I think our guys are doing a good job of buying into our team defensive philosophy.  We have some guys that are stepping up playing some great one on one defense in some key matchups but making sure that the other guys support roles are helping them as well,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (10-4,6-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball poll in the large school division, will entertain Madison (6-8,3-6) on Friday night.  The Rams lost (65-44) to Ashland, the “OCC” co-leader, on Tuesday night.

          In the first meeting between the two, New Philly won (53-32) on December 5.

          Ross says Madison has become a confident team.  “They are a totally different team than we played the first time.  You can tell they have found a way that they want to play.  It's working well.  They have won five of their last seven.  They found a way to win a lot of close games and just kind of having a knack of finding a way to pull that out,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They are playing with a great deal of confidence and a couple kids that can really score it.  They have a couple of different matchups that are going to be really key for us.  The way that they spread you out offensively and puts you in a lot of different binds and they have shooters around those guys that play with a lot of confidence.”

          Ross says they continue to focus on just getting better every day.  “Our message is really we prep for the next game, but it's one day at a time.  Just trying to find a way to get 1% better each day.  Our team has a lot of potential.  Potential is really a bad word unless you're actually putting it into action.  So, our guys have taken that mindset and having good practices and hopefully it carries over into the game Friday night,” he said.

Published 1/22/26

© Swankonsports.com

Your first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Has to Handle Pressure

          New Philadelphia hosts Mansfield Senior on Friday night in a crucial game for both in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.

          The Quakers trail “OCC” leader Dover by two games, Mansfield Senior is one back.

          New Philadelphia made the long bus ride to Lexington last week and beat the Minutemen (52-37) in an “OCC” game.

          Coach Zach Ross says they went out and played their game.  “I thought we did a really good job.  Our guys preparation was really good with all the unknowns.  We pride ourselves with scouting reports and prepping and film, but at the end of the day we talked a lot to our guys about just playing Quaker basketball.  We believe with the team that we have if we do 32 minutes of us that usually puts us in a really good opportunity to win most games,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (8-4,4-3) is at home for Mansfeld Senior (8-4,5-2), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday.  The Tygers beat Dover (62-55) last Friday in an “OCC” game.

          Senior High won the first matchup of the double round robin (62-52) on December 12.

          Ross says they must handle the Tyger pressure.  “They’re really dynamic.  Everything that they do defensively and offensively they just put so much pressure on you at all times.  If you take a break at any moment, they make you pay for it.  They're really good about catching you when your guard is down and they make you pay for it with points at the other end usually generated by their defense, which is so intense with their ability to trap and create havoc and chaos with you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “The challenge for us and how we handle that pressure, how we respond to a mistake because the games imperfect and we know we're going to have a bad turnover somewhere, we're going to miss an assignment, we're going to have a defensive breakdown.  They're going to make you pay for it, but as long as you don't let that snowball and let that turn into a big run by them, which is why I think they're really good about going on those 10-0, 12-0 runs.  I think as long as we eliminate that and we do a good job that helps us out.”
          Ross also highlights that rebounding will be a key.  “It's got to be an area that we win.  I think if you look at it we could have an advantage there.  They're still very good.  They get their own misses a lot from their guys that shoot.  They're so quick off the floor with their ability to with their own miss and turn that into extra opportunities.  They may not be getting as much as they have in the past, but whenever they do get them, they really make you pay for it.  We have got to do our best to make sure that we're matching their effort and we have got to exceed that with our guys.  You have got to make sure that you're checking them out and rebounding.  They do a great job of hawking passes whenever you do get a rebound.  Again, when your guard is down they make sure they find that weakness, they smell blood, they go get it,” said Ross.

Published 1/16/26

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard for

Constant updates on Friday nights

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Your first source for all things sports

New Philadelphia Must Defend

Click here to listen to an interview with coach Zach Ross

          New Philadelphia travels to Lexington to meet the Minutemen on Friday night in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          Three games back in the league race, New Philadelphia (7-3,3-3) got a win they had to have last week in punishing Ashland (63-37) in “OCC” action.

          Coach Zach Ross says it was a great effort for them.  “I’m really proud of our guys effort.  I thought that it's the most complete game we've played this year, which is hopefully a good trend for us as we continue on into January.  I think it just speaks to our guys and they're buy into our culture and how they've practiced.  We found out that day that we had two starters that were going to be out, so kind of that next man up mentality.  I thought we really guarded really well because they have so many guys that can score it from deep.  Then obviously we shot the ball really well and shared it.  We had 18 assists, which was awesome,” said Ross.

          Lexington (4-5,2-2) lost Tuesday night (68-40) to Berlin Hiland in a non-conference game.  Their roster has been in flux as leading scorer Seven Allen has not played the last two games as he has had some legal issues.  He pled guilty to three misdemeanor charges Thursday in Mansfield Municipal Court.  A felony charge of the strangulation of a woman was dropped by prosectors in exchange for the plea.  Another starter, Dantrell Hughes has been hobbled with a bad ankle.

          Ross says nonetheless, the Minutemen are athletic and can make plays.  “Lexington's always a tough place to play.  They're obviously trying to figure out their identity going forward.  They have got a lot of young guys they're playing, but they're still athletic and very good basketball players.  They have great speed, have great ability to get to the paint on you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “Their transition is still very good.  They put a ton of pressure on your defense to get back.  Huge for us is just going to be able to play five on five on defense and make sure that we're not giving them any advantages.  Whether it's power plays in transition or just off ball screens or offensive rebounds.  So, we got to do our best to make it a five on five game.”

          Ross says they can’t allow Lexington to have easy ones.  “We tell our guys this is really easy to write down on a scouting report and really hard to do.  That’s something they're very good at.  They're coached well by coach (Scott) Hamilton.  So, our ability to stay locked in and get back with some urgency to try to make them score in the halfcourt.  The goals is always to make the other team make tough twos because we believe you can't get beat by tough twos all game,” he said.

Published 1/09/26

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard for

Constant updates on Friday nights

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Your first source for all things sports

New Philadelphia Ready to Battle

          Two games back, New Philadelphia is pretty much in a must win situation early in the season as the Quakers play at archrival, and first place, Dover on Tuesday night in Ohio Cardinal Conference action.

          They were upset (49-48) in overtime by Wooster on Friday night in an “OCC” game.

          Coach Zach Ross says Wooster just played harder than them.  “Not the best effort overall from our guys.  I thought Wooster came out with great intensity and a really a great will to win the game.  I don't think we really responded well to that.  Overall, as a whole hopefully in December it's a learning experience for you and you can kind of keep the pain from that and hopefully it motivates you to find a way to get better,” he said.

          New Philly (4-2,2-2) will at Dover (5-1,4-0) on Tuesday night.  The Crimson Tornadoes bullied West Holmes (58-28) in an “OCC” game on Friday.

          Ross says Dover is really good in all areas of the game.  “They are really well coached.  They have a lot of good guards.  Their role players know their role.  They find ways to win and it seems like that they play like that's the only thing that matters, which is getting more and more rare as you watch high school basketball and even college basketball these days,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Their strong, they run their offense really well, defensively they put a ton of pressure on you in that last 25 feet, their physical and they're tough, they communicate really well.  So, not really surprised.  We get to play them every year as compared to the other teams, but they're just really well coached and they just seem to find ways to win.”

          Ross says the high intensity comes naturally in this game, but they are also going to have to execute very well to win.  “Our guys had some goals of competing for the championship and you don't want to fall too far back.  You try not to look at it, but it's something that’s important.  All games are huge for us and this game being a rivalry game, what it means to both communities just add some extra intensity to that, so we're going to have to come out and really be ready to go for a fight,” said Ross.

Published 12/23/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia to Face Improving Wooster

          New Philadelphia returns home Friday night to host the Wooster Generals in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game.

          The Quakers (4-1,2-1) beat West Holmes (62-47) on Tuesday night in conference action.

          Coach Zach Ross says they were able to get to momentum and put together a long run.  “Overall happy to get a win on the road, which is always a tough thing to do.  We dealt with some early adversity and really proud of the way we responded.  They took the lead on us there and I think we responded with the 23-2 run.  I was really proud of our guys respond that way,” said Ross.

          Ross says good teams are the ones that respond in a positive way when they face a little adversity.  “Ultimately the game is imperfect and usually the teams that find the most success are the ones that found that way to respond and limit the runs of the other team kind of be comfortable with adversity,” he said.

          Wooster (1-4,0-3) might have played its best game of the season in a (47-43) loss to Dover on Tuesday in a league game.

          Ross says they are getting better and the Generals will show them some pressure defense.  “They're obviously young.  He's playing a lot of different guys right now and kind of figuring out kind of what their identity is going to be with their young team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They play extremely hard, they're man to man defensive pressure is very good and they're playing better basketball as of late.  So, it is going to be a huge challenge for us.  Excited to be back at home and playing them, but they present a lot of different challenges that we have got to be ready for.”

Published 12/18/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Next Play Mentality for Quakers

          New Philadelphia comes to Mansfield Senior on Friday night for a crucial early season matchup in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.

          Both schools are title contenders.

          The Quakers (2-0,1-0) smoked Madison (53-32) in their opening conference game last Friday.

          Coach Zach Ross says they were really good on defense.  “We didn't shoot the ball very well.  I think we were 5-27 from three.  We had a little bit more turnovers than I would have liked, but I thought as far as defensive execution and putting a defensive game plan that you write down on paper and film work and the preparation that we did I thought we really put it into play on the court on that night.  I thought we did a great job, especially with a couple key matchups that we had.  We had a couple of good individual defensive efforts, but ultimately we pride ourselves on our team defense.  I think that's the thing that sticks out the most to me.  The way we grew from game one to game two as far as our defensive habits,” he said.

          Mansfield Senior (3-0,1-0) has scored at least 80 points in all three of their games, including a (89-55) win over West Holmes in “OCC” play last week.

          Ross says they can’t allow them to score that many on Friday.  “I don't think we're holding them in the 20s at all.  It's going to be a huge part of the game as far as the tempo, the pace and where that score falls with them.  They want to play in the 80s and that's not where we want to be at because of our defense. We want to make it hard for them to score.  I think that really just starts with the transition part of it as far as trying to make Mansfield Senior play in the half court as much as we can and eliminate those transition points, which is really easy to say on a scouting report and really hard to execute against the team as good as them.  Coach (Marquis) Sykes does an outstanding job with them and getting them in the right spots and they play really hard,” said Ross.

          The Tygers tend to score their points in bounces and Ross says they have to shorten those spurts.  “A team like that those are the teams that have “spurtability”.  They can go on some spurs and you blink and next thing you know all of the sudden you're down 15 to 16 points before you even realize it.  So, we have got to be really good about the next play.  I told our guys we are not going to go the whole game with zero turnovers.  It’s just not going to happen,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “Basketball is an imperfect game and the way you respond to those mistakes and the way you can move on to the next play, right or wrong, I think is going to be a huge key for our guys.  Mansfield Senior has got to be one of the toughest places to play in the league.  A really hard place to play.  I think there are a favorite to win the league.  So, it's a good opportunity for the guys to face a really good challenge early on in the season and to figure out where we're at as a team and what we need to do moving forward.”

Published 12/12/25

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard for

Constant updates on Friday nights

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Your first source for all things sports

New Philadelphia Has Great Potential

          New Philadelphia tips off play in the Ohio Cardinal Conference on Friday night with a trip to Madison to take on the Rams.

          They stuffed Warsaw Riverview (61-21) in their opener on Wednesday night.

          Coach Zac Ross says they got good ball movement when they had it and they were okay on defense.  “I thought our guys handled the game getting cancelled on Tuesday and getting moved to Wednesday I thought they handled it really well.  I thought they came out with good energy.  Our guys really had the right intensity for the game and then came out firing in the first quarter.  They really shared the basketball well and I thought our team defense was for game one it was pretty good.  There was a lot of things we need to work on, but for game one as far as the intent to do the right thing I thought was there,” said Ross.

          Ross knows this team can be pretty good, but he says they have to keep striving to get better.  “I think just the consistency factor.  I thought we started to kind of scoreboard watch a little bit and we're trying to challenge our guys to not be content.  Really it doesn't matter what the other teams is doing, you're trying to just measure yourself against your potential,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “I think this group has some potential, but we're just trying to get that reinforced to them and know that they have got to continue to get better.  It's still only in December and the goal is to be at the best you could be by the end of January and February and hopefully March.”

          This will Madison’s opener to their season. 

          Ross says they have some athleticism and they are going to play hard all of the time.  “You can tell coach (Davey) Hipp has done a really good job.  The kids played extremely hard.  They have got a lot of guys that can create off the bounce and they have some shooters around them.  They run their stuff very well.  You can tell that they're bought in.  They're very athletic, they crash the offensive glass at a really good rate, their man to man defense I think creates a lot of havoc and pressure.  So, there's a lot of different things to prepare for,” said Ross.

Published 12/05/25

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard for

Constant updates on Friday nights

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Your first source for all things sports

New Philadelphia With a lot of Kids That can Play

          Preseason basketball camp just started last Friday, but the season is only three weeks away and the New Philadelphia Quakers are a team that looks like they can be good.

          Coach Zach Ross says they bring back quite a bit of talent.  “Yeah, it's kind of crazy that it's already upon us.  You kind of think about it all October and then you blink and all of a sudden it's here and we have practice on Friday and the weekend and we're just getting going.  I'm sure as most coaches think, man we have a lot of work to do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “There's a lot of excitement with the guys that we have returning.  We have good core group of seniors.  We have four of them on that are really invested a lot of time and effort into the program.  It's easy to root for those guys and want to bring your best every day.  We have got a young core of guys that want to do right by them and the they're building some confidence in themselves to help our team this year.”

          Ross says they want to build on things they are good at and develop those that they are not.  “There are obviously some things that you saw in the summer that you think okay maybe this could be a strength.  What do we need to improve upon and make sure that this isn't as big a weakness.  I think right now I really like our depth and our guy's ability to just buy in to that depth and that guys like the cliché of team over me,” he said.

          Ross thinks they have good chemistry with this group of guys and that’s a good thing.  “Our guys this summer and fall supporting each other and then even in these first early practices there's just been a lot of good camaraderie amongst the guys and like just figuring out how to do hard things together, which ultimately you need in basketball with how dynamic it is and how a fast paced it is.  It's a game where no player ever plays a perfect game and how you respond to those adverse moments,” said Ross.

