NEW BERN — By the end of Friday’s 48-7 bludgeoning in the second round of the NCHSAA 4-AA playoffs, members of the Athens Drive football team milled about their sideline. They were clearly saddened by the end of the program’s best season in school history and dumfounded by what had transpired during the previous two and a half hours.

New Bern’s offense ran roughshod over the Jaguars (11-2) — to the tune of 569 total yards — while the Bears’ defense limited a team that had averaged nearly 40 points per game this season to a single touchdown and 144 yards of total offense.

“They’ve got speed all around,” said Athens senior wideout T.J. Kornegay, who was held to one catch for nine yards. “Their defensive line, linebackers — Kevin [Reddick], he’s amazing. He probably had 13 tackles tonight. He was everywhere. They have good speed, and that’s what you need in a state championship defense.”

The Jaguars’ miserable night got off to a cruel start. On their second series, quarterback Nick DeMuro was sacked by a trio of Bears defenders and suffered a left ankle injury that knocked him out of the game. The heart and soul of the Jags’ offense, who passed for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns this year, was left to watch the final game of his high school career while leaning on a pair of crutches.

“After Nick went down, people started to drop their heads and we kind of doubted ourselves after that point,” Kornegay said. “We never gave our other quarterback a chance to come in and lead us. We brought this on ourselves.”

Ross Snotherly took the reins of the offense, but the 6-foot-4, 232-pound junior didn’t stand a chance — no one did for that matter — against the Bears’ speed. Almost regularly, Snotherly was flushed out of the pocket before he completed his dropback. On the rare occasion he had time, the Bears’ secondary blanketed Athens’ receivers and made Snotherfly force throws into passing lanes that weren’t there.

He finished 5 for 23 for 48 yards. Snotherly, also the team’s punter, had more punts (seven) than completions.

“We worked real hard on disguising our coverages and rolling our coverages and bringing different people and putting pressure on the quarterback,” said New Bern coach Bobby Curlings. “We were a little worried our guys might get confused, miss an assignment and leave somebody wide open, but for the most part, they were right on the money.”

As efficient as the Bears (11-2) were on defense, they were the same on offense.

Quarterback Brett Williams completed 9 of 11 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, and he ran 18 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s good. The guy can run. We made him a pretty good passer tonight,” said Athens coach Jeff Smouse. “For a team that sees pass all the time, we don’t defend it real well. We’ve got to work on that.”

The Bears scored on four of their first five possessions — a 32-yard Williams run, a Vince McDuffie 3-yard run, an 8-yard Williams run and a 13-yard Trey Martin reception — and led 28-0 at the end of the first half. During that time, Athens crossed midfield twice and made it as far as the New Bern 32-yard line. The Jaguars managed 48 yards of offense and five first downs in the first two quarters.

Down 48-0 with 7:31 to play, Snotherly guided the Jaguars on a 71-yard scoring drive. He found Calvin Estes in the corner of the end zone with 3:13 to play for a 6-yard touchdown pass.

While the conclusion was forgettable, what Athens and its 21 seniors accomplished during the last three years was not. After going 2-9 as sophomores, they won 20 games during the next two seasons, including the school’s first-ever playoff game, and they claimed a piece of this year’s Tri-Eight championship, also the football team’s first ever.

“Around Athens, that’s pretty good,” Smouse said. “They’ve worked very hard [and] been great role models. I feel bad for them going out that way, but it’s a part of growing up.”