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There were two different debuts at Field on Friday as Heritage defeated cross-town rival Salem 24-7 in the 2010 football opener.

The Patriots trotted out a new starting quarterback in Casey Thomas, who delivered after an offseason battle for the position with sophomore Isaiah Spencer, which didn't end until days before kickoff.

Thomas rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in his three quarters of action.

"Casey stepped in and did a good job," Heritage coach Chad Frazier said. "On the first play we had a miscue, I don't' know if that was nerves or what. But after that he really managed the game well, ran good and read the option decent."

After a delay of an hour and 16 minutes due to lightning to start the third quarter, Thomas helped put the game away, orchestrating a 12 play, 70-yard TD drive.

The senior capped the drive with a 1-yard run with no time left in the third quarter for a 24-0 Heritage lead.
The Seminoles ended the shutout bid a couple of series later on a 6-yard run by Jahaad Coleman with 4:04 to play, but couldn't do enough to turn their coach's debut into a positive.

John Starr led the Seminoles on the field for the first time after replacing Chad Estes as head coach in February.

His debut at Salem didn't start out as he probably would have liked with the Seminoles accruing just 160 yards of offense, while committing 10 penalties for a loss of 70 yards.

"Early on we had penalties and turnover and those things are always detrimental to winning," Starr said. "We knew there was going to be some growing pains, we have to just follow through."

Quarterback Jarrett Brown helped close the gap for the Seminoles in the second half with 85-yards passing in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome a shaky first half.

Heritage led 10-0 at halftime, limiting the Seminoles defense and taking advantage of the shortened field by the defense on special teams.

The Patriots forced Salem to three-and-out on the first drive of the game, offering a view of things to come throughout the rest of the half.

"Defensively we just flat out got after it and smothered them," Frazier said. "Our line, our linebackers and secondary did a terrific job of playing their assignment and knowing their role. That's why we were so successful defensively."

The Seminoles themselves also offered a view into the future with an offsides penalty - one of six Salem infractions in the first half.

With the Patriots gaining just nine more yards than Salem in the first half, it was the Seminoles' 45 penalty yards separating the two in the box score.

The Patriots' defensive line kept the Seminoles offensive line backpedaling, unable to gain ground.
The Seminoles looked to strike first as Heritage had a miscue on its first offensive set, but the home team wouldn't let Salem capitalize.

The Seminoles returned the favor as Travis Martin caused a Salem fumble.

The Patriots, starting on their own 33 then marched down the field led by Casey Thomas.
After Thomas suffered a mild ankle injury on first-and-10 from the 15, the Patriots' offense slowed down and they settled for a 35-yard field goal by Tyler Peeples.

The Seminoles then took over deep in their own territory, but couldn't start a drive as back-to-back penalties led a first-and-10 from their own 20.

After a run for no gain, Salem then threw three straight incompletions, being forced to punt from dangerously close to their own end zone.

The Patriots capitalized on the dangerous situation as Maxwell Casey crashed through the punt protection and blocked the kick. Casey then picked the ball off the turf and marched two yards for the 10-0 lead with 10:37 remaining in the half.

Just nine seconds into the second half, the game was delayed due to lightning, but that didn't change things for the Patriots.

After a delay of an hour and 16 minutes, the Patriots offense started things out. After four plays, including a converted fourth down, Stanley Quami took off on a counter running 53 yards for a touchdown with 10:20 left in the third quarter.

Heritage continues the toughest part of its schedule Friday, traveling to Clarke Central for a 7:30 matchup. The Seminoles look for their first win as Madison County comes to Salem on Friday.