Published 11/04/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia and Dover Renew Rivalry

          When New Philadelphia and Dover first played Grover Cleveland was the president and air travel was only a dream, it was 1896.

          They play again Friday in the 122^nd meeting as the Quakers are down the road at Dover.

          Last week, the Quakers downed West Holmes (26-21) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game.

          Coach Mike Johnson says it was a good comeback win for them.  “It was great, our kids really did a good job.  They came out I thought we did a good job pretty much controlling the pace of the game the first half.  The third quarter West Holmes put together a nice run and took the lead.  Our kids recovered in that fourth and were able to take over the game and finish it out,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (5-4) is at Dover (3-6) on Friday night.  The Crimson Tornadoes lost last week to Linsly (WV) by a score of (35-27) on Friday.

          Johnson says they have young talent.  “They have got a lot of young guys playing right now and they're really playing well.  I'm excited for those kids to have these opportunities.  They throw the ball pretty well, they get out there, they're really good at screen game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They have a kid who started as a freshman for them, the (Dante) Clark kid, who's now a sophomore.  He kind of does everything, so we really have got to know where that kid's at and focus on him and be able to control him and contain him.”

          Johnson says this rivalry has always been special to both sides and it continues to be.  “I mean this is the 122nd meeting.  Both communities show out.  I'm actually at the freshman Dover/New Philly game (Wednesday) night.  It's exciting because you have nice crowds for lower level games.  It's your neighbors, it's your friends and every year at this time those friendships go on pause as everyone is fighting for their home school,” said Johnson.

Published 10/23/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Must be Physical

          New Philadelphia will entertain the West Holmes Knights in likely a game for third place in the Ohio Cardinal Conference on Friday night.

          The Quakers lost (44-20) to “OCC” co-leader Lexington last Friday.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they did not contain the Lexington firepower.  “They have tremendous athletes, tremendous players, and their team is excellent.  They came out and started on fire and we got behind early and were never able to really get back into it.  I think it's a testament to those guys.  I think they're coaching staff has done a tremendous job with them to keep them playing as well as they are.  They came out they were focused and fired up and got the best of us.  So, we're just going to have to come out and this week we've been regrouping, getting ourselves back together, and getting excited to have our last home game of the season against West Holmes,” said Johnson.

          New Philadelphia (4-4,3-2) hosts West Holmes (5-3,3-2) on Friday night.  The Knights were drilled last Friday (40-7) by Ashland, the other “OCC” co-leader.

          Johnson says they must play physical against West Holmes, who wants to play that way.  “It's pretty similar to us really.  When you look at a lot of scores of the teams that we played have been pretty similar.  They like to run the ball.  They like to get it out on some screens out to the flats quickly to their athletes,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Defensively they run to the ball and play physically.  So, really it's a little bit of looking in the mirror.  So, we're going to have to really come out and play a physical game and be focused on details to try to set ourselves apart.”

          In addition to a power run game, Johnson says the Knights are effective in the pass game too making them hard to contain.  “Then off of the screen they like to throw it deep, so they have some answers to it as well.  So, I mean really it’s getting your kids schooled up and prepared is I think the key and that's what we're working on,” he said.

Published 10/16/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Wants to Play Small Ball

          New Philadelphia is in a must win situation as the Quakers are at Ohio Cardinal Conference co-leader Lexington on Friday night.

          They trail Big Lex and Ashland by a game in the “OCC” standings.

          They beat Madison (35-21) last week.

          Coach Mike Johnson says his kids responded very well and that was the difference.  “That was one of the things that we were really proud of is the way our guys were able to play and respond to every touchdown.  Every score Madison had we kind we answered and that's a big deal,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (4-3,3-1) plays at Lexington (6-1,3-0), #3 in the Swankpnsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday.  The Minutemen hammered West Holmes (41-7) last week.

          Johnson says Lexington has a lot of weapons.  “When you turn on the film they have got playmakers everywhere.  These guys have been a concern since they were sophomores.  So, we played against them a handful of times, but they keep getting better.  It starts with the quarterback.  The (Joe) Caudill kid is just unbelievable and does a good job of getting it to everybody.  They have got a running back, who I think was out early in the season, and is back, who is physical, plays linebacker and running back,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They got #8, the (Brayden) Fogel kid at outside linebacker, we have seen him at defensive end, we've seen him at tight end, we've seen him wide receiver.  He makes a difference everywhere he plays.  So, on top of that you have got #1, #12, and #13.  So, they have all kinds of playmakers all over the field and they do a pretty good job of getting them the ball.  So, we're really going to have to be disciplined as a defense and try to hold those guys and keep them in check.”

          Johnson says they can’t give up big plays.  “That’s got to be a goal.  We have got to make them earn everything they get because we've seen them on film.  Early against West Holmes they went over the top for a big touchdown pass.  We saw it against Mansfield Senior.  So, they have that that home run hitting ability.  We just got to try to make them play small ball,” he said.

          Johnson says they know this is a big game for them.  “We have opportunities.  If you win you have opportunities, if you lose those opportunities become more slim.  So, it's a big focus is getting on that bus, how are we going to get off that bus, how are we going to maintain our focus we need to get ourselves ready to play this game.  I think our kids can respond pretty well to that,” said Johnson.

‘Published 10/06/25

© Swankonsports.com

You first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Has to be Physical

          New Philadelphia makes the trip to Madison and will meet the Rams in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.

          Last week, they belted Linsly (WV) 49-7 in a non-conference game.

          Coach Mike Johnson says their defense came out of the box smoking.  “Our defense came out to play.  We ran two offensive plays and we were up 21-0.  The game started off with two pick sixes and an interception that put us in great field position.  So, it was really nice to see our defense make plays and then our offense kind of piggyback off of it and our kids never let up.  So, we're really excited to get that one under our belt and get back to “OCC” play,” he said.

          The Quakers (3-3,2-1), a game behind the leaders, is at Madison (2-4,1-2) on Friday night.  Madison lost (38-7) to unbeaten Ashland in conference play last week.

          Johnson says he really likes Madison’s personnel.  “I think their quarterback does a really good job.  He's a first year starter, but he's a good football player.  He's just cool kid.  He plays defense too and so it was kind of fun when you see those quarterbacks that play both sides of the ball.  He does a good job on defense, he runs it hard offense, and he does a pretty good job trying to hit the seams in quick outs there for him.  So, we're just going to have to continue to get better and try to shore up our defense and try to build off the momentum we've got going on,” said Johnson.

          Johnson says the Rams do a good job of being physical and they have to be too.  “I mean without a doubt.  That's one of the things that's impressed me with them throughout the years.  I know coach (Kobi) Johnson, I believe this is his first year, but the last couple of years they were physical and they want to run the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Every once in a while they'll get down in double tights or they'll get with three backs and they'll try to just bully you.  As a three man front that's something that worries you, but you just have to be coached up on it and ensure that our guys know where to go.  Hopefully we can come off the ball and match that physicality or even exceed that physicality.”

Published 9/30/25

© Swankonsports.com

You first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Quakers Looking to Build

          New Philadelphia takes a break from play in the Ohio Cardinal Conference to host Linsly, West Virginia, in a non-conference game on Friday night at W.W. Hayes Field.

          Last week, they blew out Mansfield Senior in the second half as they outscored the Tygers (45-26) in an “OCC” game.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they got some momentum in the third quarter and got going.  “We played okay in the first half just didn’t get in the end zone.  It was (12-7) at halftime.  We came out and had a great third quarter and first about four minutes in the fourth quarter I think we won 38-0 run to kind of get the get things rolling in our favor.  I thought our kids responded great and I'm really, really happy with how they kind of turned it around,” said Johnson.

          Johnson thinks his kids, especially the more inexperienced ones, have shown real improvement this year.  “I think that's one of the things that's nice.  We have got a lot of first year guys who are kind of in the mix starting for us in some key positions.  They've really started to gel and that's really what you want is to kind of come together so you can start getting on a little bit of a roll here hopefully as we get down the stretch,” he said

          New Philadelphia (2-3) hosts Linsly (1-3) on Friday night.  Linsly is a private school in Wheeling, West Virginia.  They were hammered by traditional powerhouse Steubenville (55-7) last week.

          Johnson says the Cadets are a team that can make big plays and they have shown that.  “They've been playing tight you know pretty tight games and then Steubenville came in and just took it right to them.  They have some of the ability of just staying in the game.  They have got players who were going to make some plays.  Their quarterback is a heck of a good player.  We saw him last year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I know we're going to have to try to contain him.  Get the ball out of his hands and make him run the ball a little bit.  I think that'll put us in a better spot.  So, I think with our defense let's try to disrupt that QB.  Then for our offense it's hey we have got a little momentum built last week let's stay on it.  Let's hit a couple of those things we hit, let's run the ball downhill and play action pass and see where it takes us.”

Published 9/24/25

© Swankonsports.com

You first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Quakers Have to Ready to Play

          New Philadelphia makes the long trip to Mansfield on Friday night to play the Senior High Tygers in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game.

          They trailed by only a score at halftime last week, but ended up losing (34-7) to Ashland in an “OCC” game.  They had five turnovers in the loss.

          Coach Mike Johnson says there were too many mistakes.  “We didn't play clean enough really down the stretch to give ourselves a chance.  That's something that's been a focus this week is we have got to clean up those turnovers and when we get into the red zone we have got to put it in the end zone,” he said.

          The Quakers (1-3,1-1) have not had the kind of success they were hoping for so far.  Johnson says they just have to get shaper.  “It's one of those things where we're close.  I don't think we're far off.  We've played good football teams and we've played them tight, but it's just at the end of the day that's not enough to do as far as digging in and being a little bit more fundamental, a little bit better at the snap,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “It really comes down to little bits and pieces of technique.  Cleaning those things up and trying to get yourself back on track.  Like I said, that's the focus and I think our guys have a nice week of practice.  We have just got to put it all together here for Friday night.”

          Mansfeld Senior (0-4,0-1) was hammered (45-6) by West Holmes in their “OCC” opener last week.

          Johnson says they need to get going early in this game on Friday night.  “They are good enough to stay in any game.  When we watch them on film.  Teams when they have success against them, they get up early.  West Holmes last week was able to get up early on them.  Villa Angela-St. Joseph got up early on them.  So, it's really important to kind of be ready to play.  After about an hour and 45 minute bus ride our guys are going to have to get off that bus be prepared,” said Johnson.

Published 9/18/25

© Swankonsports.com

You first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia has to Tackle

          New Philadelphia will host Ashland at W.W. Hayes Field in a key game early in the Ohio Cardinal Conference on Friday night.

          The Quakers (1-2,1-0) got their first win this year when they blasted Wooster (42-7) in conference action last week.

          Coach Mike Johnson says it was kind of a breakout game for them.  “It was great, our kids came out and we performed.  We were a little bit more precise than we had been the previous couple weeks.  It was great to get off the field defensively and into the end zone offensively.  It was a great Friday night and I think we really needed it to try to build a little momentum here for week four with Ashland coming to town,” he said.

          Quarterback Parker Rieger threw for 187 yards and three touchdowns.

          Ashland quarterback Nathan Bernhard ran for two scores and threw another in the Arrows (35-21) win at Clyde in non-conference play.

          Ashland (3-0,0-0) is #2 in our first Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division.

          Johnson says Bernhard is pretty good and he gets the ball to kids that can make plays.  “The quarterback, it all starts with him.  He's unbelievable, I think he is headed for Appalachian State.  He delivers the ball, he throws it all over the place.  He's really, really good.  Then they have wide outs who catch it and make plays in space, a running back who's been very, very good #22 for them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Their offense, it's explosive and when they're on the field it's funny because it doesn’t seem like they're on the field for long because they score so darn quick.”

          Ashland will try to spread the field and throw it or they will run out of that formation too.

          Johnson says they have to be really good tacklers.  “There's going to be times where we're going to have a wide out that is going to have to make a play or they’re going to have a wide out and we're going to have to make a play on the ball with a defensive back or if they do catch it, we're going to have to make that tackle.  It's a big part of the game, especially with teams that spread you out.  One of the things that’s a little wild about them right now is even though they spread you out and they go empty they're still got 50% run right now,” said Johnson.

Published 9/10/25

© Swankonsports.com

You first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philly Starts “OCC” Play with Wooster

          New Philadelphia will be at home for Wooster in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.

          It’s the only conference game in the “OCC”, or any other conference around here, this week.

          On week two, the Quakers (0-2) scored twice in the fourth quarter, but came up short in losing (21-13) to West Branch.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they have to be more consistent on offense.  “We need to finish drives in the first half.  We had a couple opportunities early on.  We drove the ball pretty well we just didn't end up with points.  Against a team like West Branch if your’re not going to score points, it's going to make it hard to win.  I thought our defense did some good things.  Our offense did some good things, especially in the second half.  There at the end of the game we were able to drive it and put it in, kick an onside kick, get it back and make it into a little something.  So, we have to be a little bit more consistent offensively and end up in the end zone that's got to be the big focus,” said Johnson.

          Johnson says Wooster presents a lot of problems Friday night.  “One of the things that's unique about us and Wooster is it's the first league game of the year.  Everybody else starts league games the following week.  So, really you kind of get out ahead of it and it's really important to put a big focus on what we can do to stop their offense.  They try to spread it out all over the field and being able to drive and score.  That's got to be a big push this week,” he said.

          Wooster (0-2) was roughed up (43-13) by North Royalton last week.

          Johnson says the Generals have made some critical mistakes, but they have good personnel.  “Really at the end of the first quarter it's always a game.  It's been a game into the second quarter.  They've had some misfortune like pick sixes have cost them a little bit.  So, the offense is really spread out, it's wide open and they try to get the ball to a bunch of people.  The quarterback does a good job getting it out,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Their defense hasn't allowed all those points that they've given up.  Some of it's been the other way around.  Some of it's been kind of offensive misfortune.  So, they play very, very hard.  There's always good energy on their sidelines with everything we watch on film.  Can we match that energy and can we get more precise output, that's going to be a big key.”

Published 9/02/25

© Swankonsports.com

You first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Consistency a Key for New Philadelphia

          New Philadelphia hits the road for Beloit West Branch on Friday night for a non-conference game.

