RICHLAND — On a steamy Tuesday morning in Central Mississippi, St. Aloysius’ quarterback battle continued to rage during a series of 7-on-7 scrimmages.

Of course, in this case, “rage” and “battle” are relative terms.

The two guys fighting for the spot, Will Pierce and Brandon Teller, like each other. They work well together. Whoever doesn’t win the job will be happy to throw touchdown passes to the other. It’s a unique dynamic for such a high-profile position, but one both players seem to be handling well.

“We’re just going to equally rep them, that way we’ve got two quarterbacks coming in, and go from there,” St. Al coach BJ Smithhart said. “It’s so early in the summer, it’s about everybody trying to get better. I just hope they root each other on instead of making it a cutthroat type of competition, and they’ve done a good job of that. They’ve been around each other a long time.”

While St. Al has a few other holes to fill, replacing three-year starter Connor Smith at quarterback is one of the most glaring. Smith accumulated more than 5,000 total yards in his high school career and won The Vicksburg Post’s Offensive Player of the Year award twice before graduating last month.

Pierce and Teller, both of whom have limited experience at quarterback, were Smithhart’s choices to replace Smith.

Pierce hasn’t played football since 2012, but at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds is a gifted athlete with a strong arm. Teller is smaller, at 5-9 and 160 pounds, but more experienced in the system. The rising junior has played receiver the last two seasons and caught 45 passes for 742 yards and eight touchdowns.

Smithhart said both will get a chance to play quarterback — and whoever isn’t behind center will make a nice target in the passing game. Teller has already proven his worth as a receiver, while Pierce’s big body and soft hands make him a perfect safety valve for a young quarterback.

The knowledge that they’ll see significant playing time somewhere has made the competition for the quarterback job a lot friendlier, Teller said.

“I’m not too worried about it. If I don’t (play quarterback) I’ll be fine playing wideout. We’ll see what happens, but I’ll be ready to go in,” Teller said. “We’re still going to play somewhere. We’re going to play on the field. There’s really no tension. We’re just having a good time, trying to learn how to play these routes and throw them right. It’s not like a big competition or rivalry or anything. It’s just teammates.”

Pierce and Teller took turns leading the offense during a series of 7-on-7 games Tuesday at Richland High School.

Teller played most of the opening 20-minute game against McLaurin and threw two touchdown passes — including a deep one on a jump ball to Pierce.

Pierce threw a TD pass to Lane Hynum in the final game against Puckett, but the Flashes didn’t score in their middle two games against Richland and Raymond.

Neither quarterback did anything to separate themselves, but Smithhart said he’s pleased with their overall performance this summer.

“We’re going to try to have one for the season. We might play two early, until we find whichever one clicks with the offense and does all the little things right,” Smithhart said. “They’re both doing good right now. They’re both leaders.”

St. Al is spending June splitting its time between conditioning workouts and weekly 7-on-7 games. Five teams — St. Al, Richland, Puckett, Raymond and McLaurin — meet every Tuesday morning in June for a round-robin of 20-minute games at Richland High School.

No score or stats are kept. The overall performance and effort, rather than the outcome, are what coaches and players are evaluating. On that front, Teller said the Flashes had some room for improvement when they come back next week.

“It was just Tuesday morning. Last week we were tired at the end, and today we started out tired. We’ve just got to step it up a little bit. It’s offseason, but we’ll get into it a little bit,” Teller said. “It’s just trying to get better at our routes. We’re taking some little steps every time and learning a few things about our routes and throwing them right.”

No one seemed overly concerned, though. The June work is all about practice and getting experience, and Smithhart felt good about the progress the Flashes are making.

“The more you see stuff, the better you’ll get,” Smithhart said. “We’ll get better. We get frustrated if the effort’s not there, but the effort’s there. They’re doing good. They’re playing hard. The quarterbacks are seeing what they’re supposed to see.”