Despite Athens Drive senior quarterback Ross Snotherly’s imposing 6-foot-5-inch, 235-pound frame, the biggest cleats he has to fill this year don’t belong to him.

They belong to Nick Demuro, who threw for 4,050 yards while leading the Jaguars to an 11-2 season in 2007.

So is the pressure on Snotherly to follow up on that performance this year?

“Not really, because I feel like I’m a completely different person than he is,” Snotherly said. “I just have to make sure to hit the passes. I got a lot of mental reps [last year], so I’ve just got to physically do it this year.”

Athens Drive coach Jeff Smouse shares the same confidence in his starting quarterback.

“He’s got the potential to be as good as anyone we’ve ever had there,” Smouse said. “I love Nick to death, but I think Ross can be just as effective.”

Snotherly’s targets are highlighted by senior wide receiver Phillip Barren, who caught 71 passes for more than 1,100 yards last year. The offense is rounded out by senior running back Darius Williams and two veteran leaders on the offensive line in Steve Kotnick and Ross Honeycutt.

While the offense has put up big numbers for Athens Drive in the past, the defense refuses to be overlooked.  Senior linebackers Bryan Houston and Jack Pierce are both capable leaders but will need help at the line of scrimmage. The Jags don’t return any starters on the defensive line, making for an inexperienced group in the trenches.

“We’ll be pretty good, we just have to wrap up and everybody needs to pursue to the ball,” Houston said. “We should be in business.”

In the secondary, most of the starters return, including Barren, who will get looks on both sides of the ball. The coverage unit will also get a jolt of fresh energy from junior defensive back Borne Saunders, who stepped up in the preseason to earn a starting spot. 

“We have to tackle, not let people break tackles and get long gains,” Barren said. “As long as we keep them inching down the field, maybe they’ll make a mistake and we’ll get an interception.” 

While the Jags expect to be at the top of the conference standings again, they know they aren’t last year’s team.

“We can’t have those two- and three-play drives. We’re just going to have to inch our way down field,” Kotnick said.

With a slightly new identity, Smouse still has high hopes for the season.

“We expect to be highly competitive in the conference,” Smouse said. “I think we have as good a chance as anybody.”

Changing the attitude

When seniors Kotnick and Barren started as freshmen just three years ago, Athens Drive was stuck in complete football oblivion.

Two years, 20 wins and its first conference championship in school history later, a lot has changed. “When we got here, it was a big deal if Athens came close to winning a game and now it’s just unacceptable to lose,” Kotnick said. “We go into games feeling like we’re going to win. We just have that confidence now.”

Kotnick and Barren both attribute the team’s success over the past few years to a renewed dedication in the weight room and the new coaching staff.

However, the Jags continue to feel like underdogs in the Tri-Eight.

“I think there are people who still think we’re smoke and mirrors, which we might be,” Smouse said. “I don’t think we have [earned respect], but I’m not worried about it because it doesn’t matter to me whether they picked us first or last.”

Despite the success of last year, Barren believes there is still room for improvement.

“For the past couple years, one day our defense will have a good game, our offense will have a good game, and they’ll be flip-flopping,” Barren said. “This year we are going to have to have both come together and play as one, as a team.”