          They lost their opener (24-0) to Louisville last week.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they just didn’t take advantage of the opportunities they had.  “We just needed to get a little bit more consistent.  We were able to move the ball a little bit in the first half and had some scoring opportunities and squandered them, didn’t make the most of it, so those are things that we definitely got to fix.  It was still pretty tight one there in the fourth then with a little under 5 minutes left we threw a pick, kind of some desperation play to try to get back into it, and didn't work.  I think our kids are playing hard, which is great.  Defense played well, we didn't put them in all the greatest positions.  So, the offense is going to have to finish some drives and score some points if we want to have the success that we were looking for this year,” said Johnson.

          Johnson says they have to get things fixed in practice this week in order to move forward.  “In practice is where you put in the work and it gets you prepared for what you're going to see and what you're going to do on a Friday night.  That's where the grind really comes in.  It comes in on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.  So, those are really where we try to push and get better at those situations so we're going to be better for Friday,” he said.

          West Branch, a consistent football power, lost (26-21) to Canfield in their first game.

          Johnson says they have some guys on offense that definitely have their attention.  “West Branch is a powerhouse up there in the league.  I think they won the league last six years.  They have a big tight end, he’s a Toledo commit, he's heading off there, he's a very good football player, catches ball in space and wreaks havoc when he plays on the defensive line,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “The quarterback does a good job distributing the ball and running it.  Then they have a wideout who played quarterback for them last year, he’s a heck of a football player.  He gets the ball in the backfield by running it, he gets it on jet sweeps, they threw it all over to him.  They do a good job of kind of getting the ball to their playmakers.  So, we're going to have to try to corral some of that this weekend.”

Published 8/27/25

© Swankonsports.com

You first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Ready to Get Going

          On the opening Friday night, New Philadelphia will be at home for Louisville in a non-conference game.

          Coach Mike Johnson is pretty confident the Quakers will be ready to play.  “You feel bad early on in the season because you feel like all you give is coach speak.  In the back of your mind, you're like I think we might be ready, but you always have that doubt, but it's I think it's part of it because you're trying to push.  You want to get these kids pushed and ready to go.  We've been doing that, so I'm really proud of our staff and our kids for the way they've reacted.  We're excited this has been a fun week to kind of get back in the game planning, back into to breaking down opponents and really being able to focus on one thing and that's Louisville, it's been fun,” said Johnson.

          Johnson says the preparation in practice has been intensified this week.  “When you get going with these scrimmages.  It's like there are four man front or they like to run the ball this way or pass it that way.  You spend some time on it, but really when you get through with that kind of camp it feels great to actually get to the point where now it's, hey it's the season, let's have some fun,” he said.

          Johnson says that Louisville is a physical team that wants to run the ball.  “They have a couple of big linemen.  These two guys up front who are Division I recruits.  So, they're going to try to pound the ball behind them.  Run the ball to their right side.  They have done a nice job on it during the during camp,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We're going to have to try to stop the run game.  The quarterback is a shifty guy.  He throws it pretty well as well.  A couple of good running backs.  Offensively and it looks like they're going to be pretty balanced, but they definitely rely on that offensive line for sure.”

Published 8/22/25

© Swankonsports.com

You first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Wants to Take Next Step

          New Philadelphia appears to be a football team with a high ceiling this season.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they have some players back on defense that have pretty good skill.  “We have got a lot of letter winners coming back.  We had a lot of kids who were sophomores that played sparingly in some positions.  They played a lot of special teams.  A couple of the guys were starters.  You have got a lot of these kids coming back, 21 returning letter winners, which is unbelievable.  Now as far as position wise starting every which way they're not all position starters, but they're going to be a big part of what we do.  I'm really excited about the experience and depth coming back on defense.  We return both inside linebackers, one of our outside linebackers, a safety from last year, a corner from last year, and then two defensive lineman.  So, we're really excited about what we have coming back and kind of the seniors and juniors have kind of stepped up and filled in those other spots that were question marks.  We're really happy with what we saw from them last week at the scrimmage.  So, we are pretty excited about that defense,” said Johnson.

          Johnson says they are finding some new players on offense, but ones that can do some things.  “Offensively, Myles Tyson is coming back and he looks good and he's healthy at running back.  Then we have a couple of wideouts coming back.  Our quarterback last year graduated.  He was a three-year starter, but Parker Rieger, who's coming in to start this year got some experience last year as well.  So, we're excited to kind of see how they all mesh, how they all work.  CJ Carlisle in the return game and at wideout is going to be a big play guy for us.  He's got big play ability.  So, we're just kind of excited to see them all meshed together and keep getting experience leading into week one,” he said.

          New Philadelphia will host Green in a scrimmage on Friday.  They open the season against Louisville at home on August 22.

          Going forward, Johnson says they have to work on honing their skills and their execution.  “Continuing to iron down our skills.  Up front it's always going to be we're hustling, we're getting to where we need to, but are we getting there with the attitude that we need to.  That is a big thing up front for lineman is kind of that mindset of really bringing the fight to the defense.  One of the fun things was last Saturday as we had our first scrimmage, the guys who were out there they played and they looked like they belonged and they did some things that really I liked a lot,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “It's stuff that now you're like okay we were hoping you could do it.  Now we see that you can do it, so now we can push you to do it.  That’s kind of the fun part right with the first scrimmage at the end of it, I wouldn't say we're really happy about it, because I thought we played Northwest well, but we saw some of those guys who are coming into their own.  We know they can do the things that we expect them to do.  So, this week's been about pushing it, pushing them, and kind of focusing on their skill work to make sure it comes along with that energy.”

Published 8/14/25

© Swankonsports.com

You first source for all things sports

“Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Continues to Improve

          New Philadelphia hosts Wooster in a game in the Ohio Cardinal Conference on Friday night.

          New Philly beat archrival Dover (40-36) on Tuesday night.  Coach Zach Ross they found a way to win.  “Anytime you come out of that rivalry game with a win you have got to feel good.  Taking a look back at that, we did some good things, but there were a lot of bad things in there as well.  I guess that's a sign of our maturity, growth as a team that we found a way to win even when we had a lot of things that we did not do so well,” he said.

          Dover had won the first meeting (50-41) back in December.

          Ross says this time they played much better in the second half and were able to make some clutch plays.  “The first time I thought they got bullied us to kind of do what they wanted.  We lacked belief and we kind of did some of the same things in the first half.  We did not score a field goal in the first quarter.  We were down 12-2 and our kids didn't give up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They found a way to make some winning plays.  We had a really good third quarter.  We were able to get stops and hit some clutch free throws down the stretch.  So, hopefully our guys have built some confidence as we head towards the tournament and our last regular season game and senior night Friday night.”

          New Philadelphia (13-8,6-5) plays at home against Wooster (10-10,6-5) on Friday night in what will be a battle for third place in the “OCC”.  Wooster lost (73-69) to Mansfield Senior in their last league game on Friday.

          The Quakers won the first game between the two teams (54-52) on January 7.

          Ross the Generals have the potential to score a lot of points.  “Wooster’s a scary team.  They have got a lot of dynamic scores on their team.  They can really beat you up, crush you with their athletes.  They obviously have the ability to beat anybody with them being the only team that has beaten Lexington.  So, between Bowen and Carmean and some of the other guards they can really shoot the ball, so we're going to have to do a good job of making sure that we find their shooters try to limit Bowen and Carmean is much as we can,” said Ross.

Published 2/13/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Quakers Still Trying to Get Better

          New Philadelphia is at Mansfield Madison to do battle with the Rams in Ohio Cardinal Conference action on Friday night.

          They are coming off a (51-46) win over Alliance on Tuesday night in non-conference action.

          Coach Zach Ross was very happy with their response.  “It's a really good victory on the road against the team in first place in their league up in Stark County.  I thought we did a lot of good things in the game, especially down the stretch.  We kind of got a big lead and they stormed all the way back and we found a way to respond as a team.  So, hopefully this promise keeps us moving forward,” said Ross.

          The postseason beacons in a couple weeks and Ross says they look good sometimes, but they have to keep getting better.  “I don't know, I hope so.  I hope there's more out of us than what I'm seeing right now.  We really hope that our guys are starting to click.  I know our guys are working really hard and our legs are tired, but they're doing a lot of good things right now and I'm proud of that.  Hopefully, we can find a way to get 1% better a couple more days before the tournament actually gets here,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (10-8,5-5) plays at Madison (4-15,1-9) on Friday night.  The Rams lost (63-49) to “OCC” leader Lexington on Friday.

          The Quakers won the first game (57-32) on January 3.

          Ross says the Rams always give maximum effort.  “Luckily, we shot it really well out of the get go and then they kind of stormed back.  They did play really hard.  You wouldn't know with the way they play what their record is,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We have got treat them with respect as much as you can because they played really hard.  Their last game Friday they played at home versus Lexington and I thought they gave them a great battle and they played really hard.”

Published 2/06/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Wants to Control Tempo

          New Philadelphia makes the long trip to Mansfield Senior to face the Tygers in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Saturday night.

          The Quakers (9-7,5-4), winners of five of their last seven, hammered West Holmes (60-32) in an “OCC” game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says they had to overcome some adversity and they were very unselfish on Tuesday.  “I thought our guys did a really good job.  We had a couple of depth guys get hurt before the game.  We had a starter sick before that.  So, it was kind of a good culture night for us to kind of see where we're at.  Kind of next man up mentality.  I thought our guys did a good job of going out and doing the right things.  I thought we had 15 assists, I believe, off of the top of my head.  So, I was really proud of that and how we shared the ball and played together,” said Ross.

          Mansfield Senior (10-5,7-2), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, won the first meeting between the two (62-57) way back on December 6.

          On Tuesday night, Lexington drilled Mansfield Senior (84-64) in a battle for first place.

          Ross says they Tygers will likely be foul mood.  “They're probably going to be pretty pissed after that game, so we’ll kind of make sure our guys are aware of that.  After coming off that game and then we have to go to Senior, a really difficult place to play,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I think they have got one of the best players in the league, if not the best, in Rone.  He's such an elite basketball player with the speed he plays, he's never in panic mode.  He's such an elite passer.  All of the guys they have got shooting around him makes it really tough to guard.  Then defensively, they're on ball defense is as good as you'll see in the league.”

          To have success against Mansfield Senior, Ross says you must handle that on ball pressure.  “Kind of a big emphasis (Thursday) in practice was handling pressure.  Trying to find ways to get easy chances.  To make sure they're not speeding you up.  It's just easier said than done.  So, it's going to be good for our guys to go into this environment and see what happens.  See if we can get dictate the tempo and the pace to which the game is played and try to keep it in our favor,” he said.

Published 1/31/25

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard Friday night

For constant updates beginning with the tip

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

New Philadelphia With Opportunities

          New Philadelphia takes a break from play in the Ohio Cardinal Conference this week and will play a non conference game against Indian Valley on Saturday night at home.

          The Quakers (8-6,4-4) really challenged “OCC” co-leader Lexington before falling (56-49) last Friday.

          Coach Zach Ross says the Minutemen made more plays down the stretch.  “I thought we did a lot of good things Friday night.  We wanted to limit our turnovers and try to keep them off the glass as much as we can.  We did a really good job of both of those.  Obviously, the addition of the player of the year in the league from last year really helps them out.  I thought they did a great job.  They're well schooled.  I thought they had a really good game plan of running our three point shooters off the line.  Just needed a couple more plays and they ended up making them and helped them win the game,” he said.

          With eight games still left on the schedule, Ross says they have a lot opportunities to get better.  “It's kind of awkward right now.  I think everybody is in this limbo situation where you have got a lot of different postponements.  You're trying to fit all this in, but you're looking at the schedule like there's not much time left.  All of a sudden you're thinking about the tournament draw here coming up in a few weeks,” he told Swankonspots.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We have got a lot of good opportunities.  Our league presents a ton of challenges.  There are no off nights.  Then with our non league games we're playing some high quality teams.  Every one of them has got a winning record and first or second their leagues that they're in.  So, we have got a lot of good tough tests that should help us get this battle ready for the tournament.”

          Ross says Indian Valley will be a very good opponent for them on Friday night.  “They’re kind of like a local rivalry, an in county team.  They have got a really good team.  They have got a couple dynamic kids that can really score the basketball.  They’re second the Inter Valley Conference right now.  Well coached, they're well schooled.  They're going to win a lot of basketball games.  They beat us last year at their place.  They have a kid that was a freshman All Ohio last year, now he is a sophomore.  He was the quarterback for the state championship team, so obviously he knows how to win.  They have got a lot of kids around him that are really tough and can shoot the basketball.  So, it will be a huge test for us.  I'm sure it will be a great crowd Saturday night in our place,” said Ross.

Published 1/22/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Doing Good Things

          New Philadelphia, a winner six of its last seven, plays at Ohio Cardinal Conference co-leader Lexington on Friday in conference action.

          They beat Canal Fulton Northwest (56-49), The Principal’s Athletic Conference leader, Tuesday night in non-conference action.

          Coach Zach Ross they are playing good basketball right now.  “Yeah it feels really good.  You kind of get caught up in game by game.  I feel like it's been game, two days prep, game, two days prep, and you kind of forget about kind of a little bit of a run that we're on.  I don't want our guys to be too enamored with that, but it's really just been our young guys starting to believe themselves, buying into the culture that our staff is trying to put in place for them.  We have got a lot of young guys starting to step up and we're playing well, we're sharing the basketball well, our team defense has got tremendously better and looking forward to a great challenge Friday night,” said Ross.

          New Philly (8-5,4-3) is at Lexington (11-2,6-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday.  The Minutemen blasted West Holmes (71-32) on Wednesday night.  They also beat the Quakers in the first matchup (47-34) on December 13.

          Ross says the Minutemen run the floor well and they get a lot of easy looks.  “They’re elite as far as getting out and getting easy scores whether it's off of rebounds or off live ball turnovers.  That's obviously a huge key that we've circled right off the bat whenever you scout them.  Kind of the last couple years with them  with or without (Brayden) Fogle then that's a huge part of their offense is having the ability to get easy scores with their guys that play extremely hard,” he said.

          Lexington has had the habit this season of producing a lot of big runs and taking over close games.

