August brings a new energy and level of excitement for area football teams.

Everyone — no matter what their records and results were in 2023 — is on even ground at this time of year and have positive outlooks on what 2024 will bring.

The 14 teams from the Colonial League ushered in a new season Thursday night at The Phoenix at Holy Family in Nazareth for fall media day. Among the 14 schools were Times News area teams Northwesterm Northern Lehigh, Palmerton, Lehighton and Jim Thorpe. The Indians and Olympians are enjoying their first seasons as part of the Colonial League after leaving the Schuylkill League following the conclusion of the last school year.

In addition to the newness each season brings, there will also be a new look to the league in 2024. Year 4 of the Colonial/Schuylkill Football League features a new setup as the league will have three divisions instead of four.

Among area Colonial League schools, Northwestern, Lehighton and Jim Thorpe will compete in Division A, while Palmerton and Northern Lehigh will be in Division B.

“There’s excitement in the air about a fresh season,” said Josh Snyder, the head coach of District 11 Class 3A champion Northwestern, who also was state runner-up last season. “We have a new team coming off a great run last season. These guys are motivated by that run and coming up just short of a state championship.”

The Tigers graduated five talented starters between the offense and defense, but there is still plenty coming back according to Snyder.

“The thing I love about coaching is you get a new cast of characters,” Snyder said. “Each team has its own personality and has to find its identity. That’s what summer and the preseason is for. I’m looking forward to getting off and running here shortly, and the opportunity we have ahead of us this season with the seniors leading the way.”

While Northwestern experienced a near perfect season, finishing 10-0 in the league and 15-1 overall, Lehighton was on the other end of the spectrum during the 2023 campaign. The Indians were 2-9 overall and 2-8 in the league.

But head coach Tom McCarroll has been around long enough to know that one season doesn’t define the next one. Entering his 13th season at the helm, McCarroll is excited for another year and a group he has back that went from wet behind the ears in 2023 to experienced in 2024.

“Regardless of whatever happened last year, you get to hit the reset button,” said McCarroll. “Every year, every team is different and gets to build their different personality. I’m super excited for this season. The last couple, we’ve taken our lumps. But the silver lining is we’ve played some younger guys who now have a ton of valuable experience. This group of kids is tired of losing and they want to win some games.”

Despite their losing record a year ago, the Indians did get some postseason experience as they qualified for the Distirct 11 3A playoffs where they lost to Northwestern in the opening round.

Lehighton and Northwestern were two of the 10 Colonial League schools that reached the postseason a year ago. That group includes Class 5A runner-up Southern Lehigh and Class 3A runner-up Palmerton, which had an undefeated regular season.

“It’s a great schedule each and every year,” McCarroll said. “We’ve enjoyed being a part of the Colonial/Schuylkill League for football — and now our school is part of th Colonial League for every other sport. It’s a great league with a lot of great teams and great coaches and student-athletes.”

The regular season is set to begin Friday, Aug. 23.