SLIPPERY ROCK — The 0-10 season the Slippery Rock High football team endured in 2010 is a distant memory.

The Rockets are 16-6 since, including a 9-2 record and a region championship last season.

Now, there’s a different kind of pressure on coach Brendan Hathaway and his team this season.

“I think it makes it a little harder,” Hathaway said. “I don’t think we’re going to sneak up on anyone. We still have some hurdles to cross. In our league, the bull’s eye is on us a little bit. We have to learn to play with it instead of being the underdog.”

They’ll be the target with a new quarterback under center and two key, gritty performers on both sides of the ball, Forrest Christmann and Dylan Neal, lost to graduation.

Christmann was a standout on both the offensive and defensive lines last season and is now a wrestler at Edinboro University.

Neal was a bulldozer on the offensive line and a tackling machine at linebacker and is now a freshman on the Slippery Rock University football team.

“You just don’t replace two college athletes on the line, and athletic guys at that,” Hathaway said. “Those are two holes where we need young guys and some of our seniors to step up and fill.”

Dave Voland, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound senior, is one of them.

“He’s really stepped up in the offseason and was voted a captain,” Hathaway said. “Dave is going to help us on the line this year immensely.”

Voland said he hit the weight room hard this summer.

He also said he had plenty of company, which has him thinking big this season.

“I’m pumped,” Voland said. “I think we’re going to be better than the last two years.”

To make that prediction come true, junior quarterback Jake Whitmer will have to perform in his first year under center in Slippery Rock’s unorthodox flexbone attack.

Whitmer caught five passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns as a starting wideout last season. This year he will replace Ryan Currie, who led the Rockets with 18 rushing touchdowns.

“Jake has been prepared for this,” Hathaway said. “Even last year he prepared as if he was the starter. He was voted a team captain this year. He’s a worker. He understands the offense. He’s a coach on the field.”

Whitmer said he is more than ready to assume the role.

“I learned a lot from Ryan,” Whitmer said. “He managed the game very well and he led the team to a 9-1 record and the playoffs and he was a great option quarterback. Now I have a coach in Jono Powell who also was a great option quarterback. It’s nice having a year with Ryan and now with Jono.”

Junior Brady Kadlubek is listed as a running back, but he will be the primary backup behind Whitmer. He also will start at wide receiver.

The quarterback in the Slippery Rock attack takes a lot of hits, so Kadlubek may take some snaps under center as well.

“Jake is prepared and so is Brady Kadlubek,” Hathaway said. “He has some years in this offense. In our offense, they’re running backs. They’re not your traditional quarterbacks. There might be a time when they miss a play or two and we can put someone in who is just as prepared.”

There is a wealth of talent at the running back position.

Senior Frank Conlon rushed for 897 yards and seven touchdowns in just 80 carries after taking over the fullback role midway through the season when senior Jeff Croll suffered a gruesome knee injury.

Jared McDowell also saw some time at fullback.

Hathaway is expecting junior Brandon McKnight and sophomore Trent Porter to contribute at slot back.

The defense that was swarming and stifling a year ago will face the same challenge of replacing standout players, especially Neal.

“When you lose a four-year starter like Dylan out there, you are going to be looking for a guy, or a couple of guys, to fill the shoes,” Hathaway said. “We have a lot of guys who are showing promise.”