          Ross says they can’t have that happen Friday.  “I think I would be okay with six or eight for right now.  Let's try to avoid those ones where they're going on 12, 13, 15-0 runs.  In a lot of those films you're seeing like somebody's hanging around, hanging around and all of a sudden you blink and then they throw that knockout punch and all of a sudden it's a 15, 16 point game just like that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They have that ability with that.  They're great in transition, they're great at getting offensive rebounds and with that and they have got a lot of dynamic kids around Seven Allen that play well.  The Caudill kid inside is such a huge load and then they got a plethora of guys that are extremely athletic and play great defense as well.”

Published 1/16/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Must Control Wooster Runs

          New Philadelphia will be up at Wooster in a game in the Ohio Cardinal Conference on Tuesday night.

          Last Friday, the Quakers (5-5,2-3) smoked Mansfield Madison (57-32) in an “OCC” game.

          Coach Zach Ross feels their execution was outstanding.  “I thought we did a really good job.  I thought defensively we were locked in from the beginning of that game.  I thought our guys did a good job with the scouting report.  They got a lot of different out athletes for them, but we did a good job as far as knowing the scouting report and the staff did a good job of putting together a good report,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I thought we came out offensively and we were pretty good with that as well.  So, I'm proud of our guys and the way they executed.”

          Wooster (6-2,4-1), #5 in Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, shares the conference lead.  They lost their first “OCC” game of the year last Friday (51-45) to Mansfield Senior.

          Ross says they are very talented and they are experienced too.  “I saw them earlier in the year in person, I think the Orville shootout when they played Medina and even in a loss and I could tell.  They have got a lot of the same guys that they had last year, a lot of guys that with a lot of experience, they're playing extremely hard, they're really athletic between the Bowen kid and Carmean they can really score basketball,” he said.

          Wooster is a team that is capable of putting together quick bursts of points and Ross says they must control that on Tuesday night.  “They are definitely a team of runs.  Watching their film you’re like how the heck did they end up in this game or how do they win it and you blink and all of a sudden they're on a 12-0 or 14-0 run.  With their with their guys and the way they shoot the basketball they have got a lot of different options that could score it.  They put heat on you defensively so “spurtability” is a good way to put it,” said Ross.

Published 1/07/25

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Has to Control Emotions

          New Philadelphia plays the first of two emotion packed matchups with archrival Dover on Tuesday night.

          They are coving off a (47-34) loss to Lexington in Ohio Cardinal Conference action on Friday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says they could never get anything consistently going on offense.  “For whatever reason we just didn't ever really get going.  I thought we started out actually a pretty good.  We had a lot of really good looks, close looks, that just didn't go down.  I thought we had a couple minor breakdowns and yet it was still a two point game at half.  For whatever reason we still just couldn't get over hump.  We were a little dejected.  I don't know if we're tired or not, but we didn't have our best stuff.  We still took the lead early in the third, but as Lexington does about once or twice a game they find a time to go on a 10-0 run and kind of throw that knockout punch that really takes the wind out of your sails, just never really could recover after that,” said Ross.

          New Philadelphia (2-3) makes the short trip to Dover on Tuesday night.

          Ross says the Crimson Tornadoes are a team that just executes very well.  “I know our staff has done a tremendous job of putting together a scouting report and there's many years of scouting reports of that game in the office and a lot of different sets.  A lot of the same stuff that's being run with father and son being transferred over, but that's a winning tradition.  I know that those kids expect to win and they play to win.  They're very physical and they're very tough.  You know all their sets, but yet somehow, they still get a couple easy looks a game based on what they're doing.  They screen really well and they're great on the offensive glass as well,” he said.

          Ross says there is always going to be emotion in this game, but you can’t let it get the best of you.  “It is definitely amped up.  Sometimes I think the community would have no idea if you won a district championship, but really some people would be like did you beat Dover or not.  A lot of people judge a season based on that.  We have got young kids and it's going to be their first time playing in it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Tempering those emotions and handling the highs and lows of the game is going to be really important.  Luckily for us they don't have many kids that played it before.  They graduated a great senior class.  So, it’s going to kind of be a tale of who can handle those adversity moments of the game and who can come together as a team in those moments and not let them become too low.”

Published 12/17/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia to Face a Very Good Lexington

          New Philadelphia will host Lexington in a Friday night battle in the Ohio Cardinal Conference this week.

          The Quakers (2-2,0-1) lost their first “OCC” game (62-57) to Mansfield Senior last Friday.

          On Tuesday night, they dropped a tough one (59-56) in double overtime to Marietta.

          Coach Zach Ross says it came down to a couple of plays.  “Going on the road playing a really good team that is extremely well coached, they're tough.  We did a lot of good things to put ourselves in position to win that game, but ultimately did not go away.  Just small things here and there and just the culmination of those mistakes ultimately led to us getting beat Tuesday night,” he said.

          Lexington (3-0,1-0) beat West Holmes (72-44) in their league opener last week.

          Ross says the Minutemen are physical and have tremendous skill.  “A lot of the same names appear on the scouting report for the last three years and yet there's still a lot of juniors on that roster too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Ultra talented, really good in transition with the way they rebound the basketball and push the pace.  A very, very, very good offensive rebounding team big and physical with their size inside.  So, they present a boatload of challenges for us.”

          Lexington has been playing without the injured Brayden Fogle, out for at least a couple more weeks.

          Ross says he is a big part of their team, but they are still really good without him.  “He's such a good player and he's such a good athlete with his motor and his ability to just wreck the game on the glass and then his ability in transition the way he moves.  So, with the plays obviously they're different, but they still have got plenty of pieces that make them go.  They're very deep with their athleticism and they play extremely hard,” said Ross.

Published 12/13/24

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard Friday night

For constant updates beginning with the kick

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

New Philadelphia Must Rebound

          New Philadelphia plays host to Mansfield Senior in the Ohio Cardinal Conference opener for both on Friday night.

          They hammered Riverview (66-36) in a non-league game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says they got off to a good start.  “I thought our guys did a really good job of coming out fast.  Really a lot of unknowns in the game as far as what we were going to see from them.  A lot of different guys on the basketball team just got done winning the state soccer championship.  So, it's odd going in as much as we prepare scouting report wise and not knowing who you're playing.  I thought our guys handled it the right way.  They came out and handled their business early,” said Ross.

          This will be the Tygers season opener, but Ross says there are just certain things you know about Mansfield Senior.  “A typical Mansfield Senior team in the they play their tails off.  They get up and down the floor at a high level.  They return the runner up player of the year in the league last year, who is just a high level basketball player.  They have got a lot of great pieces around him.  They put a ton of stress on you and pressure at the rim.  So, us preparing for their ability to get up and down with us and then handling their pressure going to be huge keys for us,” he said.

          Ross added rebounding is going to be a big key because its difficult to keep Mansfield Senior teams off the boards.  “Their ability to when that ball goes in the air there's an all out war to go get that thing and they do a great job of getting second and third opportunities.  The more shots they get the better chance they have of scoring on that possession,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “As far as transition and rebounding, I think those are the two main keys that you will probably be able to look at the end of the game and it'll give you an idea of who won the game.”

Published 12/05/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Needs to Rebound

          New Philadelphia starts its season on Wednesday at Zanesville against the Blue Devils.

          A couple of years ago, the OHSAA gave basketball teams the option of starting their season the day before Thanksgiving and coach Zach Ross says he’s unsure of its value.   “Well now that it's here I don't know how great of an idea it is.  I feel like we need more time with a young team, but it's kind of nice just to get going.  Get some game like experience for the young team that we have.  So, the great thing about basketball is everybody makes the tournament.  This is somebody that's in our district.  So, good early look at us to see who we are and good challenge in the great basketball program in Zanesville,” said Ross.

          Ross says Zanesville is a balanced team that gives maximum effort.  “They play extremely hard.  Basketball is really important to that school.  You can tell the kids are bought into the culture.  They're playing extremely hard on both ends of the floor.  They play selfless.  There's really not just like one guy that you're concerned about,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They have multiple ways that they can hurt you on the offensive end.  Defensively, they're really gritty.  Take a ton of charges.  So, they're really going to challenge all five guys on the floor at the time and really our whole team and bench also being our first varsity game let alone on the road in environment like Zanesville.”

          When it comes to the opener, Ross says they are going to have to compete on the boards.  “I want to see us get through that first win because I know that first win is going to be tough and that first experience and just kind of survive and keep the ship afloat.  I think the rebounding battle is going to be really big for us.  We're undersized and that's one area of huge concern for us as we go throughout the season.  So, defensively we're getting better, but it doesn't really matter if you're good defensively if you keep giving up offensive rebounds,” he said.

Published 11/26/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia With a Young Squad

          New Philadelphia is going to be a work in progress in many ways this season with a lot of less experienced kids seeing action.

          Coach Zach Ross says they really don’t bring much back at all.  “We return one starter.  We return 10 percent of our scoring from last year, so we were pretty young.  Only three returning letterman back.  Two of those guys were bench players and were about eight to 12 minute a game type guys.  So, we are pretty inexperienced as far as that category goes,” he said.

          Ross says he has a very unselfish team this year.  He says they have some guys that need to take more shots.  “We lack the experience, but the one thing about this group is they are about as tight knit of a group that I've coached here at New Philly as far as their care for each other, their buy in into the culture and what we're trying to preach each and every day as far as being unselfish and being about the team.  That is one thing that I think they've really excelled at.  We're almost overpassing at times offensively right now, which is I guess not a bad problem to have because we're not as much worried about the stats and we're more worried about the team success more than anything.  So, that part has been really fun to coach and I think it's led to a lot of great practices early on.  I don't know what that translates to as far as wins and losses, but I do know that we're developing some good habits that are going to help us produce some desired outcome and results,” said Ross.

          New Philly opens the season at Zanesville the day before Thanksgiving.  Ross says he wishes he had more time to prepare, but the kids want to play a game.  “As a coach, I would, say probably most coaches, are on the opposite end.  We open up next Wednesday already before Thanksgiving.  This will be the earliest I've ever opened up.  The previous two years because of football playoffs for us or the other team we haven’t opened up until at least December 7,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon. “I always thought that was way too long, but now that I know that we play next week I'm like I could use another week of practice.  I'm sure our kids are chomping at the bit.  They're excited to get out and play and see what we look like.  I know we have got a tough December schedule.  The great thing about high school basketball is everybody makes the tournament, but for us and what we're looking at it's really just about growth and keep building those winning habits every day.”

Published 11/20/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Quakers to Face Physical Jackson

          New Philadelphia, out of the Ohio Cardinal Conference, makes the long trip to Jackson to take on the Ironmen in a first round playoff game in division III on Friday night.

          The Quakers (7-3) outscored the archrival Dover Tornadoes (42-24) last Friday.

          Coach Mike Johnson calls it their best performance of the season.  “I would say it was our best game really.  We kind of put it all together.  Our offense was clicking, we punted twice all night and one was with a minute or so left in the game to kind of give them the ball back.  We were able to move the ball when we needed to move the ball and our defense got after that quarterback.  We were able to rack up six sacks and just keep putting together first downs.  So, that's what we wanted to do.  Credit to our kids they executed the game plan wonderfully,” said Johnson.

          New Philly has won its last five games and Johnson says they playing some excellent football and the right time of the season.  “Our guys are playing great football.  We've been playing fast, we've been playing physical, so it's just can we keep that momentum going into the playoffs.  After a week of practice, we're really excited to head down to Jackson,” he said.

          Jackson (8-2) belted Chillicothe (43-14) in their final regular season game last week.

          Johnson says they are physical and they are going to make them stop them running it.  “The Ironmen like to run the ball.  I mean it's going to be a physical game.  We like to play physical football and you can definitely tell that they do too.  They have big kids, strong kids, a really nice running back a couple of lineman, who you look at and you think wow they're monsters,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It's going to take a lot for us to get off the bus and be ready to go, but you know what they want to do and that’s run that football.  So, let's stop the run and then when they try to take their shots let's make the most of those opportunities.”

Published 11/01/24

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard Friday night

For constant updates beginning with the kick

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Tradition Continues with New Philadelphia and Dover

          When New Philadelphia and Dover first started to play football there were no planes, recorded music was a fantasy in most homes and the forward pass was a trick play.

          The 121^st meeting takes place on Friday night at New Philly.

          The Quakers bring a four game winning streak into the game after edging West Holmes (38-31) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game last week.

          Coach Mike Johnson says it was a quality win.  “It was a good game, back and forth game.  We were able to get that score there near the end of the game to kind of ice it, which was huge for us,” he said.

          The Quakers are (6-3) and Dover is (7-2), they beat Linsly, West Virginia (34-25) last week.

          Johnson says the Tornadoes are going to be fundamental.  “Every year you always marvel at how well coached and disciplined they are.  I think it's testament to what Dan (Ifft) does over there, he's a phenomenal coach.  They have a quarterback and seems like every week we talk about quarterback, quarterback ,quarterback,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They have got a great quarterback who's able to run the ball and throws it.  He reminds me of a younger version of our guy and we're going to have to really contain him this week.”

          Johnson says this is just a fun week.  “This is the 121^st rivalry game, which is a big deal.  It's great for the communities. There are sportsmanship banquets, there's pep rallies, there's spaghetti dinners, there's a lot of fanfare that goes with it and deservingly so.  It's really exciting for both communities,” said Johnson.

Published 10/23/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Must Contain West Holmes

          New Philadelphia makes the bus trip to West Holmes to face the Knights in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.

          They picked up a big win last week when they handed Lexington their first “OCC” loss (29-13) on Friday.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they were really very good on defense.  “I thought our guys did a great job of containing Lexington's offense.  They've been doing so well last couple of weeks, but our kids were able to kind of keep them under wraps, keep them down around 200 passing and 100 or so running.  So, our defense continues to play well and the offense is able to score and that's what we want, we will keep that going,” said Johnson.

          New Philadelphia (5-3,3-2) travels to West Holmes (4-4,3-2) on Friday night in “OCC” play.  The Knights lost (56-28) to conference leader Ashland last week.

          Johnson is concerned with West Holmes QB Mogan Smith.  “Their quarterback is so good, he's just a heck of a football player.  He's hard to bring down and that seems to be kind of a reoccurring theme here in the “OCC”.  So, we're going to try to contain him, we're going to try to make him get rid of the ball and tackle in space,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Offensively, they bring a lot of pressure, so our goal is to keep the quarterback clean and let him distribute the ball.”

