JACKSON TWP — In the end, Don Holl's decision was the most logical one.

The first-year Seneca Valley football coach decided to start junior Donny Holl at quarterback and keep senior Pete Vicente, the team's biggest returning downfield threat, at wide receiver.

"We looked at the big picture as to where each player would benefit us the most," said Coach Holl, who is also Donny Holl's father. "Since he's not playing quarterback, Pete will be at wide receiver and also at safety on defense."

The Raiders will face their first test when Norwin travels to NexTier Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday.

Vicente caught 22 passes for 421 yards and four scores as a junior.

At 6-feet-2 and weighing 215 pounds, Donny Holl plays end on defense, but he won't see much time there as long as he's the starting quarterback.

"Donny looked a bit better at quarterback in the scrimmage against New Castle, and we'll be all right without him at defensive end," said Coach Holl.

Donny Holl will guide the Raiders' no-huddle spread offense. Many of the players are familiar with the scheme. The Raiders ran a no-huddle attack for much of last season under head coach Ron Butschle.

"It's one of those things you have to commit to and work on," Coach Holl said. "I think our guys are comfortable with it."

Joining Donny Holl in the backfield will be senior fullback Randy Morris and junior halfback Jack Graham.

Like Seneca Valley, Norwin is coming off a disappointing 2008 in which the Knights finished 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the Foothills Conference.

The team lost several key players to graduation, most notably quarterback Alex Dennison, who accounted for nearly 2,000 yards of offense as a senior and is now playing at the University of Buffalo.

Junior Tim Petro is now the Knights' starting signal caller.

"Tim started at free safety for us last year, so he's a pretty good athlete," said Norwin coach Dan Conwell.

The Knights do return their starting fullback and halfback from 2008 in seniors Joel DeFelice and Tyler Lukart, respectively.

"They've been very consistent runners for us," Conwell said. "We rushed for 1,500 yards as a team last season and they were a big part of that."

Norwin's three returning starters on defense include junior defensive end Ben Baird (6-2, 205), Lukart (6-0, 195) at linebacker and junior cornerback Christian Bryan (5-10, 170).

Friday's game will mark the fourth straight year that Seneca Valley will open the season against Norwin, with the Knights winning the last two, including last year's 17-14 decision.

"From what we've seen of their scrimmages, (Seneca Valley) looks to be a very sound and physical team," said Conwell.

"Everybody's always excited about the first game of a season," said Coach Holl. "But with this being my first year here, I really want to get off on the right foot and bring some exciting football to Harmony."