“To start the game and score like that was great,” Hefner admitted. “Those special team’s plays really helped. We practice our special teams every week and the kids take a lot of pride in it. It sure gave us some great field position.”

The Tornados’ first possession started out pretty well. A 13-yard completion from sophomore quarterback Baron Odam to senior wideout Kolin Albright got Taylorville into EHS territory. But a couple incompletions and a penalty forced a punt, which was blocked, giving the Hearts the ball at the THS 39.

Effingham’s game plan became clear immediately. Five straight handoffs to Evan Waymoth was all it took to reach the endzone for the first time, with the scoring run covering nine yards.

The Tornados, thanks to the Hearts first QB sack that resulted in a 15-yard loss, were quickly forced to punt again. This time, a low snap prevented them from punting and EHS had the ball back at the 16.

The Hearts next possession looked a lot like their first. Waymoth carried it on four consecutive plays, crossing the goal line from one yard out to make it 13-0 less than eight minutes into the contest.

But that was only the beginning. Before the first half ended, the Hearts found the endzone three more times.

A 16-yard punt gave them the ball at the THS 27 early in the second period, and Waymoth was quickly back on the attack. He ran for 2, then broke off a 22-yard gallop and finished the three-play drive with a three-yard bolt for his third touchdown to make it 20-0.

Senior defensive lineman Logan Heil, who had a big game with 12 tackles, recovered a fumble on Taylorville’s ensuing possession and the Hearts offense was back on the field, this time at the THS 24. The only thing different this time it was sophomore Weldon Dunston carrying the ball. Two runs, including an 18-yard scamper, was all it took to extend the EHS lead to 27-0.

At this point, with 9:20 still left in the half, Effingham had attempted just one pass.

“We were really good up front offensively,” Hefner noted. “We did a great job blocking and controlled the line of scrimmage. We didn’t have to pass.”

Taylorville got on the board late in the half, largely due to sophomore running back Finn Niemann. He had one run of 24 yards, then caught a pass for 16 more and culminated the six-play drive by getting loose in the Effingham secondary and hauling in a 35-yard scoring pass from Odom.

But the Hearts responded immediately. Dunston broke loose for 42 yards, and quarterback Tanner Pontious connected with Andrew Lotz for an 11-yard gain. Dunston then capped the quick six-play drive with a six-yard run that sent EHS to the locker room with a 34-6 edge at intermission.

“We had a couple coverage busts defensively and I didn’t think we were focused to start the second half,” Hefner explained. “But I was happy they corrected that pretty quickly.”

After its worst possession of the game to open the second half, the Hearts next possession was their most impressive of the game. Beginning at their own 44, they put together a 12-play, 56-yard drive. Pontious completed one short four-yard pass to Garrett Wolfe, but the rest of the yardage came on the ground – all by Dunston. He completed the possession with a 12-yard scoring run – his third TD of the night -- that made it 41-6.

London Rinkel then picked off an Odom pass, setting up Effingham’s final scoring opportunity at the Tornado 35. This time, it was senior back Muhammed Freeman carrying the ball. He had six straight runs, including a one-yard bolt that made it 48-6 and resulted in a continuously running clock.

The Tornados did tack on another score late in the game.

Taylorville finished with 218 total yards – 100 on the ground and 118 through the air.

“I think our pressure got to them,” Hefner said. “Plus, we did a better job against the screen pass, which is the one play teams have used successfully against us. I also liked the way we tackled.”

Dunston led the ground attack, finishing with 151 yards on 20 carries. Waymoth added 88 yards on 14 carries and Freeman chipped in with 49 more on 11 carries. Pontious was 4-for-10 for 28 yards, giving Effingham 335 total offensive yards in the game.

Taylorville dipped to 1-4 overall and 0-4 in the Apollo Conference, while Effingham improved to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in league play.

The Hearts will face a tough test next week when Mt. Zion visits Jack Klosterman Field for Homecoming. The Braves will enter with a 4-1 overall record and are also 3-1 in the Apollo. They defeated Lincoln 41-14 Friday night.

“I like the direction we’re headed, but next week is a big one,” Hefner said. “Mt. Zion will be a challenge. We’ll have our hands full.”