Steven Bannos is not what many would consider “a small guy.”

On Batavia’s official football roster, the senior center is listed as 5-foot-10 and also weighs around 230 pounds.

Yet whenever he steps on the line with the four other projected starters, he feels anything but big.

“I’m kind of like David from ‘David and the Goliath,’ ” Bannos said. “Our tackles are both 6-5 and close to 300 pounds, and both of our guards are giant too. We’ve just got a giant offensive line this year.”

The five starters for the Bulldogs enter the season averaging a height of 6-3 and weighing in at 273 pounds. Three of the starters, including Bannos and fellow senior Tucker Saam, also were lining up with the first team for the defending Class 7A state runner-ups a season ago.

And it’s giving Bulldogs coach Dennis Piron plenty of reasons to be excited about the team’s chances of getting back to the state title game in consecutive seasons.

“As a head football coach, you can get excited about the guys that can run routes or guys that can throw or make an impact on defense,” Piron said. “But when I look over at our offensive linemen, I get really excited about where we’re at.”

Leading the charge for the offensive line is senior Ryan Myers, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound tackle who committed to Princeton back in May. And considering the lack of experience that he and the line had heading into last season, the All-DuKane Conference tackle is feeling a lot more confident taking the field this time around.

“We have a lot of guys coming back and a lot of size and athleticism on the line,” Myers said. “So having that experience with the size of our offense makes us feel like we can be have a very versatile offense in any situation. It’s really exciting just having that versatility of that O-line and overall dominance that we think we should have.”

The Bulldogs added two big additions to the line for the season in senior Ryan Star (6-5, 310) and junior Dane Trowbridge (6-4, 280) to fill in the gaps on the line. And while being the new guys, Star said that it’s been very easy to build up the brotherhood on the line.

“I’ve bonded really well with my teammates, which I think is great for tag blocks and just overall offensive line communication,” Star said. “If you’re like brothers with them, you play better, so I feel like that’s something very important. And I’ve known these guys for a while and know them well.”

With the brotherhood that the line has accumulated being on full display during the early stages of preseason practice, Piron said that the cohesiveness and strength the group brings will make the team better as a whole. And nobody knows that more than senior defensive lineman Gavin Pecor, who faces the line consistently in practice.

“It not only makes me better as a player, but for them as well,” Pecor said. “It’s amazing to have a great offensive line this year, especially after how great it was last year. But I love facing that challenge early.”

That effect has also made its way to the running back room, where seniors Preston Brummel and Gavin VanPelt will be taking reps throughout the season. And early on in practice, VanPelt said that there’s a lot more blocking practice than there is running.

“Protection is probably the biggest thing we hammer into our minds from day one at camp,” VanPelt said. “We’re constantly learning the sets, how to react to the linebackers. We just focus on blocking a lot, and it’s been a big focus.”

The Bulldogs open their season Aug. 29 at home against Glenbard West. And for the offensive line, the hope is that the start of the season marks the start of the team’s climb to making their third state championship game in four years and winning their first title since 2017.

“We had that taste of a little bit of success last year,” Bannos said. “We know we have to do. We have to work hard, keep pushing ourselves and do the stuff we don’t want to do. And if we just keep pushing ourselves, we’ll go all the way.”