          Johnson says they have to contain Smith and that isn’t going to be easy.  “In the pocket he's a good quarterback, but once he starts getting flushed, he's throwing touchdowns against everybody and he puts the ball in places where you're not quite sure he's going to make it there, but he keeps doing it.  So, we've seen a lot of him in the last couple of years and he's been deadly to us, so containing him is of the utmost importance,” he said.

Published 10/18/24

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard Friday night

For constant updates beginning with the kick

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

New Philadelphia Must Tackle

          New Philadelphia will be at home for “OCC” co-leader Lexington in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.

          They handled Madison (35-21) in a conference game last week.

          Coach Mike Johnson calls it a solid overall performance by the Quakers.  “I thought we did a pretty good job of moving the ball up and down the field.  Defense was pretty solid throughout most of the night.  It was just kind of another step towards toward getting the train on the right tracks there and moving on down.  I thought our guys did a great job coming out and playing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We knew Madison was going to be physical and I thought we matched or exceeded some that physicality and that’s something we really wanted to do.  So, I'm happy with the way we played.  It gets us on to week eight and a good match up here against Lexington.”

          New Philly (4-3,2-2) hosts Lexington (4-3,3-0) on Friday night in “OCC” play.  The Minutemen beat West Holmes (19-13) last week and share the conference lead with Ashland.

          Johnson says with the players Lexington has this going to be a tough challenge for them.  “They're hot, they're playing great football.  The quarterback does a really, really great job of keeping some plays alive and slinging it.  He's got a heck of an arm.  He is a big guy and throws it well.  Then #8, Fogle, out wide is more than a force.  I know we're going to have to try to contain those two guys, which is going to be pretty monumental task,” said Johnson.

          Lexington quarterback Joe Caudill scored the game winner last week against West Holmes with less than a minute to play.

He is a post player in basketball and Johnson says he is physical and tough to bring down.  “We were actually talking about that as a staff.  A big hit is not going to knock him down.  A big hit is going to bounce off him.  So, we're going to have to really be great at tackling this week, great with our feet.  He's a physical kid, hard to tackle and then heck he plays defense too and does a great job as an outside backer,” he said.

Published 10/08/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Quakers Face Physical Madison

          New Philadelphia will be back in action in the Ohio Cardinal Conference on Friday night as they host the improving Madison Rams.

          The Quakers outscored Linsly, West Virgnia (59-28) in a non-league game last Friday.

          Coach Mike Johnson says it was a good way to get the taste of a two game losing streak out of their mouths.  “I thought our guys did a good job getting us back on track.  We talked about being opportunistic and the defense was able to get six turnovers and then the offense was able to turn those turnovers into points.  So, it was really a nice night of playing complimentary football.  That was kind of the hope of getting back on track.  Our guys played better than I imagined they would,” said Johnson.

          New Philly (3-3,1-2) plays host to Madison (1-5,0-3) on Friday night.  The Rams lost a second tough one in a row when unbeaten Ashland trimmed them (33-27) in triple overtime last Friday.  That was after losing (23-21) to West Holmes on a field goal with :03 left the week before.

          Johnson says he expects the Rams to continue to get better.  “Oh my gosh, they've suffered two heartbreaking losses the last two weeks.  We were able to watch on film and they play hard, they get after it, they have got good size and they've had good scheme.  They have just ended up on the shore side,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I know they're chomping at the bit to get back after it.  So, we're planning on seeing the best side of them, which they've been showing the last couple of weeks.  I know we're going to have to be ready to go.”

          Johnson says they are going to have to win up front and be able to handle Madison’s physical run game.  “They come off the ball.  They were able to really kind of get unbalanced and run the ball on Ashland.  That was something I know that we didn't do a good enough job of and they did a pretty darn good job of it.  So, I know we're going to be in a dogfight on Friday night,” he said.

Published 10/01/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia has to Execute Better

          New Philadelphia takes a break from play in the Ohio Cardinal Conference this week as they travel to Linsly, West Virginia for a high school football game on Friday night.

          They lost a heartbreaker last week when Mansfield Senior completed a double pass for an overtime score and a (20-19) win over the Quakers in “OCC” play.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they just made too many mistakes over the course of the game.  “It was a nail biter.  It went down to overtime.  We had the ball, we were able to put one in.  Didn't get an extra point attempt there with a bad snap.  Then they scored on the next play and then kicked it to win.  So, really it was one of those games where we had too many negative plays and too many penalties and that stuff slowed us down and really ended up being our Achilles heel on Friday night.  So, looking forward, it's clean up some of those things, clean up those mistakes and grow from it and don't be happy about it, but definitely learn from it,” said Johnson.

          The coach says they need to get back on the beam and now.  “We have got to get back to doing little things correctly if we want to have success so those are fundamental things. So, we've worked on those (Monday) night.  We're going to continue to work on those (Tuesday) and the rest of the week,” he said.

          New Philly (2-3) plays at Linsly (0-4) on Friday night.  This is team that has already lost to Ashland (35-0) and will play Dover in two weeks.

          Johnson says they want to get a good start on Friday night.  “They are team that traditionally has a big team with a lot of kids it seemed like they graduated a lot last year.  So, what we got this year is a team that had to ride up to Ashland on a rainy Friday night.  Ashland was able to kind of get on them early and that's got to be the focus,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Get on them early because they've had moments where they move the ball okay, but they haven't been an offensive juggernaut.  So, we want to play great defense and hold them too as little as we can.  Then our offense it's about getting our offense going because we've seen some guys score on them so are we able to do that and that's what we expect to do.”

Published 9/25/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philly Has to Contain Senior High Speed

          New Philadelphia plays host to Mansfield Senior in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game key for both on Friday night.

          The Quakers lost a tough one (17-14) to Ashland in “OCC” play last week.

          Coach Mike Johnosn says they did a lot of good things, just not enough.  “It was a hard fought game.  We did some good things.  We did some things not so well.  I thought Ashland played great defense and was able to kind of take away some of the things we like to do in the run game.  Our quarterback played a nice game.  He threw it and hit a couple different receivers.  CJ Carlisle caught the ball and had a couple of touchdown receptions.  I thought he played pretty well.  Our defense played well enough to give us chances to win it.  In the end of the day, we came up a little bit short.  So, it kind of gets you refocused here for the next bought in the “OCC,” said Johnson.

          Johnson believes they are still in the “OCC” race.  “Just kind of knowing when we were about to join the “OCC”, I started keeping track a little bit of who's playing who, how they're playing each other, who's winning, who's the league champs.  Very rarely does the team make it through unbeaten because there's such good competition and players that step up,” he told Swankosports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Everybody seems like they always have a great non league schedule.  When I look at Mansfield’s non league games.  Canfield, state champs two years ago, St. Vincent/St. Mary, VA/SJ, who's got the Buckeye recruit, these teams are very good football teams they've been playing so you know they're battle tested already.”

          New Philadelphia (2-2,1-1) plays at home against Mansfield Senior (0-4,0-1) on Friday night.  The Tygers were blasted (33-7) by West Holmes last week and need a win badly.

          Johnson says it looks like the Tygers are dealing with some issues, but they just have tremendous speed and athleticism.  “You see a lot of speed.  I mean you see a lot of speed.  I'm not sure but it seems like they've have been bit a little bit with the injury bug because there's a couple of guys that you see him maybe one film or two films that you didn't see in others.  I would imagine they're working on getting healthy and trying to stay healthy and kind of working on that lineup.  They have a wide out #2 that guy's all over the place.  He catches the ball, he runs it all over the place, he returns kickoffs and there's just great speed and I know we're going to have to do a lot of stop that,” he said.

Published 9/18/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia Must Contain Ashland

          In a key early season matchup in the Ohio Cardinal Conference New Philadelphia is at Ashland to battle the Arrows.

          The Quakers (2-1,1-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, downed Wooster (28-7) in an “OCC” game last Friday.

          Coach Mike Johnson says it’s always good to win that first league game. “I'm really excited about getting the win at Wooster.  It's always good to get off the bus and have the kids come right out the gate and get after it.  I thought we did a good job of that.  Returning the opening kickoff and then the defense kind of settled in and the offense was able to drive the ball and get in the end zone a little bit.  So, it's a good way to kind of get started and get us moving towards the right direction here in the “OCC,” said Johnson.

          Ashland (3-0,0-0), #5 in our first poll, walloped Linsly (WV) (35-0) last week.

          Johnson says they are explosive.  “Their offense is unbelievable.  They are so much more explosive this year than last year.  They have got a couple of guys who make plays for them.  Starting off with the quarterback and everybody knows about him because he can throw wherever he wants to, he runs it well, he's just a big, good football player,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We're going to have to do our best to contain him.  You have got a couple running backs, #13 runs the ball well, #33 runs the ball well, they have #8 catching the ball.  So, they have good wideouts, good skill players, so we're just really going to have to do our best to try to contain all of those guys.”

          Johnson says they are going to need to be very aware of Ashland quarterback Nathan Bernhard.  “He's so big and powerful, so he's hard to bring down.  There are plays where he just routinely just pulls the ball and runs and it looks like he's getting nothing and it's nine, 10 yards just because he's as explosive and powerful as he is,” he said.

          Offense aside, Johnson adds the Arrows are also very good on defense.  He says they give you a lot of looks.  “They played a heck of a game last week.  They got a shutout win.  They're all over the place.  They play a three man front, but they have defensive backs that they adjust the coverage.  Looks like they're playing multiple coverages trying to get you confused and trying to get your quarterback to just throw a couple up to them.  So, we're going to have to just be disciplined and patient in our pass game and take what's there and will allow us to hopefully move the ball on them,” said Johnson.

Published 9/11/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philly Will Have to be Good on Defense Again

          Week three means an Ohio Cardinal Conference game as New Philadelphia will be at Wooster to tangle with the Generals.

          Both are (1-1) on the season.

          New Philly lost (27-21) to Steubenville last Friday.

          Coach Mike Johnson says there are a lot of good things that can be taken away from that game.  “I think we grew as a team.  One of the things that that you're always excited to see is, are you getting better each week and I thought last week we played better than we did the previous week, especially offensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Defensively, outside of a couple of miscues we were good.  It really comes down to is there are some good things.  There's always going to be good things to take away from those and good things to build on them and use it as a little motivation here coming into “OCC” play.”

          Wooster beat Kent Roosevelt (31-14) in a non-conference game last week.

          Johnson says they have kids that are potential gamebreakers.  “One thing you notice when you look at Wooster is they're big up front.  They have got a couple of really fast kids.  They have got a wideout who returned a punt for them and caught a little pass and took it about 70 yards last week, #2 he did a tremendous job and is super fast.  So, we're going to try to contain him and the running back also is very nice football player.  He makes skinny cuts and gets vertical fast,” said Johnson.

          Johnson says against Wooster they have to have great pursuit and get to the football on defense.  “Their guys up front are big, physical kids and if you just give him just enough of a seam for him to get loose.  So, we're going to continue to try to rally around the ball and play great defense and try to get 11 hats to the ball every play,” he said.

Published 9/04/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Quakers Need Great Start

          New Philadelphia plays host to one the State of Ohio’s traditional football powers on Friday night as they are at home for the Steubenville Big Red.

          In their opener, the Quakers stuffed Louisville (12-7) to start the season with a win.

          Coach Mike Johnson says that defense was on point.  “The defense was outstanding.  We gave up 93 yards and three first downs all night.  Just swarmed to the ball and was really, really proud of the way the kids played and their intensity and the focus they had last week,” he said.

          With Steubenville on the schedule, Johnson says the team’s focus in practice has really been good this week.  “It's been good.  I think it's been hot, but it's been hot for everybody, but it's been great because really going against Steubenville your kids are really focused.  They're excited about the opportunity to go against the Big Red.  They do so many different things on offense so well with so many formations to run the ball.  So, really our guys have been focused to kind of decipher and work through those formations to try to take away what Steubenville does best,” said Johnson.

          When playing the Big Red, Johnson says that first drive of the game is really crucial.  “There's been times where we've played them really, really well and there's times we haven't played quite as well, but when we play Stephenville well there's a lot of attention to detail.  Everyone knows their job, knows their assignment and carries it out,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Once again that's the big priority.  That first drive is so important because they've done a great job in any game you look at by orchestrating a nice drive to go down the score to get things started and start up seven points.  So, that's a big priority to win the first drive and win that first series.”

Published 8/30/24

© Swankonsports.com

Follow our scoreboard Friday night

For constant updates beginning with the kick

At www.swankonsportshosting247.com

New Philadelphia to Face Explosive Louisville

          New Philadelphia will open the season at Louisville in a non-conference game on Friday night.

          Coach Mike Johnson says August has been a good month for the Quakers.  “Our teams made leaps and bounds here in the last three weeks really when you think about two a days and think scrimmages.  So, we're really excited about going into this matchup with Louisville.  We have been seeing improvement.  We keep getting a little bit better and there's always something to work on, so our coaches are pushing our kids,” he said.

          Johnson says they are a mix of experience and guys new to the bright lights.  “It kind of varies because when we look at our skill players, our wideouts, our quarterback, our defensive backs, and our outside linebackers, those guys are all veteran, those guys are all coming back.  We have got a couple of young guys, who are going to just enhance that group.  When we look at our offensive line, our defensive line, our inside linebackers, these guys are getting really their first taste, most of those guys are getting their first taste of starting this year.  So, it's going to be exciting to see who steps up and how that all shakes out,” said Johnson.

          If you like predictions, a media panel says New Philly is the fifth best team in the Ohio Cardinal Conference this year.

          Johnson says Louisville has some talent and some gamebreakers on their squad.  “The Leopards have got some speed.  They have a running back who is super fast.  He's great with the ball in his hands.  He catches the ball in the flats and can run.  They do a really nice job of kind of finding ways to get him the ball in creative spaces.  The offensive line comes off the ball well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Defensively, they have some outside defensive ends who can really give you some fits because they're such active players.  So, we're going to have to take care of those guys on the line and try to hold them off, keep them off our quarterback, so get some guys open down field.”

Published 8/21/24

© Swankonsports.com

Your First Source for All Things Sports

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

New Philadelphia to Play Arch Rival Dover

          New Philadelphia makes the short trip to play arch rival Dover on Tuesday night.

