Thompson coach Mark Freeman has the luxury of having two quarterbacks – freshman Trent Seaborn and senior Zach Sims – who have thrown touchdown passes in a state championship-game victory.

That explains why he plans to use both players this season.

“You watch film, and it’s, ‘This is guy is doing this thing good, and this (other) guy is doing this thing good,’” Freeman said at last week’s AHSAA Kickoff Classic media event in Montgomery. “You kind of want to play to the kids. Put the things we can’t do away and take the things we can really do, let’s do those things.

“There was a time when I thought you couldn’t have two quarterbacks, but now, with the way football is, I’m blessed to have two guys who can really play.”

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Thompson opens the season Friday against Opelika in the AHSAA Kickoff Classic. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl. The game will be broadcast by the AHSAA TV Network and livestreamed by the NFHS Network.

Seaborn, then an eighth-grader, took over when Sims suffered a late-season injury in 2022, throwing four touchdowns in a 34-0 first-round playoff victory over Huntsville and throwing five touchdown passes and winning the MVP award in the 49-24 victory over Auburn in the Class 7A championship game.

Seaborn completed 70 percent of his passes for 1,177 yards last season, according to stats posted to MaxPreps. He threw 15 touchdowns and was intercepted three times. Sims completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,221 yards with six TD passes, six interceptions and three touchdown runs.

Seaborn, the presumed starter at Thompson, is considered among the elite national quarterback prospects in the Class of 2027, having already received scholarship offers from Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas and others.

Sims, though, remains on the roster and has plenty of talent, evidenced by offers from Pittsburgh, Louisville and Columbia. In the 2021 7A championship game, he came off the bench when starter Conner Harrell left the game with an injury and threw two first-quarter touchdowns in the Warriors’ 38-22 victory.

“It’s been a pleasure watching them both compete,” Freeman said.

Will both players play in every game? “I don’t know about every game,” Freeman said. “We plan on using both of them in (certain) situations.”