By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The Effingham Hearts headed to Charleston hoping to clinch at least a share of the Apollo Conference title Tuesday night.
When they headed home, they no longer had to worry about sharing anything. Thanks to losses by Mahomet-Seymour and Mattoon, the Hearts had clinched the league championship.
Effingham fell behind 5-2 early and then exploded. And never let up, en route to a lopsided 77-40 victory over the host Trojans.
“We wanted to make a statement tonight and I think we did that,” said EHS coach Obie Farmer. “We were ready to play.”
By the end of the first period, the Hearts owned a 20-8 lead and didn’t let up. By halftime, the outcome was well in hand. EHS had built a 28-point cushion, 40-12.
Nate Thompson tallied 14 points in the first half and Parker Wolfe knocked down a trio of three-pointers and added 11.
“Charleston got that early lead, but then we started to roll,” Farmer noted. “Parker was lighting it up, but we also got some threes from Garrett (Wolfe) and one from Stonie (Jacob Stoneburner). We shot the ball efficiently and consistently. We moved the ball around, didn’t force things and found open guys.
“We got a lot of run outs for some easy points, too,” Farmer added. “Charleston didn’t get back in transition. We got a lot of points off steals and in our transition game. That’s the style we like. Playing fast plays right into our hands.”
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
As Jeff Schafer was walking to the locker room at halftime, he had a flashback.
He remembered his team from about 15 years ago that set a school record that year with 24 wins.
But when that team faced St. Anthony, the Lady Hearts had a dreadful first quarter shooting the ball.
“We were 1-for-21 at the end of the first quarter and trailed 6-4,” Schafer recalled.
Why would he be thinking about that Tuesday night?
Well, his team had just completed an ice cold shooting performance in the first half.
But since the Lady Bulldogs shot even worse, the Effingham girls still had a lead.
And when the Lady Hearts turned things around and shot the ball extremely well in the second half, they managed to pull away and post a 47-31 decision at home in the annual crosstown rivalry game. It was also Senior Night at EHS.
“When you play those crosstown games, they’re tough on both sides,” Schafer admitted. “We have great kids that do what we ask them to do. We just need to put the ball in the basket more often. But to the girls credit, they just kept playing.”
“We escaped with a win. We didn’t earn it, that’s for sure.”
Those were the words from Effingham Coach Obie Farmer after his Hearts rallied to post a non-conference 45-42 victory Saturday at Robinson.
“Winners win, though,” Farmer added. “And we did find a way to win.”
Effingham trailed most of the game, but outscored the Maroons 13-7 in the final eight minutes to pull out their 14th win of the season.
Robinson led 14-12 after the opening quarter, 28-23 at halftime and 35-32 heading into the final period.
“Halftime was not a fun time for anyone in that locker room,” Farmer admitted. “Paint might have been peeling off the walls after that talk. It got a little heated. But the kids responded, which is one of the things I like best about this team.”
Parker Wolfe continued to his hot scoring streak, finishing with a game-high 23 points, including 11 in the crucial fourth quarter. Wolfe is averaging 30.6 points per game over the last five games. Nate Thompson added eight points.
The Hearts improved to 14-1 overall. They now enter the final week of their season with a chance to clinch an Apollo Conference title. They are 10-1 in the league and own a two-game lead entering the week.
They will travel to Charleston on Tuesday and then return home for their final two games – Friday against Mattoon, which will be Senior Night; and Saturday against Charleston, which was rescheduled from earlier in the season due to COVID concerns in Charleston.
The Effingham Lady Hearts may have been the underdogs Monday night, but they gave undefeated Charleston all it could handle.
The Lady Trojans needed a 15-4 scoring surge in the final quarter to pull ahead and post a 46-33 win at home.
The Lady Hearts jumped out to an early five-point lead, but trailed 16-11 after the opening eight minutes. The EHS defense limited Charleston to only four points in the second quarter and battled back to tie the game, 20-20, at intermission.
The Lady Trojans tried to pull away in the third period, but Effingham refused to cooperate and was still within 31-29 heading into the fourth period.
“We were right there with a little over three minutes to go,” said EHS coach Jeff Shafer. “We just needed to step up and make some plays in crunch time. We held them down in their half-court offense, but gave them too many points off our turnovers.
“This shows you the depth of our conference,” Shafer added. “On any night, anybody can beat anyone. We really battled and were in position to get a win. They are not undefeated by accident, but I thought we could have gotten them tonight.”
Charleston’s Shae Littleford led all scorers with 22 points. Meredith Schaefer led EHS with 11 points and Annie Frost added eight. The Lady Hearts shot 34 percent from the field, connecting on 14-of-41 attempts. They were out-rebounded 33-29.
The Lady Hearts dipped to 5-9 overall and 5-8 in the Apollo Conference. They will play at home tonight (Tuesday) against St. Anthony. It will be Senior Night for the Effingham girls. They will end their season at home Thursday night against Mattoon.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
With six minutes to play, the Effingham Flaming Hearts found themselves down by four points, but with the style of play Lincoln employs, it felt like the deficit was even greater.
But remember that old adage? “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
That describes exactly what the Hearts did down the stretch Friday night.
Parker Wolfe scored seven straight points, including a huge three-pointer from the corner, and Nate Thompson made four pressure-packed free throws in the final 16 seconds.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Hearts walked off the floor 45-41 winners over the Railsplitters, knowing they were one step closer to an Apollo Conference championship.
Effingham is now 10-1 in league play and owns a two-game lead, with three conference games left in the season’s final week.
But that was certainly in jeopardy after the first two minutes of the final period.
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