“We’ve had some injuries on our offensive line and have had to switch a couple people around,” Hefner explained. “Maybe they’re starting to hit their stride a little.

“Plus, Weldon runs hard,” Hefner added. “He’s not going to give up on any runs. You know me. I also want to establish the run. I thought we were a little more efficient tonight.”

And that started on the Hearts first possession, thanks to a quick turnover by the Green Wave. On their second play, Mattoon receiver Owen Hawkins hauled in a pass for an apparent first down. But EHS defenders Spencer Fox and Jacob Weaver helped pry the ball out of his hands and Wade Bushur fell on it, giving the Hearts the ball at the hosts 25-yard line.

It didn’t take long to figure out the game plan. Five straight running plays resulted in the first score of the night. Dunston’s 12-yard gallop got the ball to the one and quarterback Gaige Gillum plunged into the end zone on the next play to stake the Hearts to a 7-0 lead just 2½ minutes into the contest.

But that was just the beginning of what turned into a shoot-out during the first half.

While the Hearts were chewing up yardage on the ground, Mattoon was moving the ball through the air. Quarterback Slater Trier threw for 200 yards in the opening half, connecting with five different receivers and using a quick release to negate Effingham’s pass rush.

A 38-yard scoring strike from Trier to Gavin Cline knotted the score at 7-7 in the final seconds of the opening period.

The two teams then combined to score five touchdowns in the second quarter.

The Hearts regained the lead on their ensuing possession, capped by a 24-yard scamper by Gillum, who broke free at the line of scrimmage and then darted to the outside and ran untouched to the end zone to put EHS on top to stay, 14-7.

After stopping the Green Wave’s next drive at the Effingham 24, the Hearts immediately began another scoring drive. It took just four plays and 68 seconds to cross the goal line again. A 50-yard pass play from Gillum to Colton Webb got the ball to the five and Dunston took care of the final five yards to make it 21-7 at the 5:50 mark.

After both teams exchanged interceptions (Weaver had the INT for the Hearts), the Green Wave took over at the EHS 42. A 28-yard strike from Trier to Luke Branson was the big play and the four-play drive culminated with a one-yard plunge by Deaiden Arnold.

It looked like the Hearts would take a two-score advantage into the locker room at halftime. Dunston broke loose on his first 35-yard gallop. Four plays later, Gillum found Brodie Belcher in the end zone for an 11-yard TD pass to make it 28-14 with only 1:18 left.

But that proved to be plenty of time for Trier and the Green Wave. The senior QB completed 5-of-6 passes and then scored on a one-yard run on the final play of the half to make it 28-21 at intermission.

Trier was 12-for-25 for 200 yards at halftime.

“Playing in the secondary is hard,” Hefner admitted. “At times, it looks like we’re giving them easy throws. But it’s hard to cover guys in space, especially when they get the ball out so quick. They get the snap and throw. That’s just the way the game is played today.”

Arguably the key possession of the contest was the first one of the second half. The Hearts came out and drove it right down the field. Dunston carried the ball twice for 18 yards, Gillum connected with Belcher for another 10 yards and the Green Wave helped out with an offside penalty.

On the fifth play, Dunston took the handoff and started running to his left. That was defended well initially by Mattoon. But Dunston first broke two tackles, then reversed his field and sped down the far sideline for a 35-yard touchdown, giving the Hearts their two-score advantage again, 35-21.

Effingham’s defense played better in the second half. They stopped two Mattoon drives on downs and another with an interception by Nick Martin in the end zone.

“I did think we were better in the second half,” Hefner said. “We stopped doing dumb stuff.”

The Hearts tacked on one more TD in the final quarter. Again, it was Dunston that turned in a big play, breaking loose for a 53-yard jaunt that moved the ball deep into Mattoon territory. On the ninth play, Gillum covered the final yard to account for the final score.

The Hearts finished with 314 yards on the ground, their best showing of the season so far. Gillum connected with five different receivers and went 7-for-13 through the air for 131 yards. He had one touchdown and one interception.

Penalties are still a concern. The Hearts were flagged 10 times for 85 yards. That’s 35 penalties for 279 yards in just four games.

“We’re still making too many mistakes,” Hefner said. “It’s good to make them and win, but gosh darn. We just can’t give up yards like that.”

But he did like much of what he saw Friday night.

“I thought we got some of our resiliency back,” the veteran coach noted. “We had good effort. Our sideline was into it. We competed. This looked more like our program. Now we just have to keep it up.”

The Hearts, now 1-0 in league play and 2-2 overall, will be on the road again next Friday night. They will travel to Charleston to face a 3-1 Trojans team that will be coming off their first loss of the season. Charleston was defeated by Mahomet-Seymour Friday night.

Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.