You’d be hard pressed to answer the question of which side of the ball was more impressive for Seneca in Friday’s 47-6 season-opening victory over defending Class 2A state champion Chicago Christian.

The Irish offense rushed 34 times for 348 and five touchdowns. The defense held the Knights to 47 total yards, just 12 rushing on 27 carries, eight tackles for loss, and returned a fumble for a score.

“We have 11 senior starters on offense, 10 on defense and they are a special group leading the way,” Seneca coach Terry Maxwell said. “All of these guys have worked so hard to improve, they have each other’s back and it’s such a fun group to work with.

“We had a great start on the opening kickoff and first drive, which set the tone a little bit. Then the defensive touchdown really got us going. We were able do some really good things on both sides of the ball. It was fun to watch. The guys did a fantastic job tonight.”

Seneca senior Cam Shriey returned the opening kickoff 38 yards to the Chicago Christian 38.

“I just saw an opening with a couple guys making great blocks,” Shriey said. “It was a great way to start the game.”

Then five running plays later, Shriey scored from the 5 and then ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead just two-and-half minutes in. Shriey finished the game with 84 yards on eight carries, adding a 3-yard TD run just before halftime.

The Fighting Irish defense, which had already forced two punts, came up big in on the first play of the second quarter as Shriey stripped the ball from scrambling Knights’ quarterback Tyce Hamstra at his own 36 and the ball ended up in the hands of Avery Phillips, who ran it back for the score. A conversion run by Wyatt Biffany made it 16-0.

“We feel like we have a really physical offensive line and as running backs, we all know the holes are going to be there for us,” Shriey said. “We also know that if we aren’t getting the ball on a certain play our job is to either make a good block or a good fake. I thought we did a really good job on offense tonight.

“(On the fumble) I actually thought the quarterback still had the ball. Then I look behind me and there is (Avery) running the ball into the end zone. I was just glad to be able to make a play to help us.”

The rest of the opening half saw the Seneca defense force two more punts and a loss on downs. The offense took advantage with a 70-yard TD run by QB Gunner Varland (four carries, 100 yards), a 30-yard scoring run by Biffany (five carries, 60 yards) and Shriey’s TD dash to hold a 40-0 lead at halftime.

“The physicality of Seneca’s offense was something that was difficult for our kids, which many are inexperienced, to understand and what it was going to be like,” Chicago Christian coach CJ Cesario said. “We were prepared for what they were going to run offensively, and we knew where we needed to be, but their strength and experience showed.

“We struggled offensively as well. We shot ourselves in the foot on a couple drives early in the game with bad snaps, a couple of penalties and some small, missed opportunities in the passing game.

“This was a great learning experience for us, and I still really believe we can be where we want to be by the end of the season.”

The running clock second half saw Griffin Hougas score on a 3-yard run and Landyn Ramsey booting the PAT.

Chicago Christian broke up the shutout with just over seven minutes left on a 5-yard TD pass from Hamstra (4-of-13, 35 yards) to Isaac Workman.

Joshua Crawford led the Knights with 25 yards rushing on 16 attempts.

Seneca is on the road in Week 2 at Sangamon Valley, while Chicago Christian is at Elmwood Park.