Charleston opened the season with three straight wins – 42-13 over Herscher; 56-20 over Paris; and 30-18 over Jerseyville.

“They are vastly improved,” Hefner said. “They are playing with confidence and physicality.”

The Hearts are coming off a 42-21 win at Mattoon – also a Homecoming game -- snapping a two-game losing streak. They ran for 314 yards and the defense stepped up and didn’t allow a point in the second half, helping EHS kick off its conference schedule with a road victory.

“We played much better than the week before,” Hefner noted, referring to the 36-14 loss to Breese Mater Dei. “Our effort and compete level were there for us. There were still too many mistakes, especially in the first half. We still had dumb penalties and non-winning stuff, but many of those things got corrected in the second half.”

The EHS coach also said there were numerous wrong blocking assignments by the offensive line.

“It’s amazing we ran for the yardage we did,” Hefner said. “We had a lot of blocking busts up front.”

And defensively, he pointed out the line was not following proper assignments when it comes to filling gaps on running plays and staying in their proper rushing lanes on pass plays.

“On several plays, we had two guys in the same running gap, which leaves other running lanes wide open,” Hefner explained. “And then we didn’t show discipline when rushing the passer. When you go beyond the quarterback or don’t stay in your proper lane, that opens up opportunities for the quarterback to escape. At times, that was really bad last week. We need to clean those things up and get a lot better.”

According to Hefner, Charleston and Effingham are very similar on offense.

“We both want to establish the line of scrimmage,” he said. “They’re big and physical up front. And they run some nice play action. They do a good job with their short passing game and get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly. When you see them play, there are a lot of similarities between them and us.”

Both squads strive to be balanced. After four games, only 10 totals yards separate them. The Trojans have gained 1,304 yards – 756 on the ground; 548 through the air. The Hearts have racked up 1,294 yards – 800 running; and 494 passing.

Junior quarterback Luke Bonnstetter has shown accuracy for CHS, connecting on 53 percent of his passes. He’s completed 43-of-81 attempts for 548 yards. He has thrown for five touchdowns and three interceptions.

Charleston’s ground game is spearheaded by senior Brett Spour. He’s cracked the 100-yard plateau three times so far and averages 108 yards per game. Spour has rushed for 432 yards on 66 carries. Senior Landon King is the leading receiver. He’s had 11 catches for 197 yards and three TDs.

“Our box guys have to play well,” Hefner said. “We have to be good in our fits and stay in our proper gaps. We have to get hats to the ball and our secondary has to be disciplined with their eyes when they run play action.”

Effingham’s junior running back, Weldon Dunston, is coming off a 264-yard performance against Mattoon. He had six runs of 11 or more yards, including gains of 21, 35, 35 and 53. He has now carried the ball 98 times and run for 619 yards in four games, an average of 155 per outing.

Gaige Gillum has now completed 43 percent of his passes. He’s hit 33-of-77 attempts for 494 yards. He’s got five touchdown passes and has been intercepted twice. Andrew Lotz is his favorite target. The senior wideout has hauled in 12 passes for 252 yards and four scores.

“Their defense is much better, too,” Hefner noted. “I’ve been very impressed with their fundamentals and how physical they play. They’re also a good tackling team.”

Even though it’s just the fifth game of the season, it’s a key one for both teams – both from a conference standpoint and for the playoff picture. So, Friday night’s game stacks up to be a very good one.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.