IDALOU – With six returning starters and plenty of athleticism, Seminole head coach Chris Burtch expects his defense to be solid this season.

But he certainly didn’t expect the Indians’ to be this salty out of the chute.

Seminole shut down Idalou in Friday night’s season opener at Olin Reddell Stadium, forcing two fumbles in the second half and limiting the Wildcats’ offense to five first downs, 110 total yards and, most importantly, no points.

Seminole's Ricky Gillespie tries to evade Idalou players Brent Turner (89) and Jacob Johnson (81) on Friday in Idalou.

The Indians’ offense wasn’t much better, managing just one score early in the third quarter, but the defense made it stand and paved the way to a 7-6 victory.

“Oh my word,” Burtch said, “the defense played huge. We told them at halftime, ‘You guys kept us in the (first) half, and you guys are going to have to win the ballgame for us.’ We knew they were going to be big for us, and they were.

“Our defensive front, those front seven, played tremendously.”

Idalou’s defense, which has only two returning starters, fared nearly as well. Nick Gary and C.J. Parkhill both had first-half interceptions near the goal line, and the Wildcats got their only score when Brent Turner forced a fourth-quarter fumble and Jacob Johnson returned it 70 yards to the end zone.

Seminole managed only 11 first downs, and just four in the first half, and finished with 136 total yards.

“Our thought our defense really played hard and got after it,” Idalou coach Johnny Taylor said. “Seminole had some pretty good speed, and for the most part, we did a good job of stopping it.”

At the start of the third quarter, though, the Wildcats didn’t have an answer for Jarod Adams. The 5-foot-10, 155-pound sophomore returned the opening kickoff of the second half all the way to Idalou’s 39-yard line, and then he replaced starting quarterback Ricky Gillespie and engineered a seven-play drive that chewed five minutes off the clock.

Adams ran for 16 yards and gained a first down during the march, which was capped by a 3-yard end around by Keithen Hughes.

Burtch called Adams’ impact “tremendous,” and Taylor said it was the difference in the game.

Seminole's Nick Latta gets brought to the ground by Idalou's Garrett Thornton (center) and C.J. Parkhill on Friday in Idalou.

“I think that was very crucial,” Taylor said of the kickoff return, “because you let them get some momentum going to start the second half. … And they put (Adams) at quarterback, and with his speed, it kind of gave us a change of pace and something we hadn’t seen in the first half.”

Seminole (1-0) had a great opportunity to extend its lead, because Idalou (0-1) fumbled in its own territory on each of its next two possessions. But four plays later, a fumble by the Indians led to the Wildcats’ only score.

Turner forced a fumble by Seminole quarterback Ricky Gillespie, the starter who had re-entered the game, and Johnson picked it up and ran into the end zone untouched early in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats then elected to try for a go-ahead two-point conversion, but Alec Estes was stopped short by Luis Mendoza, preserving Seminole’s one-point lead.

“I thought that was our best chance to win the game,” Taylor said of going for two points instead of kicking an extra point. “We just weren’t having much success moving the football, so we decided to take a chance.”

Idalou’s offense tried to rally late in the game, reaching Seminole’s 28-yard line on a fourth-down completion and ensuing 3-yard run by Estes, who replaced the injured Parkhill, Idalou’s starting quarterback. But the drive was squashed by two incomplete passes, a holding penalty and a busted flea flicker.

SEMINOLE 7, IDALOU 6

Seminole 0 0 7 0 – 7

Idalou 0 0 0 6 – 6

Third Quarter

SEM – Keithen Hughes 3 run (Reed Layton kick); 6:49

Fourth Quarter

IDA – Jacob Johnson 70 fumble return (run failed); 11:00

TEAM STATISTICS

SEM IDA

First downs 11 5

Rushes-yards 34-128 28-76

Passing yards 8 34

Comp.-att.-int. 3-9-2 5-9-0

Punts-avg. 3-43.7 4-35.3

Fumbles-lost 4-1 4-2

Penalties-yards 5-45 7-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Seminole, Ricky Gillespie 8-44, Tevyn Reed 6-32, Keithen Hughes 3-27, Jarod Adams 14-19, Nic Latta 1-7, Chago Gomez 2-(-1); Idalou, C.J. Parkhill 12-34, Jacob Johnson 1-20, Nick Gary 9-12, Garett Sosa 2-6, Alec Estes 4-4.

PASSING: Seminole, Gillespie 3-7-2 – 8, Adams 0-2-0 – 0; Idalou, Parkhill 3-5-0 – 15, Estes 2-4-0 – 19.

RECEIVING: Seminole, Adams 1-5, Scotty Flores 2-3; Idalou, Gary 4-20, Johnson 1-14.