The two halves were quite a contrast. In the first 24 minutes, the two teams combined for 206 total yards and just 7 points. The second half was the exact opposite as the Aces and Hearts amassed 388 yards and put 59 more points on the scoreboard.

“For us, the first half was all about field position,” Hefner explained. “We played very well defensively, but we just weren’t in a position to take many chances.”

The Hearts had the ball five possessions in the opening half and four of those drives started inside their own 20. With possessions beginning at the 11, 13, 2 and 17, it does reduce the amount of plays coaches feel comfortable in calling.

The only score came on Mt. Carmel’s final possession. The Aces got the ball at the EHS 41 with only 20 seconds left, but it only took two plays and 10 seconds to find the endzone.

On the first play, reserve quarterback Kota Mounts lofted a pass down the sideline to Sisson, who split out wide. That completion covered 34 yards. On the next play, Sisson connected with Gillihan for the score and sent the Golden Aces to the locker room with a 7-0 lead.

Things changed and changed quickly when the second half started.

The Hearts got the ball at their own 39. After a 2-yard run and an incomplete pass, quarterback Gaige Gillum found Andrew Lotz all alone behind the Aces’ secondary for a 59-yard scoring strike, tying the game just 25 seconds into the third period.

“Again, field position made a big difference,” Hefner noted. “Because of that, we thought we could take a couple chances and open things up a bit. We started throwing the ball and we threw it pretty well.”

But that was just the first of several big plays that dominated the final 24 minutes of the game.

After forcing the Golden Aces to punt, the Hearts put together their most impressive drive of the early season. They combined the running of Weldon Dunston and Gillum and four completions through the air to put together a 14-play, 73-yard, 7-minute possession that resulted in a short one-yard plunge by Gillum to give the home team a 14-7 edge.

But as would be the case for the reminder of the game, both teams just kept responding.

Mt. Carmel followed up with a 10-play drive, mostly through the air. Sisson completed 7-of-8 passes, six of them to Gillihan, including a 20-yard strike for the tying touchdown.

For the game, the Sisson-to-Gillihan connection worked 16 times for 211 yards.

Effingham came right back, however. Starting at its own 32, the Hearts got a key third-down, 16-yard completion from Gillum to Lotz, to keep the drive going. Then on the fifth play, Dunston turned in as a tough run as you’ll ever see. The junior back broke several tackles and rambled 45 yards for a touchdown that had his teammates along the sideline and the fans in the stands “going crazy.”

It gave the Hearts a 21-14 lead with 6:21 to play. But this game wasn’t close to being done.

Mt. Carmel drove right back down the field, covering 64 yards in nine plays and three minutes, capped by a one-yard plunge by Sisson at the 3:04 mark. After being whistled for 11 penalties in their season opener, the Hearts were called for only three Friday night. But all three were on that drive and each one resulted in a first down.

Asked why there was so much more offense in the second half, Hefner said, “At halftime, we made some adjustments and they made some adjustments. That’s why you saw it going back and forth.”

About three minutes later, the Golden Aces felt like they had won the game.

After forcing Effingham into a punt, Sisson found Gillihan yet again with a 40-yard completion, giving the Golden Aces the ball at the Hearts one. A false start penalty and three incomplete passes later, Shade Loudermilk booted a 23-yard field goal to put the guests ahead 24-21 with only 15 seconds remaining.

Hard to believe, but the game was still far from over.

Dunston took the ensuing kickoff at the EHS 2 and nearly broke it for a game-clinching score. But he was finally brought down at the Mt. Carmel 25 with four ticks still left on the clock. Maicol Sefton, the sophomore kicker, came on and boomed a kick through the uprights tying the game at 24-24 and sending the game to overtime.

The Hearts got the ball first in the overtime period. On the third play, Gillum threw a 7-yard strike to Lotz for the TD. The extra point failed. But after Mt. Carmel scored on a six-yard pass from Sisson to Asher Kight, the Golden Aces missed their extra point as well, leaving the score at 30-30, and forcing a second OT possession for both squads.

Mt. Carmel scored on its first play with that 10-yard completion to Gillihan, but it’s two-point conversion failed.

After a pass interference call against the Golden Aces, the Hearts had the ball at the three with two more downs to score. A third down run by Dunston netted zero yards and the fourth down call came so close to providing at minimum a game-tying score. But when the incomplete pass hit the ground, the guests were the ones celebrating on Jack Klosterman Field.

For the game, Mt. Carmel totaled 371 offensive yards – 78 on the ground and 293 through the air. Sisson was 21-for-37 for 252 yards and one TD.

“They do a nice job with their schemes and they have good athletes,” Hefner said. “They have run formations to one side, pass formations to the other side and then run variations from those. We would make adjustments and then they would adjust to those. It was a good chess match all night.”

The Hearts finished with 278 total yards, with 228 of those coming in the second half. Dunston ran for 96 yards on 21 carries, while Gillum completed 11-of-26 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

The Hearts, now 1-1 on the season, will play another non-conference game at home this coming Friday night. They will welcome Breese Mater Dei. The Knights will also enter with a 1-1 mark. They beat Columbia 22-14 in their opener and then dropped a close 17-14 decision to their cross-town rival, Breese Central, Friday night.

It will be Military Appreciation Night at Washington Savings Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.