Chris Hemwall certainly did his part to help in that first half. The EHS senior linebacker blocked two punts and recovered a fumble. But the Hearts offense simply couldn’t take advantage.

Meanwhile, Mahomet-Seymour managed to find the end zone twice more in the opening 24 minutes.

Late in the first quarter, Bohm connected with Walsh on another of those dreaded screen passes and the senior speedster turned it into a 50-yard scamper to make it 14-0.

Then late in the first half, Bohm found Walsh again, this time with a long strike down the sideline. Walsh gathered it in, broke a tackle and completed the 55-yard scoring strike, racing untouched the rest of the way. The Bulldogs took a 21-0 edge at halftime.

The hosts made it 28-0 on their first possession of the second half. A 17-yard pass to Rogers kept the drive alive and senior running back Brennan Houser covered the final yard for the touchdown.

The Hearts responded with their first scoring drive of the 2022 fall season. Effingham used the running of quarterback Tanner Pontious and sophomore back Weldon Dunston to put together an 11-play, 77-yard drive. A 20-yard pass play to Garrett Wolfe, plus a roughing the passer penalty and five runs by Pontious for 23 yards kept the drive moving and Dunston capped the possession with a 12-yard bolt up the middle for the TD.

The Bulldogs scored their final touchdown on a 62-yard screen pass to Rogers, but the Hearts also added another score in the fourth period. This time, it was a 12-play, 50-yard drive, mostly coming through the air.

Junior Spencer Fox replaced an injured Dunston and gained nine yards on a couple carriers. Pontious also went 5-for-9, connecting with four different receivers. Caden Walls caught one for 12 yards, Connor Thompson hauled in one for nine more.

Jacob Weaver had two catches, one for six and the second for 11 yards that resulted in the touchdown. The pass was deflected by both a Mahomet-Seymour defender and Effingham end Andrew Lotz before settling in the hands of Weaver just over the goal line.

Bohm finished 17-for-28 for 325 yards and four touchdowns. Rogers had seven catches for 150 yards and Walsh hauled in five more for 128 yards. The Bulldogs ran for 82 yards, but were also whistled for 13 penalties for 117 yards.

The Hearts finished with 166 total yards. They had 68 on the ground and 98 through the air. Pontious finished 10-for-21 and connected with six different receivers. Dunston rushed for 39 yards on 16 carries.

“I was very pleased with our entire defensive unit. They played tough all night,” Hefner said. “Offensively, we’ve got to clean things up, but we’re getting better. Like I said, I think we’re getting close to going on a roll.”

The Hearts are now 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the Apollo Conference. They will return home next week to entertain Charleston in another conference game. Both teams will be looking for their first win. The Trojans have lost to Herscher and Lincoln.

Kickoff at Washington Savings Bank Stadium is set for 7 p.m.