Evan Waymoth, normally the fullback, stepped into the tailback spot last week and gained 101 yards on 23 carries. Starter John Westendorf has been lost for the season due to a torn ACL and sophomore Weldon Dunston missed last week with an ankle injury. Dunston is expected to return this week, but will share the workload with Waymoth.

Junior receiver Andrew Lotz had a breakout performance, hauling in five passes for 128 yards and two scores against the Trojans. He now leads the team with 10 catches for 176 yards.

But the Hearts will need to protect the ball better. They appeared headed for two more scores last week, only to be stopped by a fumble and an interception.

“I thought our offense made some nice plays, but we still left some plays on the field,” Hefner noted. “We met most of our goals offensively, except for the turnovers. That has to improve.”

The EHS defense came up with a strong effort, limiting Charleston to just 188 total yards. Two late personal foul penalties helped the Trojans score their final touchdown in the final minute.

“There were a lot of good things; another pretty good effort by the defense,” Hefner said. “I didn’t like a couple of those dumb penalties at the end, though. Other than that, I was pleased.

“Overall, there were a lot of good things,” the veteran coach added. “But we still have to clean-up some things. We won’t be able to get away with some of that when we play good people.”

Mattoon brings in a team with 20 seniors on the roster, but not a great deal of varsity experience. The Green Wave are also playing plenty of juniors and sophomores this year.

“There might not be a lot of experience, but they’ve got some good young kids,” Hefner noted. “I guarantee you they will continue to improve each week.”

Mattoon likes to run the football. Senior Taerick Grace is averaging 70 yards a game, having gained 214 yards on 33 carries. He’s averaging 6.5 yards per carry and has scored one TD. Sophomores Deaiden Arnold and Cale Kimbro provide good back-up. All three are good size backs, with Grace listed at 6’3” and 200 pounds.

“They have three dudes that can run the ball,” Hefner said. “All three are good runners. Their offensive line does a good job of getting hat on hat and letting them go. They’re very well coached and good at what they do.”

The quarterback is junior Slater Trier. He has completed 46% of his passes, connecting on 35-of-77 attempts for 436 yards. He has thrown five touchdowns and four interceptions. Owen Hawkins is the leading receiver. The junior has 17 catches for 230 yards, including 10 receptions for 121 yards against Mt. Zion. Hawkins also has three TDs. Senior Logan Blackburn is averaging 15 yards per catch with 7 receptions for 104 yards.

Defensively, Hefner said Mattoon is similar to the Hearts.

“They’ll mostly be in a 4-3 with two deep safeties,” he explained. “It will also be similar to what we saw with St. Teresa. They’ll be fundamentally sound.”

Junior linebacker Aidan Blackburn is averaging 10 tackles per game.

“We had a good spirited and physical practice Tuesday, which was good to see,” Hefner said. “I had to get on them Monday because they just weren’t focused. That’s all part of learning how to handle success. Tuesday was a good one, though.

“It’s a fine line you walk in practice,” Hefner added. “You need to get quality reps in, but still stay fresh. You still have to practice, but you cross your fingers and hope nobody gets hurt.”

So, this important Apollo Conference match-up is set in Mattoon, which is also featuring a new turf field this year.

Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.