          Dover will become a new member of the Ohio Cardinal Conference next year, replacing Mt, Vernon, who is leaving for the Licking County League.

          Last Friday, the Quakers lost (40-35) to Mansfield Senior in an “OCC” game.

          Coach Zach Ross says they just couldn’t get over the top.  “I thought we did a lot of good things and that we controlled the tempo.  I thought we did enough to be in the game down the stretch just a couple defensive breakdowns and some costly turnovers really ultimately ended up being the difference in the game,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (11-8) is at Dover (14-2) on Tuesday night.  The Tornadoes are coached by longtime coach Bob Von Kaenel.

          Ross says his game is always a war.  “There's a lot of good about them.  Obviously, getting ready to be a part of our league coming up, but it's a huge deal in our area, this rivalry.  In all sports it is really important for each school to do their best to beat the other squad.  So, it is one of the more electric atmospheres that you'll get to play in as a high school player.  They have six seniors that play.  A class that's really won since they were young.  They're used to winning and I think that's one of their greatest advantages that they expect to win.  They really don't falter or waver on their beliefs that they want to win and I think that helps them a lot of those close games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “They got us in the close one at our place.  They have a legendary coach and he's probably getting close to 800 wins.  I think he took over the Dover job when I was a year old.  So, that’s kind of an interesting thing to go against somebody that you grew up in this area seeing him coaching.  It's a fun game that you get to coach in and play in and a unique experience.  I don't think our kids realize how lucky they are with high school sports and how student sections are kind of disappearing in some places and they kind of are hit or miss and this is a game where they have presale tickets and that there'll be people running in early for this game.”

          Dover won (49-40) this first time they played on December 29.

          Ross says they have to rebound better and handle the pressure situations better than they did the first time they played.  “It's kind of one of those games that we've lost a couple times this year.  It is a one point game was about two and half minutes ago and just closing.  I think the adversity hit in the middle of that for that fourth quarter and we kind of wavered on our trust and belief and they didn't and I think ultimately that's it.  I think both teams are going to know every set everything that the other team is going to do, going to be highly prepared.  I think ultimately it comes down to who's going to be able to handle the adversity and the environment the best.  It’s hard to predict how that's going to happen.  You try to put your kids in as many chaotic situations as you can leading up to that game, but they are a veteran group, they don't beat themselves very often.  A lot of people around the area say usually with the game it’s whoever wins the rebounding battle and the first team to 40.  It's kind of one of those knock down drag out bloodbath type fights.  So, I think rebounding ultimately is key and then handling the adverse situations that come up during the game,” said Ross.

Published 2/13/2024

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

Quakers Have to Slow Tygers Down

          New Philadelphia takes the trip to play at Mansfield Senior in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.

          The Quakers drilled Steubenville (65-38) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says they were ready to play.  “I thought our guys did a great job executing. I thought we played together.  I thought we were selfless.  I thought we were representing our culture in a great way.  I thought we handled our business and I thought we defended really well.  I’m really proud about, the outcome was great, but I think everything leading up to that, the practices we had leading up to the game really I think started that process to get that win Wednesday night,” said Ross.

          New Philadelphia (11-7,7-5) is at Mansfield Senior (14-5,10-2) on Friday night.  The Tygers slipped past West Holmes (65-60) last Friday in a league game and the edged state ranked Columbus Bishop Hartley (52-50) in a non-league on Saturday.

          Ross says the Tygers will be bringing some momentum into the game.  “I know that they play way better at home.  I know that's a really tough place to play.  A lot of people struggle whenever they go to their gym.  They're coming off a weekend on Friday when they were not at their best on the road and then they turned around Saturday and meet a state ranked Hartley team at home.  So, by riding that momentum a little bit we have got our hands full, but looking forward to the challenge in front of us and another chance to get better,” he said.

          The Tygers won the first matchup (44-41) on January 5.

          Ross to win it this time they have contain the Tyger break and keep them off the offensive glass.  “I think really when you look at it, I think you take a look at rebounds and then transition points I think you probably have a good guess at who won the game.  I think if you just look really at those two stats, I think that's probably what it comes down to,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “They're elite in their transition, their ability to turn you over and live ball turnovers to get to the other end.  Then whenever they do miss a shot, they are absolutely relentless on the glass.  So, it’s going to be a huge challenge for us and our guys.  Their a team that’s playing really, really well and having a great season.  So, I think those are the two main keys for us.”

Published 2/09/24

© Swankonsports.com

Our scoreboard updated every five minutes

On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Tempo Key for Quakers

          New Philadelphia comes to Lexington to play the Ohio Cardinal Conference leading Minutemen on Friday night.

          Lexington can win no less than a share of the “OCC” title with a win.

          New Philadelphia last Friday smothered Madison (46-23) in a league game.

          Coach Zach Ross says they got back on the beam.  “I thought it was a good heading in the right direction after last Tuesday’s missed opportunity that we had.  I thought we got back to a little bit of where I thought we were.  A little bit better as far as being who we were and representing our core values.  Defensively, I thought we were good.  I thought we shared the basketball really well with our teammates and really celebrated each other's successes,” said Ross.

          The Quakers (10-6,7-4), in third place in the conference, will be at Lexington (17-1,11-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball poll in the large school division, on Friday night.

          Ross says the Minutemen do a lot of things well, but especially their rebounding and transition.  “I would say their transition and offensive rebounds have got to be, not only is it the best in the league, but it's got to be one of the best state.  They're ranked third in the state I think last I saw.  They do a lot of things well to be at the record that they are, but I think the things that make them elite are their ability on the glass and transition,” he said.

          Lexington won at New Philadelphia (50-42) back on December 29.

          Ross says for them to have a chance, they have to control the tempo again and play with confidence.  “It's has got to be at our tempo.  I know they want to play in the 70s.  I thought we did a really good job of that at our place.  Rewatching that film, I thought we let some opportunities go.  I know they played a back-to-back then, so were not going to jump up and scare them, they'll be ready for us, I'm sure,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “My guys have got to make sure we rise to the challenge.  We can't play with any fear in our minds and make sure we go attack the opportunities in front of us because the reality is when you grow up wanting to play high school basketball, you don't remember beating a team with two wins.  When you have the opportunity to play that #3 ranked team on the road, especially league team, it’s great opportunity for some memories there.”

Published 2/01/2024

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

More Effort for New Philadelphia

          New Philadelphi tries to bounce back as they host Madison in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.

          They were smoked (54-31) by Ashland in an “OCC” contest on Tuesday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says they just did not play well.  “It was not a good night for us, not a good night for New Philly, just did not have it from the get go.  Credit to them, they came out they were hungry, they were the team their will was way better than ours was for sure in that game.  They came out swinging and we had no answer.  So, definitely frustrating night for us.  Take a good hard look at that and hopefully we can learn from that big mistake that we have,” said Ross.

          Ross says they want to get back on the floor and prove that really isn’t them.  “That definitely leaves a nasty taste in your mouth just getting out competed.  That part hurts enough.  So, get back to practice and take an honest look and tell the truth and find ways,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Getting beat by Ashland and play to your standard, that's one thing, but not playing to your standards is a whole entirely different issue.  So, hopefully get back out to the floor find a way to regroup and refocus rest this year.”

          New Philadelphia (9-6,6-4) plays host to Madison (1-13,1-8) on Friday night.  The Rams lost (67-38) to “OCC” leader Lexington on Tuesday night.

          In the first meeting, the Quakers drilled Madison (58-27) on December 22.

          Ross says Madison is more healthy now and he expects they are going to play better.  “They had an injury to I think one of their best players the day before our game and obviously that hurt them you could tell.  He's back now and playing.  I think coach (Chris) Armstrong does an outstanding job with his team.  I think they're always well prepared, they play extremely hard, and I think they probably will show some different looks at us that we have got to be ready for.  So, we're definitely going to have to play some good basketball.  Thank goodness we're home.  It always helps to be at home in our league for sure.  So, we have got our work cut out for us and we're looking forward to an opportunity Friday night to play against a well coached team,” said Ross.

Published 1/25/2024

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philadelphia Plays Improved Mt. Vernon

          New Philadelphia plays host to Mt. Vernon Friday night in a game in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.

          The Quakers dumped Wooster (47-42) in “OCC” play on Tuesday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says they were able to make the plays at crunch time.  “Anytime you win on the road in our league it's going to be a good one probably regardless.  There's a lot of things that after watching film that we needed to clean up and some things that we needed to improve upon, but no less we got to win.  So, definitely better to learn from a win than a loss.  So, we're happy that we found a way to win a close game and executed down the stretch, but a lot of things we have got to improve upon if we want to take the next step the second time around,” said Ross.

          They have now won four their last six and Ross says they have settled into an identity.  “There is definitely growth from our guys and as we figured out kind of our lineups and our rotations and how we're going to sub up throughout the game and as we've settled into our role.  I think there's definitely growth from our guys.  We want to continue that moving forward so hopefully we're on the right trajectory,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (6-4,4-3) hosts Mt. Vernon (6-6,4-3) on Friday night.  The Jackets chased unbeaten Lexington pretty good on Tuesday night before falling (73-64) to the Minutemen.

          In the first meeting on December 8, Mt. Vernon won (35-32) at their place.

          Ross says the Jackets know who they are and they are tough to contain.  “The first game of the year they really stymied us that first game at their place.  I think they do an excellent job.  I think they're another team that's gotten a lot better.  They have great pace in which they play with.  They don't have a ton of death, but their six guys play extremely hard and you never know that they only play six because those six always seem like they are fresh,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Some different guards that come at you and the big kid in the middle does an outstanding job, he's got great feet.  They're poised and the shooters around him and guards they play a tremendous as far as playing off the attack and off their wide Princeton actions trying to get to the paint put your help defense in a tough spot.”

Published 1/12/24

© Swankonsports.com

Our scoreboard updated every five minutes

On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Boards and Turnovers Key For Quakers

          New Philadelphia is at home for Mansfield Senior in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.

          Last week, the Quakers gave unbeaten Lexington as good a game as anyone has this season before falling (50-42) in the end last Friday.

          Coach Zach Ross says they did some things well, but they have to learn to close out games.  “I thought we executed the game plan fairly well.  Obviously, they're elite in fast break and then their half court defense and really just trying to limit that as much as we can.  When you have 22 turnovers and you go 4-10 from the free throw line if you would have told me we still would have been as close as we were I probably would have called you a liar,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I thought our guys did a good job.  I thought we executed fairly well.  I mean, you don't want to take moral victories at all in it.  We were kind of frustrated with the way that it ended, especially being at home.  I thought we let one slip away right there.  They are a very good team and they have got a lot of good pieces.  It’s something to go back and learn from in the basketball season on kind of how to finish games coming down the stretch.”

          New Philadelphia (4-3,3-2) welcomes Mansfield Senior (7-2,4-1) on Friday night.  The Tygers demolished West Holmes (62-27) in an “OCC” game last Friday.  They beat Columbus South (67-53) in a holiday tournament on Saturday.

          Ross says the Tygers are very aggressive and very good on defense.  “It’s another team that's just going to heat us up and as we just said talking about turnovers.  We have to limit them.  They’re very good on ball defense and they really get after you, they're deep, they really run multiple guys at you and there's really no weak link on their defensive side of the basketball.  Their extremely athletic and when they get out in the open court it’s going to be really hard to stop that getting downhill in the paint.  So, we have got to try to limit those live ball turnovers against them and do our best to keep it in the half court, which suits us way better,” said Ross.

          Rebounding is another key, according to Ross, and they have to make this a half court game.  “One thing that we talked about with our guys is like if they miss one they're really good about getting their own miss.  They're attacking, very urgent, intense on offensive rebounds.  So, that obviously is something too eliminating that was fast break points as well as second chance points is going to be a huge key going into (Friday) night if we want to have a chance to win,” he said.

Published 1/05/24

© Swankonsports.com

Our scoreboard updated every five minutes

On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com

Quakers Have to be Ready for Madison

          New Philadelphia travels to Madison for an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night against the Rams.

          The Quakers lost (49-40) to arch rival Dover in what for now is a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says it was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was a learning experience.  “Tough one, obviously, especially, when it's such a big rivalry game, losing on your homecourt it's never fun and then losing to them is equally not as fun.  They were the tougher team definitely.  They executed down the stretch and thought the moment for us was a little bit big and we did some uncharacteristic things as far as turnovers.  They have got a senior laden group.  They played about six seniors and it showed down the stretch in early December rivalry game.  So, hopefully we take that, learn from it, move forward because in our league now as we get back in the league and on the road at Madison there's no time to rest because we have got a well coached team that we're going to be playing on Friday night,” said Ross.

          It is likely Dover will become an member of the Ohio Cardinal Conference.  Mt. Vernon is leaving the league after this season.

          New Philadelphia (2-2,2-1), the defending “OCC” co-champ, is at Madison (1-5,1-2) on Friday night.  The Rams lost (60-49) to “OCC” leader Lexington on Friday night.

          Ross says the Rams are maturing.  “I think coach (Chris) Armstrong does an outstanding job.  He gets his guys ready to go.  They had a lot of seniors they lost as well, so they're definitely not going to feel bad for us.  They're getting better.  They played Lexington really well.  They've been in a lot of their games.  They battled back against West Holmes, they played Mount Vernon really well and had a good lead the fourth quarter.  They do a good job of getting their guys in the right spots, they play extremely hard, and you can tell coach Armstrong is getting a lot out of their guys,” he said.

          With the Christmas break up on us, Ross says this is an important time for basketball teams.  “I've had an old coach tell me before really after the new year and you kind of see who the disciplined teams are, who the contenders are, and who the pretenders are, is what he used to say because you see what teams are really committed to being about it and finding a way to get better and kind of who the teams are there going to be packing it in fairly early,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It's going to be a really good challenge for us over break with who we’ve got and it starts Friday night, our first day off of school (Friday).  Then we’ve got Madison going on the road, long bus trip.  You hope your kids are living right because you can't monitor them when they’re not in school now with the amount of free time.  So, like as that coach said you're going to find out whether you're a contender or pretender pretty fast over break.”

Published 12/22/23

© Swankonsports.com

Our scoreboard updated every five minutes

On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com

New Philadelphia Working on Themselves

          New Philadelphia plays its home opener on Friday night as they entertain the Ashland Arrows in Ohio Cardinal Conference play.

          The Quakers (1-1,1-1) beat West Holmes (46-36) in an “OCC” game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says it felt good.  “It was good to get in the win column.  For us anytime you win on the road, especially in our league is always going to be something good.  So, we have got a lot of things to build upon, but definitely nice to get the win on the road there,” he said.

          Early in the season, Ross says they are still burning the midnight oil trying to find some ways to improve.  “They're definitely a lot of things that we're just still trying to figure out with our lineups and just other things just cleaning up and just continuing to find ways to be the best version of ourselves.  Not changing the tone of what we do, just being better at what we do,” said Ross.

          Ashland (1-3,0-2) lost to Wooster (64-60) a Tuesday night “OCC” game.

          Ross says the Arrows have a lot of weapons.  “Ashland presents a lot of challenges.  They have a ton of guys that can shoot.  They definitely let it fly,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “There's almost a shot clock with them because they have so many guys that are athletic and can get out and run and then they shoot the three really well and they have multiple options that can pull the trigger from deep.”

Published 12/14/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philadelphia Ready to Start Competing

          New Philadelphia has to wait until Friday night to open the season as they travel to Mt. Vernon to play the Jackets in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game.

          Coach Zach Ross says they really can’t wait to get the season going.  “I think our guys are excited to play.  I think we're looking forward to the opportunity to get out and actually see what we look like. I know the coaches are for sure.  Don’t know what exactly that’s going to look like at times.  It's just good to get into the games and start getting into the flow of your season.  Getting into more of a routine with games and then that way we have more film and areas that breakdown and look at,” said Ross.

          Ross believes the Quakers are improving as a team.  He says competition in practice has been good.  “As I talked to you last time, we were kind of figuring out lineups.  We have got a whole bunch of different players competing for spots.  I think there's definitely been growth.  As a coach you're probably not always happy and pleased, but at the end of the day it's still early December.  Everybody makes the tournament, so as long as we keep with that trend going upwards I like where we're going to be at the end of the year,” he said.

          Mt. Vernon (1-1) beat Centerburg (58-32) last Friday and lost to Johnstown-Monroe (68-33) on Tuesday night.

          Ross says the Jackets work well as a team and they have a big that going to be hard to guard.  “I think they're really good in space.  They graduated a lot, but it doesn't seem like they graduated a lot when you watch them on film.  They're really well connected, they pass the ball well, they work well with each other, they screen, they really try to put you in some binds in the gaps and try to get some looks by driving those gaps and getting some drive kick threes,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “The big kid in the middle for them is a real matchup issue I think with everybody because he's very crafty, he's very smart, and he knows how to play the game.”

Published 12/06/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philadelphia Trying to Figure Things Out

          New Philadelphia will be assembling a cast this year from little experience  at the varsity level.

          Coach Zach Ross says they only three kids back from their team from a year ago, but he likes the energy he sees in practice.  “We're definitely less experienced.  We’ve got three returning letterman Colten Slaughter, Owen Schoelles and Owen Miller, but everybody's kind of been in a new spot.  We're moving from the role player role to trying to find our group as leaders and we're incorporating some freshmen and some sophomores and juniors, so we are kind of all over the board still figuring out lineups.  We definitely have got a young group.  It's definitely a high energy group that we have right now, so practices have been fun and competitive and just there's been a lot of good culture time in the gym right now with us,” said Ross.

          Ross says right now they are trying to figure out what players fit where and how they can best make the team better.  “My assistant coach Kyle Sundheimer told me (Tuesday), he said we got a really complicated puzzle coach and we got to figure it out and that's exactly what we're doing right now.  Our guys are buying in and they're working hard.  We are in the middle of two days this week, going before school and after school and we're just working hard and we're figuring out these pieces.  If you got any answers on how to put that puzzle fits together, we'll take suggestions also,” he said.

          The Quakers, like a lot of other teams, are involved in a series of scrimmages and Ross says hopefully that we make them better.  “Those are similar to games right now and it's difficult because you're still trying to figure out lineups, so you're moving in and out, and you're figuring out how you're going to sub and what positions different guys are going to play if they're going to have to play a big and a wing or just one or the other and learning different actions that we're going to run from different spots and then also being able to guard from those different spots,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “It starts in our practice.  We're really just trying to drill in and build those daily habits that help us succeed when it does come time for the lights to come on and you have got some people on the bleachers and scrimmage time on an early Saturday morning or Wednesday night whenever it may be.  Really the habits that we want to see start showing up in the scrimmages because I don't think anybody has a scrimmage after that first couple and you're like oh we're complete we're ready to go, so I think it's constantly reevaluating, reassessing what we have and what ways we can get better.”

Published 11/15/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philly Has to Control Tempo

          New Philadelphia, the 16^th seed in their division III region, will travel to unbeaten Youngstown Ursuline for a first round game on Friday night.

          Last week, the Quakers (6-4) lost to arch rival Dover (20-13) to close the regular season.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they had their chances to win.  “It was a tough loss, but it was a hard fought game.  It's one of those where they made a couple more plays than us, made a play on special teams with a big return.  We had a couple of chances there at the end to tie it up and we didn’t make the play.  So, unfortunately the outcome wasn't what we wanted, but hopefully we are learning from it, we're getting better, and here we are week 11, playoff time,” he said.

          Ursuline (10-0) has scored at least 32 points in every game they have played this season, including a (35-16) win over rival Youngstown Cardinal Mooney last week.

          Johnson says they have a lot of big time athletes that return from a (10-3) tean they had last year.  He says Ursuline tries to play at a fast tempo.  “They have got a lot of really good skilled guys.  A lot of their production from last year is back and they had a heck of a good year.  They've been solid all year so far.  So, we're going to have to try to slow down a quarterback who's a heck of an athlete, great runner, throws it really, really good with the ball in his hands, good at throwing the ball downfield,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We're going to limit him and the running back is an explosive player.  They go fast, so one of the big things they do is they just go so fast.  So, we're going to have to try to keep ball out of their hands a little bit and make some plays on offense to try to slow them down on defense.”

          Johnson says a big key for them on defense to get lined up correctly before the play starts.  “I mean the defensively, they go so fast when they're on offense, it's to make sure we're lined up and to ensure that we take care of the play that's being run.  Don't have a whole lot of time to dwell on the previous play, you don't have a whole lot of time to worry about the next one because there's always another play coming.  So, they do a great job of going fast, so it comes down to our guys on defense being set up being ready to go,” said Johnson.

Published 10/26/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philadelphia Dialed in For Dover

          New Philadelphia plays their arch rival on Friday night as they invade Dover to take on the Tornadoes.

          It’s one of the most long standing rivalries in a state filled with those.

          Last week, the Quakers (6-3) lost at the horn (9-8) to West Holmes in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game.  Holmes scored on a pass play on the last play of the game.

          Coach Mike Johnson says it was a tough loss, but the players have responded well this week in practice.  “It was a hard fought game, physical game.  I thought both teams really showed up and got after it.  Unfortunately, they made the last play and we didn't, so it's one of those things that's it's hard to swallow, but also at the same time you don't have a whole lot of time to wallow in self pity because you got your arch rivals just a couple of days away. So, I'm proud of our guys for dialing in this week, locking in, and coming back to work because that's not always easy to do,” said Johnson.

          Dover (5-4) is coming off a (42-21) win over Linsly, West Virginia last week.

          Johnson says the Tornadoes feature and explosive offense.  “They have got to a couple of really good offensive players.  J.J. Barton is a heck of a player.  He runs the ball, he catches the ball.  Last year, he did some damage on the ground against us and he's transformed into a really, really nice wide receiver for them now that they’re back to their five wide sets.  So, we're going to have to make sure we contain him.  They have got a speedster and a young sophomore (Justice) Hughes and they have a sophomore quarterback who's running the show and doing a great job,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We're going to have to try to contain them.  They run a lot of similar plays as West Holmes.  So, we have got a little bit of an idea coming in what they kind of like to do.  We're just going to have to make sure we continue to get better and stop them.  Then on defense they play a four man front and get after you up front and then play great coverage behind.  So, we're going to have to make sure we execute better than we did last week on offense.”

          With rivalry games such as this you can get caught up in the hoopla and Johnson says they can’t allow that to happen on Friday.  “There's been so many fun things that the kids have going on this week, but when you get out to play football, when you get to football practice, it's time to practice, it's time to make sure we're dialed in and focused on a football game that's coming up.  I think our young guys have done that and we're really excited to see how they come out on Friday night,” he said.

Published 10/20/23

© Swankonsports.com

Our scoreboard updated every five minutes

On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com

New Philadelphia Has to Contain West Holmes

          New Philadelphia wraps up the Ohio Cardinal Conference portion of its schedule on Friday night as they host West Holmes at W.W. Hayes Stadium in New Philly.

          The two schools are tied for second place a game behind Mansfield Senior.  The Quakers need to beat West Holmes and then hope either Mt. Vernon or Madison can upset the Tygers.

          New Philadelphia scored in the late going to get past Lexington (21-14) in “OCC” play last week.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they were able to execute in crunch time.  “I thought our kids did a good job.  We were up a score and Lexington was able to put together a drive and convert on a fourth down and go down and tie the game. We had about three and half minutes left and our guys responded and drove down the field and Keaton Fausel hit Carson Long with a nice long pass and he was able to get in and secure the win,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (6-2,5-1) plays its final regular season game against arch rival Dover next week.  The Quakers currently set in the 13^th spot in their division III region and would get a bunch of points for beating the Knights.

          Of course, West Holmes lights up the scoreboard behind quarterback Morgan Smith, who accounted for eight scores two weeks ago against Lexington.  Last week, the Knights (6-2,4-1) beat Ashland (20-6) on Friday night.

          Johnson says they have gamebreakers all over.  “They're able to score.  They have got a lot of really good players that do a tremendous job.  It really comes down to they have got a really good quarterback, who's been running the ball for crazy amounts of yardage.  I think he had 180 or something like that last week,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “When you have got a quarterback like that and you have got a couple of wide outs with (Kyle) Maltarich, who just can spread the field and just glides across the field and is great catching the ball and running with it.  #3 (Logan) Zollars, he's a handle too.”

          Johnson says they need to know where Smith is at every second West Holmes has the ball.  “You have got to make sure he's accounted for because they really do a great job of mixing up their jet sweep with their jailbreak screens, their middle screens and their quarterback runs.  Then they can hurt you over the top.  So, I mean you just have just got to make sure that somebody's accounting for him and that's one of the things that I know we're going to have to do well on Friday,” said Johnson.

Published 10/11/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philly Must Limit Lexington

          New Philadelphia, right there, a game back in the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings, plays at Lexington on Friday night in conference play.

          Last week, they rallied to beat Madison (21-10) in a conference game.

          Coach Mike Johnson says he’s got a bunch that never gives up.  “We have got we got a resilient bunch who have got behind and in some games, got behind chains sometimes, and I've been able to fight out of it.  So, I was proud of the way that they responded when we didn't come out and play our best and we were able to fight and get a gritty win,” he said.

          New Philly (5-2,4-1) plays on the road at Lexington on Friday night.  The Minutemen (3-4,2-2) were outscored (62-28) by West Holmes last week.

          Johnson says they have athletes on the offensive side of the football that can make plays.  “They certainly show a lot of good things.  They have got a lot of athletes, young athletes who are going to be a problem for a couple of years with the quarterback, the running back and two wide outs.  They do a good job of running the ball and balancing out some downfield pass plays.  So, we're going to have to try to make him one-dimensional,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We have to try to take away that run and then make them pass it, but even then you have got to cover and they have got good players.  So, we're going to try to take care of that.  Then defensively they do a good job of swarming to the ball and they got a defensive lineman #75 who does a heck of a good job.”

          At times this year, Lexington has shown the ability to make big plays and Johnson says they have to eliminate those.  “They hit big plays and they run it in from five yards out.  They have got threats in both wideouts.  They both do a good job #10 and #8, there's couple other guys there too to kind of get overlooked.  If we're able to eliminate big plays, we'll have a great night on Friday night,” he said.

Published 10/05/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philly Getting Better

          New Philadelphia, a game back in the “OCC” standings, plays at Mansfield Madison in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.

          Last week, they beat Mt. Vernon (35-10) in a conference game.

          Coach Mike Johnson likes the improvement that they showed and spotlights the thing they did better.  “I was just really proud of our kids.  We saw some growth in a couple of areas.  We were able to put together a nice two minute drive at the end of the half.  That's the first opportunity we've had for it and our players were able to deliver, so that was a great thing for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Our defense, we got in a bad spot and we were able to hold them to a field goal.  So, anytime you're able to give him three instead of seven that's a big difference and I thought our guys did a great job with that.”

          Johnson says the do work on their two minute stuff, but not a lot.  “Thursday night is our night.  We're going to get a little practice in with it, but it's not, you don't spend a lot of time on it, we don't, but I thought our guys did a good job of hustling to the ball, getting set, being able to get the play call and then they executed it at a high level.  So, that's really what you hope for and when your kids do it with one day of reps, it's always a great thing,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (4-2,3-1) plays at Madison (0-6,0-3) on Friday night in “OCC” play.  Madison was buried (35-7) by Ashland in a conference game last week.

          Johnson says they have to come out and execute, especially their run defense.  “They do a good job of playing just getting in coverage.  We'll just have to find windows when we do pass the ball.  On offense they have a running back who does a great job, he's a physical guy.  We're just going to make sure that we stop the run like we strive to do week in and week out,” said Johnson.

Published 9/29/23

© Swankonsports.com

Our scoreboard updated every five minutes

On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com

New Philly Has to Win Point of Attack

          New Philadelphia, now a game back in the “OCC” standings, plays at home against the Mt. Vernon Yellow Jackets in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.

          They dropped one, (35-14), to Mansfield Senior in conference play last week.

          Coach Mike Johnson says they just didn’t take advantage of their opportunities.  “We didn't play quite well enough to get the win.  Credit to Mansfield Senior, they do such a good job and they were they were disciplined, they were able to get up a couple of scores and we turned it over on downs in the red zone,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “A couple of turnovers here and there were just much force to us overcome.  So, we're looking to rebound here with Mt. Vernon this week.”

          The Quakers (3-2,2-1) entertain Mt. Vernon (1-4,0-2) on Friday night.  The Jackets lost (31-14) to Ashland last Friday.

          Johnson says the key is stopping the Mt. Vernon running game.  “They run the ball really, really well.  They have a running back #20, I think he averages 100 and plus yards a game, runs really, really hard.  So, we're going to have to stop the running back that's for sure,” he said.

          Jonny Askew is a big time back and Johnson says they can’t let him get a head of steam up.  “It all starts up front, it's our defensive line coming off the ball, controlling the line of scrimmage and if we're able to do that we can have a really nice night, but it just comes down getting better at fundamentals this week and taking care of business up front,” said Johnson.

Published 9/21/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM

Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philly Has to Stop Big Plays

          New Philadelphia plays a big game at Mansfield Senior in Ohio Cardinal Conference action on Friday night.

          The Quakers (3-1,2-0) are the “OCC” leaders after a (28-0) win over Ashland last week.  Their only loss came week two to Steubenville (29-14) in non-league play.

          Coach Mike Johnson says this is a group of players who been able to bounce back during games.  “I think it comes down to their resiliency.  One thing that have done a great job is you're going to have bad plays, you’re going to have negative plays, you're going to miss tackles or have some bad things happen, but I think the way our kids have bounced back from that and have been able to overcome, maybe it's a five yard penalty, maybe we gave up a big play, but we're able to come back, regroup and then finish the drive the right way.  That's what I'm most proud of our kids and how they've been able to respond,” said Johnson.

          Mansfield Senior (2-2,1-0) outscored West Holmes in an “OCC” game last week.

          Johnson says they have great team speed, led by Ammar Davis, the Tygers all time receptions leader.  “They are fast.  I mean you look at #8 and he can run and last year he was able to run on us.  We need to make sure we stop that.  They have good team speed, they're athletic, and they play disciplined football.  So, it's going to be a big test, but we're excited to head to Arlin Field for the first time as a member of the “OCC,” he said.

          One key for the Quakers is their defense cannot allow big plays.   “When you watch them, they have a lot of success.  They popped a couple of big plays against West Holmes and they have a couple of big home run hitters.  So, really you have got to keep those guys in check,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “If they have to drive it there's more chance for maybe a silly thing to happen.  Same thing if we're driving the ball.  The more times you can score on one play it makes it easier to have that perfect play, but if it takes you 12 to 15 it's hard to make 12 or 15 good ones in a row.”

          New Philly has been able to run the football and Johnson says they have to continue to do that on Friday.  “We've had good success.  We've got a couple of seniors on our offensive line who have stepped up.  We have three seniors and a junior.  Then we do have one sophomore.  Our running back has done a great job, he’s a senior.  I think he's run for about 600 yards.  So, we need to make sure we're great at running the ball on Friday night.  If we keep the ball out of their hands that's good news for us,” said Johnson.

Published 9/15/2023

© Swankonsports.com

Join us this week at the

Bellville Street Fair

Come say hi at our booth

New Philly Meets John Glenn in Districts

          Ohio Cardinal Conference co-champion New Philadelphia takes on New Concord John Glenn in division II district semifinal on Wednesday night at Coshocton High School.

          The Quakers (18-5) beat fellow “OCC” member West Holmes (58-40) in their tournament opener last Saturday.

          Coach Zach Ross says it was a good start to the tournament.  “It went really well.  It’s never fun playing a league team for a third time, but I thought our guys did a really good job.  Our preparation was really good and coming away with a big win like that, I thought everybody contributed in a really good way,” he said.

          Sometimes that first tournament game can produce some pretty big butterflies, but Ross says it helped that they were at home and they responded well to some adversity.  “A lot of the different coaches that I've been lucky enough to be around, they said sometimes that first tournament game almost feels just like a whole new season opener again.  Guys come out and are a little bit nervous and us being a two seed, so you worry about that at times, but I thought they did a really good job,” he told Swankonsports.com, “We're familiar and being at home always helps in those atmospheres like that and I thought our guys handled it.  We took a big punch in the second quarter, but I thought we threw a big one right back at them and that really gave me a lot of confidence moving forward for the rest of the game.”

          John Glenn (12-11) knocked off Zanesville (58-47) last Saturday.  The Quakers beat them (57-43) on January 17 in a non-conference game.

          Ross says they will show them a lot of pressure.  “It’s going to a really tough test.  They really heave the ball up, they really very good at creating some chaos in the full court, they press really hard on a make or a miss.  They gave us a lot of issues early, I think we only scored 13 points in the first half against them.  So, that has definitely been talked about with our guys as far as how to handle their pressure and the way they do it and then they have got a lot of weapons offensively too,” he said.

          Ross says that avoiding a bunch of turnovers is the key for them on Wednesday night.  “I think that's one of the number one keys we've talked about is just the turnover battle.  Making sure we don't give them any live ball turnovers, so they can go to the other end and really just handle it.  Sometimes the best way to beat pressure is to attack it.  You don’t want to play sideways against them, so we have got to make sure that we catch and face, we're sure with the basketball, and we moved north and south against it,” said Ross.

Published 3/01/23

© Swankonsports.com

There will be a special “Out of Bounds”

Saturday from 10 to 11 PM

First Source for All Things Sports

New Philadelphia Must Defend Well

          New Philadelphia needs to beat Mt. Vernon on Friday night and then get some help form Wooster or Mansfield Senior if they are going to get a least a piece of the Ohio Cardinal Conference title.

          They currently trail Lexington by a game.

          They host Mt. Vernon on Friday night I their final “OCC” game.  Lexington plays Wooster Friday and Mansfield Senior next week.

          Tuesday night, they beat Dalton (53-46) in a non-league game.

          Coach Zach Ross says that was a good win in a close game.  “I thought that was a great win for us.  Dalton is a really, really good team, especially with the (Braylon) Wenger kid back now.  He is a load.  He is hard to stop with the ball in his hands.  Again, we got down a little bit early and we ended up finding a way.  I thought we really executed really well down the stretch.  I'm hoping that gives us some confidence moving forward for our team.  Really, really proud of our effort, that was a really good team that we played and beat on Tuesday,” said Ross.

          New Philadelphia (14-5,11-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is at home for Mt. Vernon (7-12,4-9) on Friday night.  The Jackets beat Marion Harding (44-39) on Tuesday night in a non-league game.

          Ross says Mt. Vernon is dangerous.  “I don't even look at their records some of our league records they are just so different because they're all so good.  Mt. Vernon has got some scorers.  They really challenge you with their ability to space the floor, shoot it and get downhill on drives.  They have got a lot of guys that play their role really well it's going to be really hard game for us Friday,” he said.

          Ross say they can’t let Mt. Vernon play their kind of game, which is get a good lead and spread the floor.  “That's what's so important that you get a lead or at least keep it close and don't let them get out.  You don't want to panic and then you have to start guarding them out by the half court line.  We're in trouble because they have got some guys that can really use the bounce really well, get some paint touches and force your defensive to collapse and then they have got shooters all around.  So, it's going to be really important for us to get off to a good start against them and locate their shooters and trying to keep them out of the paint.”

Published 2/09/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM

We are Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philadelphia Right There

          New Philadelphia remains in second place in the Ohio Cardinal Conference a game behind Lexington heading into the play this week.

          They are at Massillon for a non-conference game on Tuesday and then at Wooster for an “OCC” contest on Friday.  They play at Steubenville for another non-league game on Saturday.

          Friday night, they downed West Holmes (48-35) in league play.

          Coach Zach Ross their defense did the trick.  “They do a good job of trying to control the pace and keep it low scoring and that kind of is also what we do as well.  We try to pick up the pace where we could, but we kind of hang our hat on defense and I thought our guys did a really good job of pressuring, containing with it, and ultimately I think that was the deciding factor for us,” said Ross.

          Massillon hosts the Quakers for a non-league game on Tuesday night.

          Ross says the Tigers are athletic and they have some size too.  “They're a very good team, they're athletic, they really challenge you in your one-on-one defense and guarding the basketball.  They have got some size and athleticism on the inside.  I think they're going to present a couple different challenges for us and I think it's a really good test for us as we move towards the tournament this year,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (12-3,10-2), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, plays up at Wooster (8-10,6-6) on Friday night.  The Generals beat Ashland (66-65) in an “OCC” game last Friday.

          I the first meeting between those two New Phily won (56-50) back on December 30.

          Record wise it would seem that Wooster is not as competitive as they have been in recent years, but Ross says they have been in most of those games and they have they ability to score in bunches.  “I think we got up by 14 points at one point and like you said they're streaky and they hit a spurt then they cut it all the way down to four I believe,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “So, they cut it to a game and like they're never down and out.  Seeing all the different films of different teams with them it just kind of seems like they're always in the game like that and they're in a lot of close games because of that spurtability.”

Published 1/31/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM

We are Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philadelphia in the Pocket

          New Philadelphia is now in a pounce position just a game behind Lexington in the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings after beating the Minutemen on Tuesday night.

          They play at West Holmes in an “OCC” game on Friday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says the (55-53) win over Lexington was the result of the hard work they have been putting in.  “That was just a culmination of a lot of work for our guys.  Really happy that we were able to get it done because we put in a lot of work, our staff put in a lot of work, and to kind of see it all come together on Tuesday night, especially on the road in a tough environment and see our guys get a win.  That means a lot just because we put the work in ahead of time for that to happen and then obviously I thought we executed at a high level on both sides of the floor to be able to come out with a win there,” said Ross.

          New Philadelphia (11-3,9-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, has won nine straight games dating back to Christmas time.

          Ross says the kids have been committed.  “Easily we could have splintered more when we were 2-3 at one point, but we kind of just got back and we just practiced harder and we're more committed to who we were and stayed true to our convictions.  I think that's paying off just measuring ourselves to our standard each and every day,” he said.

          The Quakers just played and beat West Holmes (38-32) last Saturday.  The Knights are now coached by Tennille Cline.  She took over the program at the mid-season point.

          Ross says she has them playing hard and they are physical.  “Obviously, they had some adversity with their coach stepping away in mid year and a new coach has come in and she's done an outstanding job.  I think they're playing extremely hard right now.  It says a lot about their kids and who they are and they're competing at a high level and they've had a couple wins and even some close games,” he told Swankpnsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We had a battle with them on our homecourt, so it's going to be a huge game for us (Friday) night against West Holmes.  They do a lot of different things to challenge you on the defensive side of the floor differentiate.  They play really hard and they are physical.”

Published 1/27/23

© Swankonsports.com

Score updates every 5 minutes on Friday and Saturday night

On our scoreboard at

https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com

New Philadelphia Plays Improved Ashland

          New Philadelphia, in the second place in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, two games behind Lexington, is at home for a pair of “OCC” games this weekend, Ashland on Friday and West Holmes on Saturday.

          Last Friday, the Quakers beat Madison (59-54) in overtime to keep themselves in the “OCC” race.

          Coach Zach Ross says that was a big win for them.  “Anytime you get a win on the road in the league it's important and then I think it's even more important in the “OCC” because of how good every team is.  We didn't have our best stuff early.  We battled some adversity through it.  (Michael) Vickers fouled out when he had 29 at that point and we had to go all overtime without him, but finding a way to win that game was really big for our team and I think our culture,” said Ross.

          New Phily (8-3,6-2) entertains Ashland (4-11,2-7) on Friday night.  The Arrows lost a tough one (68-63) to Wooster in “OCC” play on Tuesday night.

          Ross says the Arrows are hard to guard.  “They're definitely way better than their record states.  They've had a ton of close games.  In watching film they're better than when we played at the beginning year.  That's just a testament to their team and who they are,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They have got a couple of dynamic scores.  They really share it well within their motion.  They're really good about challenging you on the bounce and putting some heat on your help defense.”

          Ashland senior Grayson Steury (22 ppg) is a four year starter for the Arrows.  Ross says they have to know where he is at all times.  “I mean they have some other really good pieces around him, but he is an elite player.  He finds a way to score at all levels, he's really good with the bounce with his dribble.  He can score again at all levels inside, mid range, and three pointers.  He's really good that way.  So, yeah he's definitely a focal point.  I think anybody getting ready to guard Ashland is going to circle #24,” he said.

Published 1/19/23

© Swankonsports.com

“Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight

“Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM

We are Your First Source for Everything Sports

New Philadelphia to Meet Madison

          New Philadelphia, in a share of second place in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, plays at Madison against the Rams in a conference game on Friday night at Wayne E. Miller Gym.

          They beat arch rival Dover (45-30) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Zach Ross says it was a tremendous defensive performance by his kids.  “There was obviously a ton of emotion going into that game, it's such a huge rivalry.  Being from the area I kind of knew it, but now that you're totally into it you see how important it is to both communities for that game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon. “Our kids did an outstanding job of knowing the scouting report.  Game planning, our staff did a really good job of preparing our kids for the day.  We went out and we really executed our defensive game plan.  Holding them to 30 points was really good accomplishment.  They only had five field goals after the first quarter, so I thought we did a great job.”

          New Phily runs sort of a Princeton type offense, very patient with a lot of back cuts.  Ross says that fits their personnel well.  “That's kind of part of who we are.  We think that's a formula for this team that's going to be good for us as we continue to grow and try to get better.  We're new to the league, so as you take a look at it and keep feeling people out, we think that's giving us the best chance to contend with some of these big hitters.  I mean this league is dynamic it is really good there's no off nights in this league for sure and we're finding that out,” he said.

          New Philadelphia (6-3,5-2) is at Madison (7-5,4-4) on Friday night.  The Quakers won the first meeting (61-52) on December 9.  Madison has won five of its last six, including a (53-51) win over Wooster in “OCC” play last Friday.

          Ross says the Rams play well together as a unit and they have shown a lot of improvement.  “They're very, very connected.  They're a good passing team.  They play well off of each other.  They're really smart.  You have got the (Jayden) Jeffreis kid, who is an outstanding player.  He can score at all three levels, really good three-point shooter, mid range, and inside post game.  Their freshman point guard is really, really dynamic and then all the other guys around are getting more and more confident.  You can tell they're way better from when we played them the first time.  That's a testament to their coach, you can tell that they're doing a lot of good things,” said Ross.

Published 1/13/22

© Swankonsports.com

Score updates every 5 minutes on Friday and Saturday night

On our scoreboard at

https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com

New Philadelphia High School Athletic news can also be heard on the SwankonSports 24/7 Listen Line